Page 84 of No More Words

“When did all that happen?” Olivia asks.

Glenny taps her chin. “A few months back. That sounds about right.”

Olivia nudges her bowl aside, the ice cream turning to soup. Her stomach rolls like small waves when the tide’s coming in. How long has Dwight known where Lily is? What on earth could he want from her? Does he have any compassion at all for Lily and Josh? She looks out the back window. Josh rolls a ball past the dog. The terrier chases it. “What was he like before?” she asks.

“Wild. Disobedient. Those boys smoke pot under the pier. I see them from my shop windows. His father isn’t around,” Glenny says as if that’s the reason Josh is the way he is. “After, he was different, as you can see.” Her gaze swings to Josh and holds on. “He’s quiet.”

Olivia would say depressed. “You mentioned the police. Was Jenna in some sort of trouble?”

“Not that I’m aware of, though we did have a man sneaking around. He was a pervert, peeking in our windows. I called the police on him once. I think others did, too. The police came several times. Whoever it was left. I haven’t seen him in some time.”

Heart pounding, fingers mentally crossed she’s wrong, she opens her photo app and pulls up a picture of Dwight. “Do you recognize him?”

Glenny frowns at the photo. “Not sure. Wait ... yes. If he’s the same man, he visited Jenna once, maybe more. Hard to say.”

Olivia’s hand trembles when Glenny gives back her phone. She wishes she’d been wrong about Dwight. But Glenny is the second person to confirm Dwight found Lily. “When did you last see him?” she asks, rattled.

“Weeks, maybe months ago.”

“Nothing more recent, like last week?”

“No, sorry. I can’t confirm that.”

“Can you describe the other guy, that peeping Tom?” Olivia wonders if he has anything to do with Lily’s quick departure. Could he be the shadow man in Josh’s illustrations?

“Never got a good look at him.”

That is not what she wanted to hear. Same with the fact Dwight has been in contact with Lily.

After Olivia and Josh leave Glenny’s, they knock on neighbors’ doors. Josh grows increasingly agitated with each visit. “Don’t know her,” he’d say with each person Olivia tried. Those home and who know of Jenna confirmed Glenny’s observations. They recognized Josh, who’d playcatch and skateboard with his friends in the street, but Jenna kept to herself. Most didn’t realize she’d left town or that she’s missing.

Over dinner at a taco stand by the beach, Olivia fires off another email to Jenna’s publicist, this time begging the woman to call her. The matter is urgent. Olivia also exchanged numbers with Glenny. Glenny would reach out if Jenna returned home.

Olivia debates spending the night. They could visit Josh’s school to spread word they’re looking for Lily—rather Jenna. They could check the local hospitals and police department, but it’s likely Lily and Josh weren’t anywhere near here when they separated. If they were, why didn’t Josh just go home?

Her mind keeps veering back to Dwight. He’s potentially dangerous but he could be the last person who saw Lily. Olivia is deeply convinced. She and Josh could spend the night and more time looking, or she could rally Lucas, and they could confront their dad. She could get her answers. Lucas would help her make him talk. It’s a risk, but she’ll leave Josh in Blaze’s care. Dwight will never know he’s with her.

Plan made, Olivia decides to drive home.

On the way out of town, they stop at a CVS for road snacks and drinks. Olivia caves and buys the Marlboros she’s been craving all day. Josh settles into the front seat, listening to music. She lights up as soon as they leave the store and stands beside the car, burning through the mix of tobacco and chemicals that are wreaking havoc on her lungs. But she doesn’t give a shit. Her sister is—as Josh put it the day he arrived—gone, and their dad is likely behind her disappearance.

Olivia’s fingers tremble as she waits for the nicotine hit. She texts Lucas, first asking him if he’s heard anything from Dwight, then tells him he’s a dick for not texting anything all day. Dwight should be home by now. Lastly, she tells him to meet her at the house tomorrow. They’re going to confront their dad together. She then calls Blaze.

“Hey, been thinking about you all day.”

She inhales, and her exhale is a long sigh. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“Rough day?”

“Long.” She’d texted that morning she and Josh were driving to Oceanside. “I have a favor,” she asks.

“Name it.”

“Will you search for a Jenna Mason? Find out if a missing persons report has been filed. And call the hospitals in the San Diego area. See if they have a patient by that name.” Lily could be in a coma or physically incapable of returning home.

“Wait, wait, wait. Are we talking abouttheJenna Mason, that cartoonist you like?”

“Yeah.” She’s laughed out loud a time or two watching Lily’s three-minute animations.

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