Page 5 of Our Little Secret

“Not much to sort. Remember, I got witnesses. I took pictures of the license plates of the cars that were nearby. And that old guy and his wife in the Buick? They saw it all.” Gustafson’s smile was smug. Proud of himself.

“Good. Then we’re done here.” She only hoped it was true as she caught a glimpse of the flashing blue and red lights of a police cruiser in her mirror.

CHAPTER 2

“Iowe you,” Brooke said an hour later via Bluetooth in her dented Explorer as she drove. She was still rattled, her nerves stretched from the accident and the disturbing call.

From the other end of the connection, Andrea said, “Don’t worry about it! Seriously.” Andrea, who had been her friend since Marilee and Andrea’s daughter, Zuri, met in kindergarten. Now, once again, Brooke had asked her to come to the rescue this afternoon.

She had texted Andrea earlier, while still dealing with Gustafson, and asked her friend to pick up Marilee at the high school. Of course Andrea had stepped up, located Marilee at the school, and given her a ride to the athletic club where they had a membership. Brooke had texted her daughter as well, but Marilee hadn’t responded.

No surprise there.

Now, Brooke maneuvered her dented car into the parking lot of the club and pulled into a spot with a view of the gym’s tall windows. Beyond the glass, teenage girls were clustered around the gymnastic equipment. Brooke caught a glimpse of Marilee dressed in her leotard and shorts. “You’re a lifesaver,” she said to Andrea, then cut the engine.

“You’d do the same for me.”

“In a heartbeat.”

“So there you go. Don’t give it another thought. Besides, you’ll pay me back.”

“Of course. Name the time.”

“Oh well . . . maybe next week? Zuri’s got piano again and I’ve got to take DJ to the pediatrician at the same time.”

“Done.” Brooke nodded as if Andrea could see her. “Just text me a reminder.”

“Will do. Hey—I just got a call from Joanna Nelson; you know her, right? She’s Kinsey’s mother.”

Kinsey, a redhead with freckles, was another student in Marilee’s class. The two girls had been close in elementary school but drifted into different cliques in junior high. “Yeah, the girls used to hang out.”

“She says there’s a girl missing from the class. Allison Carelli. Two days now. The police have been called in. As you can expect, Alli’s mother, Elyse, is freaking out. Has no idea where she is. Has called all the friends and hospitals and everywhere.”

“And they can’t find her,” Brooke said, feeling a drip of dread. She knew Allison of course, a quiet, petite girl with curly black hair, blue eyes, and an attitude that bordered on sullen.

“Gone without a trace.”

“Two days?” Brooke whispered, sick inside. She told herself that two days, forty-eight hours, wasn’t all that long, but she knew better. If Marilee were missing two hours, she would be going out of her mind.

“The police think Allison might be a runaway, but Elyse doesn’t buy it. Neither does Joanna, who knows the family pretty well. Alli’s a good kid, you know. Average student, on the swim team, low key—shit, I hate this stuff. Scares the hell out of me.”

“Dear God.” Brooke bit her lip. “Maybe she’ll turn up.” She tried to sound hopeful despite the little drip of dread that was becoming a steady stream.

Two girls in two years.

“Maybe, but Penny Williams didn’t,” Andrea said, as if reading Brooke’s thoughts. “And that’s been what—like nearly a year?”

Brooke was nodding. Penelope Williams just hadn’t come home from school last fall. Since then the girl, in the class above Marilee’s, hadn’t been located.

Brooke’s gaze was still centered on the oversize windows, her thoughts taking a dark turn when she thought about the missing girl and the pain her mother must have been feeling. If anything happened to Marilee, she would lose it. Absolutely lose it.

“Well, everyone’s freaking out. I even got a call from Austin Keller; you know him, right? The fireman?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “I’ve known Austin since high school. A shame about his wife.” Stacey was a classmate as well and had died a couple years ago in a biking accident.

“He called. Worried sick. Single dad. Only kid.” She let out a sigh. “You know, he always asks about you.”

“Really?”

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