Page 33 of Once Vanished
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
April stared at her open textbook, the words blurring before her eyes.Her highlighter hovered uselessly above a paragraph she’d read three times without absorbing a single word.From somewhere downstairs came the aggressive hum of the vacuum cleaner—Gabriela’s cleaning assault on the living room carpet.The familiar sound should have been comforting, a slice of normality in a world that had spun off its axis.Instead, it only underscored the wrongness of everything.Because Jilly should have been here, sprawled on the floor beside her, complaining about algebra and stealing April’s snacks.But Jilly was gone.
She tossed the highlighter onto the desk and rubbed her eyes.The clock on her nightstand read 11:27 a.m., which meant her mom and Bill had been gone for nearly fourteen hours straight.No updates, just the occasional text assuring her they were working the case.Working the case.As if her sister were just another folder in a filing cabinet somewhere.
The vacuum shut off abruptly, then silence.April could picture Gabriela down there now, scrubbing surfaces that were already spotless, trying to impose order on chaos.
Yesterday morning, they had all eaten breakfast together.Jilly had stolen the last piece of bacon right off April’s plate while April was reaching for the orange juice.
And now she was just...gone.
“Useless,” April muttered to herself, slamming the textbook shut.What was the point of Advanced European History when her sister was out there somewhere, scared or hurt or—
No.She wouldn’t let her thoughts go there.
She stood up and paced the length of her bedroom, her sock-feet quiet on the carpet.Her mother was out there doing everything possible to find Jilly.Bill was with her.The full resources of the FBI were deployed.There were officers stationed around their house, supposedly for protection.April knew her mother well enough to understand they were also there to keep an eye on her—to make sure she didn’t do something stupid.
Like what?Like trying to help find her own sister?
April paused at her window, staring out at the ordinary day.The sun shone as if nothing were wrong.A neighbor walked his dog past their house, glancing curiously at the police cruiser parked across the street.
Her phone buzzed on the desk.
Sighing, she reached for it, expecting another brief, uninformative text from her mother.
Unknown: Hi April.
She froze in place.No one else had this number.It was new—they’d all gotten new phones after the first threatening messages from Leo.Only family and a few close friends had this number.
A second buzz.
Unknown: Aren’t you talking to me, April?I thought we were friends.
Her hands trembled as she stared at the screen.Leo.It had to be.The thought of him having her new number made her feel violated.
She remembered what Jay Mathers had told them yesterday when he’d set up the new phones.“I’ve mirrored all your devices,” he’d explained.“Any communication coming in or going out will be captured in real time.If he makes contact, we’ll know immediately.”
Which meant Mathers was already seeing these texts.The FBI was tracking this conversation.She didn’t need to call anyone or raise an alarm.
But what should she do?Ignore him?Engage?
Another buzz before she could decide.
Unknown: I’m hurt by your silence.I was hoping for a little conversation.
April’s jaw clenched.Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard.What would her mother do in this situation?
She would try to get information.
April: Where is my sister?
The reply came instantly, as if he’d been waiting with his phone in hand.
Unknown: Ah, there you are.I was beginning to think you were ignoring me.How rude would that be?
April: Tell me where Jilly is.
Unknown: She’s safe.For now.She reminds me of you, you know.Same fighting spirit.Same defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.It’s admirable, really.