Page 67 of Jacob

How did I miss this?

I look up, avoiding Skye’s mom’s anguished face. I can’t handle it. She’s been crying since I arrived.

She called me immediately after I called the police and I rushed to their family home.

Having spent hours in this house as a teenager, wanting to spend lots of time with Skye, I no longer want to be here.

Not like this, when my girl is missing, and no one knows where the hell she is.

My mood’s about to go thermonuclear if they don’t stop their line of questioning and start searching for her.

“Please find my baby,” Mr. McNairn begs the police detective, his voice laced with pain while holding his wife tight.

Skye looks just like her mother; it’s almost too painful to look at her.

Oh God, this is awful. Worse than awful. There are no words to describe the atmosphere of dread in the room. It’s thick with unanswered questions. Desperation and fear all rolled into one weigh heavy on our shoulders.

“It’s all my fault.” I can’t help saying what’s playing on my mind.

“What makes you say that, Mr. Baxter?”

“Stop calling me that. I’ve told you, it’s Jacob,” I spit back, pushing my fingertips into my throbbing temples. “I’m sorry.I’m just worried. Should you not be out there looking for her?” I point to the street out the window.

The detective subtly nods, ignoring my question. “Jacob,” she stalls, “what makes you say it’s your fault?”

“I bought that tablet for her, the one she used to set up and create her video channel. That’s how he found her. That’s how he’s been contacting her. Without that channel, she wouldn’t be missing. It’s all my fault,” I admit guiltily, my voice full of anguished pain and apology.

What have I done?

“I was there last night when she met him. I should have made her wait for me. I would have taken her home myself. He said he was a girl!” I bellow, unable to hold it in any longer. “She told me it was a girl she was talking to online. I should have gone with her to meet her. I mean, him. Is it him? Does he have her?”

Skye’s mom, Rhona, wails. “Oh no, my poor girl.” She covers her mouth, trying to hold in her fear.

I’m making everything worse.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

A uniformed police officer ambles into the living room. “We found Skye’s car. It’s parked on Morris Way.”

That’s three streets over from the coffee shop. That’s not the information I was hoping for. She’s been gone all night. Without a trace.

Detective Becket clasps her notebook tight against her lap. “Unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. McNairn, there is no evidence of anything suspicious. She met with someone she knew and had been talking to via email for a number of weeks. And left with him. There is no evidence of her being taken against her will. Jacob, here, saw her leaving with him. This man, Jules, and Skye, were chatting as they left together.”

“No.” I shake my head furiously. This can’t be right.

She continues spewing words I don’t agree with. “She may have stayed at his house for the night. Was she unsettled in any way? Not happy in her work, perhaps?”

Now, I’m fucking furious. “Most definitely not. This is so out of character for her, and she was about to be promoted. She was ecstatic about it. She’s the happiest person I know.” I take another deep breath before I really lose my shit with the detective. “She was going to text me when she got home. She promised she would and didn’t.” I grit out my words.

“Is that normal for your employee to text you their whereabouts, Mr. Baxter?” The detective sounds patronizing.

DetectiveFuckfaceis walking a thin line. “Of course it is. We work late, often, and sometimes meetings run over. It’s my duty to check their safety.”

She eyes me suspiciously. “We need to wait another twenty-four hours, but as a favor and because we’ve found her car, we will check the town’s CCTV.”

Skye’s mother gasps, “No, that’s not good enough.”

“Castleview Cove is a very safe place. No one has ever gone missing from here.” The detective’s careless words piss me off.

---