He didn’t have the mental power to argue or process how much she overheard. “Fine. Good. Get in the car.”
He gripped the wheel until his knuckles ached, as they headed down the canyon. The roads weren’t icy—he had that to be grateful for—and it was only three, so traffic was light. What the hell had happened? Silence hummed in his ears, and a couple of times he swore he heard the opening notes of his ringtone. But it was his imagination.
It took what little self-control Andrew had left, not to press the gas pedal through the floor of the vehicle. Lucas had been gone for more than twelve hours. It was barely above freezing outside. If he wasn’t at a neighbor’s house or the school, and none of the local businesses had seen him, where was he?
Susan settled her hand on his leg, near the knee. The gentle touch sent an odd ribbon of calm to wrap around his tension, but didn’t stop it. “He’s okay. You’ll find him,” she said.
“Yeah. Of course.” He didn’t believe his reply. There was no way she bought it.
A million horrific scenarios tortured him, and he tried to shove them back with ideas about where Lucas might be. He’d have a better idea if he spent more time here. Fuck. Why hadn’t he spent more time with the boy? Where could Lucas be? Did he wander off and hide, or had he been snatched?
They arrived at Kandace’s, and the closest available parking spot was several houses down. Police cars lined the street, and neighbors and cops milled in and out of the house.
He wove through all of them, and the moment Kandace saw him, she gave him a huge hug. Lines marred her face. “I don’t know what to do,” she said.
“We’ll find him.” He rubbed her back before letting her go. “Where do you need us?”
She raked her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. People are roaming the streets.”
He could join them and be another useless body. It wasn’t as though he thought Lucas would answer to him if the boy was ignoring everyone else.
“Ma’am.” One of the officers interrupted. “We just got off the phone with the district. The bus driver says he was on the bus this morning. You’re sure no one at the school saw him?”
She shook her head. “That’s what they told me when they called.”
When I was little, and the sisters would rap my knuckles for things that weren’t my fault, like holes worn in the elbows of my uniform, I’d hide out there. The words slammed into Andrew’s head like a bullet, knocking aside everything else. He’d told Lucas that years ago, when they were talking about the school Lucas would go to. Please, Jesus, let it be this simple.
He grabbed Kandace’s arm. “I have an idea. I don’t know if it will pan out, but I’m going to look. The old nursery on Fifth, near Twenty-First.”
Kandace nodded. “Good luck.”
Susan followed him back to the car. He tossed her his phone before he pulled onto the street. “In case you need to call Kandace. Code is 80085.”
It couldn’t be this simple, but he had to check. As he navigated city streets and cursed every red light, Susan gave his knee another squeeze. “Only you and about every five-year-old on the planet would think that was funny.” Teasing mingled with her concerned tone.
Her comment drew a smile, despite his tension. She was talking about his passcode. “What can I say? I’m predictable.” Moments later, he turned into the lot behind a convenience store. Calling it paved would be an overstatement. Dead weeds jabbed through the cracks in the asphalt. Like it was twenty years ago. He didn’t wait to see if Susan followed. He hopped from the SUV, and picked his way over broken concrete blocks and torn pieces of fence, to the abandoned building next door.
Since he was here last, they’d boarded up the windows and padlocked the back door. He pried at each piece of plywood, his fingertips sore by the time he got to the last one. None of them gave. The chain on the door was rusted, but held when he rattled it.
No way in. He sighed and leaned back against the building. So much for that idea. They needed to get back to Kandace, but if she hadn’t called, she didn’t have any news.
“Andrew?” Susan called from around the corner. He kicked away from the filthy brick and moved to find her. She was kneeling next to a pile of crumbled wall. It was tough to make out details in the shadows and fading light, but it looked like a hole. “Hand me your phone again.” She held out her hand.
He switched on the flashlight and handed it over. She dropped to her stomach and shone the light around. With each passing second, he prayed a little harder, though he wasn’t sure what for.
“I’ll be right back.” She was crawling through the opening before he could ask for more details.
“Be careful,” he said.
Milliseconds passed, seeming to take centuries, before she yelled, “Get in here, now.”
“How?” The hole was too narrow for his shoulders, so that wasn’t an option.
She didn’t answer. A moment later, he heard her muffled voice. “Yes. I’m at an abandoned shop on Fifth east and about Twenty-Third south, behind the Exxon. I need an ambulance. Male. Unconscious. Ten. He’s breathing, yes.”
That spurred Andrew into action. He sprinted back to the SUV and tore the back apart until he found the spare tire. He grabbed the lug-nut wrench, grateful it had a crowbar wedge on the other side, and ran back to the shop. He’d pry off the plywood or break through it somehow. He didn’t care. He had to get in there.
* * * *