Page 14 of Peak Suspicion
“But what?” Mira asked.
Shayla groaned. “My family. They’re kind of snobs. They aren’t impressed unless someone has a string of degrees after their name. And he’s white. They would never say anything, but I know that would bother them, too. But it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t think it matters to him, either.”
“Why don’t you go out with him and see where things go from there?” Mira asked. “You might find out he has horrible table manners or something like that that turns you off.”
“I doubt that.” Shayla’s smile was dreamy. “We sat together at lunch once and I didn’t notice anything off-putting about his table manners. And he’s so kind and patient. Did you know he takes care of his elderly father? I mean, he supports his dad and they live together. Mitch said his dad made some bad decisions when he was younger so that he needs Mitch’s help now. But Mitch never talks like he resents it or anything. That says so much about his character, don’t you think?”
“It does,” Mira said. “So the next time you think he’s about to ask you out, let him. And say yes.”
Her smile faded. “I’ve probably already scared him off.”
“Then you ask him out,” Mira said.
Shayla laughed. “Maybe I will.”
A knock on the door made them both start. “Come in,” Mira called.
Mitch Anders opened the door. “There you are,” he said to Shayla. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Shayla smoothed a hand over her hair. “What can I do for you, Mitch?” she asked.
He glanced at Mira. “I just heard a boy has been kidnapped.”
“What?” Mira stared, trying to organize her frantic thoughts. “Who was kidnapped?”
“Bryce Atkinson. Molly Atkinson’s youngest boy.”
“Oh my gosh!” Shayla gripped the edge of the desk with both hands. “His sister, Ariana, is a sophomore.”
The image of the slight strawberry blonde flashed in Mira’s mind. “Ariana Atkinson is in my Spanish I class,” she said. “How old is Bryce?”
“I don’t know,” Mitch said. “My dad called with the news, but he didn’t have a lot of details. He said the sheriff has called search and rescue to help look for him.”
“How did your dad know about this?” Mira asked.
“He has a police scanner he listens to all the time.” Mitch grimaced. “He can tell you everything going on in this town.”
“Bryce is eleven, I think,” Shayla said. “But he looks younger. He’s small for his age. A sweet kid. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“What else did your dad tell you?” Mira asked Mitch.
“Dad said the boy was walking home from school, like he does every day, with his friend Max Eckert. Max went into the coffee shop to buy a snack. Bryce waited outside and somebody must have grabbed him. Pamela Jenkins was coming out of the bank two blocks down and she saw a white SUV stop. She heard a yelp, and the car sped off. When Max came out of the coffee shop, Bryce was nowhere to be seen.”
“Your dad heard all of that on the police scanner?” Mira asked.
Mitch shook his head. “Not exactly. But our neighbor is one of the 911 dispatchers, so he walked over and talked to her. She called a friend, who it turned out had talked to Pamela, and she passed on the details to my dad.”
How much had the story changed during this game of telephone? Mira wondered.
“I just checked the local Facebook page and it’s on there, too.” Shayla looked up from her phone.
Mira’s stomach churned. This was worse than when David had disappeared. Back then, when they first heard the boy was missing, everyone assumed he had stopped to play and lost track of time. Or maybe he’d even run away. They didn’t have the experience to believe he’d been abducted and murdered.
“His poor family,” Shayla said.
“You say search and rescue is looking for him?” Mira asked.
“Yes.” Shayla studied her phone again. “Someone else posted about seeing a boy running away from the highway up by Galloway Basin. The description of the boy sounded like Bryce, so I guess the sheriff sent search and rescue up there to check it out.”
