Page 3 of She Didn't See It Coming
“Bryden?” There’s no answer.
The foyer and short hall give way to the living room, a large, open space, with the dining room to the left. He sees his wife’s computer sitting open on the dining-room table, where she likes to work. Her cell phone is resting beside it. He makes a hurried check of all the rooms, while three-year-old Clara follows him like an eager puppy.He pops his head in the kitchen, then checks the master bedroom and en suite bath, then Clara’s room, the den, the other bathroom. Everything is undisturbed, just as it should be. The apartment is tidy, as it usually is. But there is no sign of Bryden. He rushes back to the dining room. His wife’s computer is on but has gone into sleep mode. It looks like she’s just stepped out for a moment.
Then he goes through the apartment again, more carefully. There’s no note left on the fridge, or anywhere else. Clara is beginning to realize that something is really wrong.
“Where’s Mommy?” she asks, her lower lip trembling, on the verge of tears.
“I don’t know, sweetie, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon. She probably had an appointment and I forgot I was supposed to pick you up. Silly Daddy. We will find her, I promise.”
He scoops the little girl up in his arms and leaves the apartment and knocks on the door of unit 808, two doors down. He realizes he’s practically hammering on the door and tells himself to calm down.
Angela Romano opens the door with a look of surprise. She takes in the sight of him with Clara in his arms, the troubled look on his face. “Sam, what is it?”
“Do you know where Bryden is?” he asks quickly.
“No. I got home about an hour ago. I haven’t seen her.”
“She didn’t show up at the day care to get Clara. She’s not home. I don’t know where she is.”
Clara begins to cry.
Now Angela looks concerned. She reaches out automatically for Clara and takes her in her arms.
“Clara, do you want to say hi to Savanah? She’s in the living room.” She puts her down and gives her a little pat on the bum to send her off. The two little girls are best friends; Clara and Bryden spend a lot of time with Angela and her daughter.
Once Clara is out of earshot, he doesn’t have to try to pretend that everything is okay.
“Her purse and phone are in the apartment, and her car is here,” Sam says. Angela glances at her watch. Sam knows it’s almost 6:30. “She was supposed to pick Clara up at five. Where the fuck can she be?”
“I don’t know,” Angela says, her voice low but tense. “Leave Clara with me for a bit. Text me when you find her, okay? Let me know what’s happening.” He can tell she’s trying to be calm for him, but she’s clearly worried.
“Okay. Thanks.” He hurries back to his own apartment and calls Bryden’s sister, Lizzie, who lives not far away, in the center of town.
“What?” Lizzie says, when he tells her that he doesn’t know where Bryden is.
“Have you heard from her today?” Sam asks.
“No, I haven’t. When was the last time you spoke to her?”
“This morning when I left for work. Her phone is here, and her purse, but she’s not here.” Anxiety has taken hold of him; he lets it infect his voice. He paces the apartment. In the dining room, while he’s talking to Lizzie, he picks up Bryden’s cell phone and scrolls quickly through it. He knows the password for her phone, and she knows his. He sees the messages and texts from the day care and from him—she hasn’t responded to any of them—but nothing to indicate where she might have gone. “What should I do?”
“Have you called Paige?” Lizzie asks. “Try her and call me right back.” She disconnects.
Sam calls Paige Mason, Bryden’s best friend; it goes to voicemail. He sends her a text:Is Bryden with you?But he doesn’t get an immediate answer. He calls Lizzie back.
“There’s no way she wouldn’t pick up Clara, unless something was really wrong,” Lizzie says uneasily.
Sam swallows. “I know.”
“I think you should call the police.”
“I’ll call them now.”
“Okay. I’m coming over.”
“Yes, please come,” Sam says.
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