Suspicions (3 page)

“Hear anything about what?” Patricia asked,
watching Jason go into the house.

“My neighbor's son hasn't come home from
school.”

“Oh. Well, I'm sure he'll turn up. Kids are
always running off, aren't they?”

“Yeah, I guess they are.” Stacey wondered how
Patricia would have a clue about children since she didn't have any
of her own. She glanced toward Amanda's house then over to
Patricia. “I really have to get back there. What was it you
needed?”

“I was in the neighborhood and I wanted to
stop by and talk to you about your sales. How are they going?”

“Sales have been great. In fact I have a
party tonight,” Stacey said, trying to end the conversation as
quickly as possible. Besides wanting to get back to Amanda's house,
Stacey's director made her feel uncomfortable. Next to Patricia's
fabulous wardrobe and polished appearance, Stacey felt plain in her
jeans and t-shirt.

“I'm glad to hear it,” Patricia said. “We
also need to have one of our lunches soon, okay?”

“Sure, just give me a call,” Stacey said,
heading across the street.

Stacey paused on Amanda's porch, watching
Patricia climb into her bright red car. Stacey waited for her to
start the engine. She could see her applying lipstick and touching
up her hair. Finally, she turned on the car and backed out of the
Hunters' driveway. She waved to Stacey as she drove off.

The unnatural silence of Amanda's house
struck Stacey as she re-entered. Usually when she and Robby came
over the boys took over the place. They would throw a ball around,
running up and down the stairs until Amanda made them go play
outside. She pushed the thought away and went into the kitchen
where she found Amanda staring at the phone in her hand.

“Did they find Mark?”

Amanda shook her head. “They said he must
have left already. I think it's time to call the police.

Stacey nodded, her mind beginning to confront
the unthinkable. She looked around at the bright, sunny room as
Amanda told someone on the other end of the phone her child was
missing.

Still not wanting to believe what was
happening, Stacey tried to block out the conversation by
concentrating on Amanda's decor.

Two walls were painted a soft shade of
yellow, the other two were papered in a small floral print and a
lace valance hung over the large window above the sink. The bay
window in the breakfast nook looked out onto a dark green lawn
trimmed by camellia bushes.

It was hard to imagine anything bad happening
to a family who lived in such a beautiful home.

As she continued to focus on the decor,
Stacey thought about her own home. This lovely room was a sharp
contrast to the controlled chaos of her kitchen. Her counters were
usually cluttered with school papers and leftover breakfast dishes,
old newspapers and library books. Her walls were plain white,
accented with sticky fingerprints. And her backyard had several
brown spots with plenty of weeds to go with them.

At the thought of her home, relief washed
over her that her own children were safe.

Amanda turned to her. “The police are on
their way over.” Sadness and worry were etched in her eyes as she
hung up the phone. “I'm going upstairs to freshen up before they
get here. I must look terrible.”

“You just look like someone who's worried
about her son.” Stacey's earlier relief was replaced by guilt. Why
are my children safe while Amanda's child is missing? Pushing that
thought aside, Stacey walked into the living room and glanced
around. The scent of lemon oil lingered in the air.

Amanda's cleaning lady must have been here
today, Stacey thought. That gives her one less thing to worry
about.

Vacuum tracks crisscrossed the carpet and the
furniture sparkled. Soft white fabric covered the sofa and plump
pillows were tucked into each end. The last rays of the afternoon
sun streamed in through the large windows.

Gazing at the beautiful front yard, Stacey
thought about the sizable inheritance Amanda had received when her
parents died. Being an only child, Amanda had received her parents'
entire estate.

Her thoughts were sharply cut off when a
police car pulled up in front of the house and two men stepped out.
The driver appeared to be in his forties and had thinning gray
hair. He had to hike up his pants to keep his stomach from spilling
over the front of his uniform. The other man looked younger, and
Stacey couldn't help but admire his athletic build.

Amanda came down the stairs as the doorbell
rang. Though her eyes were still red, she had washed her face and
tucked a few loose hairs back into her braid. Giving her a
reassuring hug, Stacey stepped back as Amanda opened the door.

“Hello, ma'am. I'm Officer Williams,” the
older one said, addressing Amanda. “This is my partner, Officer
Jurgen.”

Amanda held out her hand, automatically
introducing Stacey to the officers.

“We understand your son didn't come home from
school today,” Williams said.

Amanda nodded. “I'm very worried. I checked
with all of his friends and no one has seen him.”

“Is your husband home?” Jurgen asked.

“No, I haven't been able to find him,” she
said, clearly frustrated. Then she put on her hostess face. “Won't
you please come in?”

Following her into the living room, Officer
Jurgen walked over to a group of photos arranged on a side
table.

“Is this your son, ma'am?” He held a picture
of an eight-year-old boy with blond hair, blue eyes, a sprinkling
of freckles, and missing front teeth.

“Yes, that’s Kyle. That’s his school picture
from this year,” Amanda said, obviously trying to control her
emotions.

Officer Williams spoke to Amanda as he pulled
out a pad of paper and a pencil. “When did you see him last?”

“I dropped him off at school at eight o'clock
this morning. Then I worked in the school library for a while like
I usually do.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I didn't stop by his
classroom to look in on him on my way out like I normally do
because I was in a hurry.”

Everyone waited until Amanda got herself
under control. “His teacher told me she sent him home at three
forty-five this afternoon. You see, he stayed after to help with
some things in the classroom. But I didn't realize he would be
walking home by himself.”

“What do you mean?” Williams asked, looking
up from the notes he was taking.

“He usually walks home with Stacey's son,
Robby.” She pointed to Stacey sitting on the couch.

“But he didn't walk home with him today?”
Williams asked.

“Apparently not,” Amanda said.

“Why is that?” Williams asked, turning to
Stacey.

“Robby was grounded today,” Stacey began,
feeling worse by the minute for the part she had unwittingly played
in the situation. “He wasn't allowed to stay after and help. He
came straight home from school.”

“Have you asked your son when he last saw
Kyle?” Williams asked.

“Yes, of course. He didn't know
anything.”

“We'd like to ask him ourselves,” Williams
said, making a note on his pad.

Stacey nodded, although she was certain if
Robby knew anything he would have told her already.

He turned back to Amanda. “Mrs. Stone, who
else knew he was staying after school today?”

“As far as I know, just his father,” she
answered, a quiver in her voice.

“How long does it usually take Kyle to walk
home from school?”

She furrowed her brow as she made some quick
calculations. “It depends. When he's with his friends it might take
him ten minutes or so. But when he walks home by himself, he
sometimes takes longer.” Tears pooled in her blue eyes. “He once
told me he likes to explore when he's by himself.”

“Has he stayed to help his teacher
before?”

Amanda nodded with certainty. “Yes. Twice
before.”

“And what time did he get home on those
occasions?”

“Never past four fifteen.”

The front door opened and everyone turned to
see Mark Stone standing in the entry, one hand resting on the
doorknob as he looked at the group gathered in the room. “What's
going on? Why are the police here?”

“Kyle hasn't come home from school yet,
Mark.” Her tone became reproving. “I've been trying to get a hold
of you. Where have you been?”

He stepped closer to the living room without
actually entering. “Kyle didn’t come home? How is that possible?”
Looking directly at Amanda he asked, “How could you allow this to
happen?”

Williams spoke calmly. “Mr. Stone, if you
would sit down, we need to have some questions answered.”

Clearly upset, Mark said, “I don’t have time
to answer questions right now. I need to find my son.”

“Please, Mr. Stone,” Williams said. “Can you
tell us what time you left your employer today?”

Mark look at them with incredulity. “My son
is missing and you want to know what time I got off work?”

“And where you went after that,” Williams
replied.

“This is ridiculous!” Mark nearly yelled and
focused his attention back on Amanda. “Where have you looked for
him so far?”

All eyes swiveled back in Amanda’s direction.
Amanda appeared mortified by Mark’s outburst.

“Stacey and I looked in the orchard,” she
said evenly. “And I’ve called all his friends.”

“He could be wandering the streets right
now,” Mark said, grabbing a jacket from the hall closet. “I’m going
to look for him.”

No one spoke as Mark walked out the front
door.

“Mrs. Stone, can we take this picture of Kyle
with us?” Jurgen asked, breaking the silence.

“What? Oh, of course,” she said, looking away
from where Mark had run out. Her face had gone pale and she was
twisting her wedding ring on her finger.

The officers stood up. “We'll do what we can,
Mrs. Stone. And I'd like you put together a list of everyone Kyle
knows.”

“Yes. I'll do that right away,” Amanda said.
“And then I'd like to go out and look for Kyle, too.”

“It would be best if you stayed here in case
he comes home.”

“I don't understand,” Amanda said, panic
edging her voice. “You'll allow my husband to go out looking but
you want me to stay here?”

“One of you needs to stay here, ma’am,”
Williams said, as he and Jurgen stood and walked to the front
door.

Amanda watched as the officers walked to
their car. Williams picked up his radio and began speaking. Amanda
turned to Stacey. “How do you like that? They hardly even talked to
Mark and they won't let me go out looking for Kyle.”

“Let me fix you something to eat,” Stacey
said, trying to calm Amanda. “That way if you do go out, you’ll at
least have some energy.” Stacey led the way into the kitchen and
Amanda followed without comment.

Amanda spoke softly, almost to herself. “I
can’t believe he blames me for this.”

Stacey glanced at Amanda. She’d been thinking
the same thing. “He’s probably just upset. I’m sure he didn’t mean
it that way.”

“You don’t have to make excuses for him,
Stacey. You don’t know him like I do.”

“What do you mean?” Stacey asked.

With pleading in her eyes, Amanda said,
“Please keep this between the two of us.”

“Of course,” Stacey said, her brows pulled
together in concern.

“We’ve had some . . . issues in our marriage.
I’d thought we’d worked them out, but I can tell something’s been
bothering him for a while now and he won’t tell me what it is.”

“What makes you think that something has been
bothering him?” Stacey asked, wondering what issues they’d had, but
not wanting to pry.

“For one thing, he's never home anymore. He
always seems to have an excuse. It's usually a teacher's meeting or
papers that need to be graded or going to that health club - you
know, the one I gave you the free pass to?”

Stacey nodded.

“He's gone nearly every night, like he
doesn't want to spend time at home anymore.”

“I’m sure things will get better,” Stacey
said, trying to draw Amanda out of her despair.

“I hope you’re right, but I’m not as sure as
you are.” Amanda stared at her wedding ring for a minute. “We were
in counseling last year for a while. Maybe we need to start back.”
She looked at Stacey with tears in her eyes. “But none of that is
important now. Not with Kyle missing.”

Stacey’s eyes stung with her own tears and
she placed a comforting hand on Amanda’s back. “We’ll find
him.”

Stacey stayed with Amanda until Mark came
home.

“The police have been searching the
neighborhood,” he said. “But they haven’t turned up anything.”

When she headed home a short time later,
Stacey glanced up and down the street, wondering where Kyle could
be. She thought about Kyle and what a friendly little boy he was.
Her chest tightened as she pictured Kyle’s sweet little face. She
didn’t know what she would do if Robby didn’t come home from
school. She remembered Robby’s odd reaction when she had asked him
if he knew where Kyle was. Was it possible he knew more than he was
telling?

All was quiet when Stacey entered her house.
Pleased to find that Jason had put the children to bed, Stacey
walked down the hall to her bedroom and thought about all that had
happened that day. Imagining what it would be like to have a
missing child, Stacey felt a sharp pain in her chest as she
pictured the faces of her children.

What must Amanda be going through? It's a
mother's worst fear being realized, she reflected. How would I
handle it if it happened to me? Thank goodness I have Jason to lean
on.

She had always considered Jason the strong
one in their marriage. Like the time her father had been seriously
ill. She had been so upset but she didn't want to go visit him in
that place. Jason had made her go and she had been grateful to him
because her father had died soon after.