Page 35 of Did You See Evie

“I’m so sorry about all this. The police are involved now, but I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure Evie is found.”

“You better,” she says, hanging up the phone.

I stare at the screen, utterly helpless. I’ve always vowed to protect my players, especially Evie, and I’ve failed at that job.

“Any news?”

I’d been so distracted by the phone call, I’d almost forgotten about Nadia. She’s standing behind me in the hallway, watching.

“They still don’t know anything.”

“Do you think she ran off? We did it all the time when we were kids.”

“Evie is nothing like we were as kids. Well, that’s not true. She’s from our neighborhood, but she’s a good kid. She doesn’t get in trouble. She’d never run away.”

Again, Nadia’s face changes, her expression darkening. It’s hard to tell whether she’s stuck on a memory from our upbringing, or if she’s thinking about something else.

“What’s a girl like that doing at Manning Academy?”

“She was there on scholarship,” I say. “Her family life is chaotic. Her mother didn’t even see her for a full day before the lock-in, and has no idea where she is now.”

“You think someone came into the school and took her?”

“I don’t know. It’s a possibility.” I cut my eyes at her. “Especially since I left that door open.”

It dawns on Nadia now, all the blame I carry over what happened. Even if she’s being honest and had nothing to do with Evie’s disappearance, a girl went missing on my watch, and my actions could have contributed to that.

“Don’t blame yourself,” she tells me.

“How can I not? I knew better than to open that door.”

“You couldn’t have known something would happen.”

“It’s not just that,” I say, getting to the root of the guilt I’ve been carrying around all day. “I knew something was wrong with Evie. She tried telling me about it twice. Once after the game, and then again at the lock-in. We kept getting interrupted.”

“What do you think it was about?”

“I have no idea,” I say, defeated. “I already knew things were difficult for her. I could have stopped this if I’d kept pushing her, but I was so distracted.”

Nadia goes quiet. She clearly realizes the predicament she’s put me in. That because of her actions and my inability to do my job properly, someone may have gotten into the school. And now a young girl is missing.

“Aren’t there cameras?” she asks.

“The footage is messed up,” I say. “They’ll be able to recover it, but that will take time.”

“Just focus on finding the girl,” she says. “I can help you.”

“How can you do that?”

“I have lots of resources. I’m good at this stuff. Tell me what you know about her and the disappearance, and I’ll do my best to help you.”

“I don’t need your help.”

As I go to turn, I miss my step, shouldering the wall. I struggle to find balance.

“Are you okay?” Nadia asks.

I place a palm on my forehead. I feel clammy.

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