Page 97 of The Devil's Hunt

"There's been an incident," Archer began, his words hanging heavy in the air.

“An incident? What kind of incident?”

“Maddie is missing.”

“Missing? What do you mean missing?”

“She isn’t on the property, and her phone was left here,” Kai responded.

“Okay, well, I’m sure she will find her way home. She always does. What’s different now?”

I looked at Theo and Kai, seeing the gravity of the situation mirrored in their expressions. Theo's usually jovial demeanor was replaced by a steely resolve, while Kai's hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked as I cycled my stare between the three of them.

They looked at each other, then settled their eyes on their feet.

The morning's tranquility shattered around us, and when he didn’t say anything else but instead glanced at the boys, a sinking feeling settled in my stomach.

"We think the man that Lacey went home with was Alexander Benson.”

“What? Are you sure? How did he get in?”

“We caught him on surveillance taking his mask off in his car,” Kai confirmed.

“I-I need to call her and make sure she’s okay.” I stumbled back to my end table and unplugged my phone. I had several textmessages from my father but nothing from Lacey. I checked the time.

Noon.

I hit her number, pressing the phone to my ear. It rang and rang.

No answer.

I called again. My heartbeat quickened with every passing second—every unanswered ring.

The phone continued to ring, each tone cutting through the tense air of the room like a sharp blade. My heart pounded in my chest, dread creeping its icy fingers down my spine. The sudden silence as the call went to voicemail only fueled my rising panic.

“Lacey, it’s me,” I started, my voice wavering slightly despite my attempts to sound calm. “Please, please call me back as soon as you get this. It’s urgent.”

I hung up and re-dialed her number, hoping beyond hope that she would answer this time. But once more, it went to voicemail.

“She’s not answering,” I said, turning wide-eyed to the boys. “Oh god, what if something happened to her?”

Archer stepped forward, his expression firm but his eyes betraying a hint of fear. “We don’t know if Benson is involved yet, but we can’t take any chances.”

“Wait, we share our locations with each other,” I gasped, scrolling through my apps until I found Life360. Tapping it, I waited for the GPS to refresh her location. When her picture showed up, I zoomed in until I could see exactly where she was.

St. Mary’s.

“It says she’s at St. Mary’s. Why would she be at St. Mary’s?”

“We’ll find her,” Kai said as he turned to leave.

“No. I’m going with you.”

“Why don’t you stay here? Let the boys go and get her,” Archer said.

“I’m not staying here and waiting to see if they find her. What if she’s passed out somewhere or hurt? I’m going.”

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