Page 12 of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
Tires squeal in the background. “Will do,” Cole replies. “Anything else?”
I turn to Ben. “Do you need a laptop? A tablet? Cole could grab one for you.”
Ben’s a white hat hacker, so he’s more than capable of online research himself. Although I don’t know if he’llwant to take the time to work on a computer when he could be searching downtown Sleepy Hollow instead.
For a moment, Ben looks conflicted. Then he shakes his head. “I can do almost everything on my phone. And I don’t want to wait to get a laptop from Cole.”
“Okay.” To Cole, I say, “I’m headed to the library with Cash and Ben. Ian and Kane just got here, so I’m thinking I’ll have them start canvassing downtown. See if anyone remembers seeing the women.”
The rumble of a car engine sounds in the background. “Sounds good,” Cole replies. “Once we get into town, me and Ry will do the same thing. If Kane and Ian start on the west end of Main, we can start at the east.”
Kane and Ian join our expanding huddle, both of them silent and watchful while I continue my call.
“What about the trackers?” Cole asks. “I didn’t get a chance to look yet. Is Shea wearing her earrings? Thea? Ari?”
“Not Ari or Thea. Shea’s wearing hers. Or—” My heart lurches. “She was. But when I checked the app, her location wasn’t showing up.”
Cole goes quiet for a second. Then he says, “Okay. That’s not ideal, but I can ask Leo to find her last pinged location. At least it’ll tell us if she made it to the library or—” He cuts himself off. “Anyway. I’ll talk to Leo and let you know as soon as I hear.”
“Okay.” I can’t bring myself to examine the alternative if Shea didn’t make it to the library. “I’m heading out. Stay in touch.”
“Will do.” He hesitates before adding in a gentler tone, “We’ll find her, Oliver. We won’t stop until we do.”
As I end the call, his words reverberate in my head.
We’ll find her.
We won’t stop until we do.
But.
What if it’s too late?
“What’s the deal?” Kane asks, now that my call is over. He lifts his chin. “What do you need me to do?”
“Same,” Ian adds. Determination darkens his gaze. “Just tell me what you need.” His attention moves to Cash and Ben. “Do you need help with the kids? Rose can bring them to our place if you want. She and Jess are at the Hop-less Horseman, waiting for updates.”
Kane nods. “We didn’t want to take the time to bring them home, but we didn’t want to leave them…”
The rest doesn’t need to be said. And I don’t blame them. If the positions were reversed, there’s no way I’d leave Shea on her own with three of her friends missing.
A knot twists in my chest.
If Shea were with me, and not missing…
Shit.
Where is she?
Is she scared?
Hurt?
Wondering where I am?
The knot expands until there’s no room for air in my chest.
Kane looks at me with obvious worry in his eyes. “Kingston. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out.”
