Page 155 of Sunkissed Colorado
But her mom said they hadn’t seen her. I tried Rosie next.While I was on the line with Rosie, Russ lowered his phone, shaking his head. So Winnie hadn’t picked up either.
“What’s going on, Callum?” Rosie asked. “What do you mean, you can’t find her?”
“Exactly what I said. But I’m looking. Let me know right away if you hear from her.” I hung up, not wanting to waste another second.
I had to be out there driving. Searching for her.
But if they’d been in a car accident, we would’ve heard sirens. Hell, I would’ve seen them on my drive here unless Winnie and Z had driven somewhere else.
“If Zandra calls or shows up here, tell me,” I said to Russ.
“Okay, but?—”
“Call the county dispatcher. See if anyone’s reported an accident.” Another sickening thought occurred to me. “And make sure Ian Vanderwall is still in the county jail.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I can do that. Where are you going?”
“To find her.” Rushing out to my truck, I gunned the engine. When I called Zandra again, it went straight to voicemail, and the sound of her recorded voice made the vise around my chest ratchet even tighter.
Z, where are you?
FORTY-TWO
Zandra
“How wouldyou know Jessa dropped her phone in the water?” I’d asked.
Winnie’s eyes were frozen on the creek. “I don’t know. Just…someone must’ve told me that.”
“Ididn’t even know where her phone went. The police never found it.”
“I just guessed.”
She’s lying, I thought, out of nowhere. But the voice in my head hadn’t sounded like mine. It had sounded likeJessa’svoice.
I flashed back to that night yet again, and this time, the truthfinallyslotted into place.
The voices I’d heard. A sound Jessa had made, difficult to make out over the noise of the creek that night. But now I heard it again.Echoes. Twisting into something new and terrible.
That night sixteen years ago, Jessa had said the name,Winnie.
“Were you there that night? At the creek?”
Winnie didn’t say a word. Maybe she was trying to decide whether to deny it or make some excuse. Another lie. Part of me wanted her to tell me something,anything, to explain away what I’d just remembered. To make it not true.
But itwasthe truth. Neither of us could make it go away. Not now.
“Jessa said your name,” I accused. “Youwere there. I know you were.”
Her chin dipped, like she was looking at the ground. “Then why’d you ask?”
“Because I’m trying to understand this! How were you there?Why?”
Her mouth opened. Shut. Opened again. Her blond hair blew around her face in a sudden gust of chilly wind.
“Just tell me,” I demanded.
“Fine! I was there, okay? I was there, but I didn’t mean for any of it to happen.”
