Page 29 of Did You See Evie

“We’ve had an incident,” I say, walking toward her.

“What kind of incident?” Melinda Terry approaches me next, panic in her voice.

Lynette Nichols stands beside her, clutching her chest. “Are the girls okay?”

“They’re fine,” I say, but am quickly ignored.

The girls exit the school building, each of them searching the parking lot for their loved ones. When Beth’s mother spots Beth, she can tell she’s been crying.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” she says, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

“It’s Evie,” Beth says between catching breaths. “No one can find her.”

“I’m sure there’s some kind of explanation,” Beth’s mother says, looking at me for answers.

That empty feeling in my stomach expands as I gear up for the speech I’ve been preparing.

“When we woke up early this morning, Evie was nowhere to be found,” I say. “No one seems to have seen her since last night. And she’s nowhere inside the building.”

“I don’t understand,” Melinda says, stepping forward. Amber stands beside her, her duffel bag over her shoulder. “Where could she have gone?”

“We don’t know,” I say, raising and dropping my hands. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

“The police are involved,” Lynette says, stating the obvious. We watch as uniformed officers approach some of the other girls and their parents. “You think someone might have taken her?”

“We’re exploring all options,” I say, hating the fact I sound like a politician dodging a question.

“How would someone get in the school?” Melinda says. “It’s a lock-in. Everyone is supposed to be kept safe.”

“You’re right,” I say, trying to acknowledge my faults. “Evie must have stepped away while we were sleeping.”

“How could you let this happen?” Lynette says, her voice reaching a startling pitch. She has her arms around Beatrice now, holding her close. “You were supposed to be watching them.”

“I was… I?—”

“Ladies, I understand how alarming this must be,” Mr. Lake says, putting his hand on my shoulder. “I can assure you we’re doing everything in our power to find out what happened. We’ve involved the police as an added precaution.”

Melinda grabs Amber’s hand, caressing the top of it with her thumb. “Nothing happened to the rest of the girls?”

“None of them have admitted to seeing anything,” he says. “Whatever happened likely took place while the girls were sleeping.”

“Is it possible she ran away?” Lynette Nichols asks.

“Evie could have decided to leave. We’re trying to contact her mother. Hopefully, this will all be sorted.”

Mr. Lake is only proposing this theory to appease the parents in the moment. All of Evie’s belongings were left behind, including her cell phone. If she’d run away, she would have at least taken that with her.

“Is there anything we can do?” Beth’s mother asks, looking back at me.

“Stick around a little bit longer. The police officers would like to make contact with all of you,” I say, repeating the orders they’d given us before the parents arrived. “And if you hear from Evie or know anything else, let someone know.”

The women pull their daughters closer and walk toward the school, in the direction of the officers. I can’t help wondering if they’re just trying to get away from me. Based on their tone alone, it sounds like Melinda Terry and Lynette Nichols already have out their pitchforks. Even Beth’s mother eyes me with suspicion, like she can’t believe something so horrible happened under my watch.

“This is a nightmare,” I say.

“Police say the surveillance tapes will be able to be restored,” he says. “It will take some time though.”

A small, selfish part inside me celebrates. For the time being no one will be able to see me going to the computer lab. Then I think of the larger repercussions. No one is able to see what happened to Evie. If she left, if she was taken, if she was harmed.

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