a BOLO?”
“A ‘Be on the Lookout’ bulletin. That’ll get authorities to keep an eye out for her. We’ll get Pender County to check the Food Lion parking lot and contact the hospitals.”
“I already checked the Food Lion parking lot.”
“You did? When?”
“A while ago.”
“We’ll be checking it, too,” he said. “We’ll subpoena her phone records and put a tracer on her car, but most likely, she’s out with a friend and lost track of time and forgot to turn her cell on. By the time I get an officer back out here, she’ll be home safe and sound.”
“Right,” I said, trying to calm myself down. I was making a mountain out of a molehill.
I watched him get into his cruiser and drive out to the main road. Then I looked next to my car, to where her car should have been. Where her car always was. And I knew something was very, very wrong.
Chapter Seven
Andy
I WAS STILL IN BED WHEN MY CELL PHONE RANG. KIMMIE! I got out of bed quick and ran over to my desk to get my phone.
“Hi!” I said, probably too loud.
“You better be up,” she said.
“I’m up.” I smiled even though she couldn’t see me.
“Just checking.” She checked on me every morning. “Do you feel better today?”
I had to think. I almost forgot I was sick yesterday. “It was only a twenty-four-hour bug.” That’s what Mom called it. I felt pretty good now.
“I’ll text you later,” she said. “Or you can text me.”
“Okay!”
I hung up and went into the bathroom to take my shower. That was what the chart on my corkboard said for me to do first, but I didn’t need to look at it for every little thing anymore. I was getting smarter.
I met Kimmie at a Special Olympics party. We started out just friends. She was pretty, but not the kind of pretty of any other girl I knew. We danced at the party. Special Olympics people dance really good and are nice. We played games and ate cake and things. The next time I saw Kimmie was at a swim-team practice. She came with her mother and father to watch my friend Matt swim. Her mother was a white lady with yellow hair and her father had brown hair like mine. After swim practice me and Kimmie went in the corner and talked. I made sure to stand four shoe lengths away, which was hard because I had bare feet. And she kept moving closer to me. I didn’t care, though.
“How come you’re America Africa and your parents are white?” I asked her.
“I’m adopted,” she said. “My birth mother is black and I don’t know about my birth father, except they think he was probably part Caucasian and part Japanese or maybe Indian.”
“What does birth mother mean?”
“The woman who gave birth to me. You know, had me. Like your mother had you.” She pointed to Mom, who was talking to my coach.
“Who’s that lady, then?” I pointed to her mother.
“She’s my adoptive mother,” she said. “And the man is my adoptive father.”
“You’re complicated!” I smiled to let her know that wasn’t a bad thing.
“I know.” She smiled back at me.
I knew a lot about Indians. Like she shouldn’t really have said Indian. She should have said “Native American.” “Is your Indian part Cherokee?” I asked.
“No,” she said. “Indian. Like from the country India. But they don’t really know exactly where my birth father was from. I just am who I am.”
“I am who I am, too,” I said.
“I think you’re cute,” she said.
I got an instant hard-on. That happened sometimes. I wrapped my towel over my bathing suit so Kimmie couldn’t see how it poked up. I started thinking maybe I didn’t like her as just a friend anymore.
Now, she’s almost the only thing I think about.
After I got all ready, I went downstairs. I hoped Maggie was up. I was so happy she was home!
When I got to the bottom stair, I saw Mom talking to a policeman in the family room. No, no, no! Not again! I didn’t know if I should run back upstairs or what to do. It was like this: first I was a hero, then I wasn’t a hero, then I was a hero again. Sometimes I couldn’t remember which I really was. That’s why I freaked. I decided to sneak into the kitchen so I could get cereal, but Mom saw me.
“Andy, come here, sweetie.”
I didn’t want to turn around. I stayed where I was, looking at the kitchen door.
“It’s okay, Andy,” Mom said. “Remember Officer Cates? He just wants to ask you a few questions about Miss Sara.”
I turned around real slow. I recognized him. He was nice. But I answered three hundred questions after the fire. I knew over a whole year had went by, but I was tired of questions. “I don’t know anything,” I said.
“Hi, Andy,” Officer Cates said. I all of a sudden remembered his first name was Flip. Funny.
“Come sit down,” Mom said.
Her voice told me I had to do it. I sat down on the couch near her. She put her hand on my forehead.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“He had a stomach virus yesterday,” she said to Officer Cates, who made an icky face. “Do you want to stay home again today?” Mom asked me. “It might be good to take it easy.”
“I’m okay,” I said. “Is Maggie up yet?”
“Not yet,” she said. “Listen, Andy. I’m very worried. No one’s seen Miss Sara since she left while she was watching you yesterday.”
“Maybe Keith saw her,” I said.
“No, he hasn’t,” Mom said.
“Can you help me out, Andy?” Officer Cates asked. He had a pad and a pen. Police always had them.
“I don’t want to go to jail,” I said. Jail had a little room with a window in the door and mean boys. I would never forget it.
“You won’t be going to jail,” Mom said. “This has nothing to do with you.”
She didn’t think I was going to jail that other time either.
“Tell
