He hitched up his belt, his uniform stretched tight over his large belly. “Well, sure, but good to know it got itself fixed.” His eyes widened. “Raspberry filled. Those are new.”

The girl behind the counter boxed up my donuts and roll and tapped the keys on the register. I pulled cash from my wallet and handed it to her, and she gave me back my change and the box. I thanked her and she nodded without enthusiasm.

“Have you heard anything about Amanda Pendleton?” I asked, turning my attention back to Ted.

His eyes were still riveted on the case of sweets. “Oh, I’ve heard plenty about Miss Pendleton.”

“Any idea where she is?”

He shook his head. “Not as of yet. It’s all a little...muddled.”

“Muddled?”

He pointed at the case. “Lemme get two of them raspberry filled, two of the chocolate raised and two of the bear claws. And a big coffee, too.”

“Are you taking those back to the station to share?” I asked. “That’s nice of you.”

His fat cheeks flushed pink. “Oh, I probably should, shouldn’t I?” He motioned at the case with his stubby finger. “Can you just double everything for me, please?”

The girl nodded as she grabbed the wax paper and started pulling them all out.

Officer Ted took a deep breath. “Muddled because, well, she turned eighteen last month and that makes her an adult. And,” he lowered his voice and glanced around, “this all happened once before, too.”

“It did?” I raised my eyebrows. “You mean she disappeared?”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a worn billfold. “I probably shouldn’t talk about it,” he said, his voice trailing off.

The girl behind the counter set the pink box of donuts on the counter. “She ran away.”

I looked at her. “What?”

“Amanda,” she said. “She ran away.” Her nails tapped on the cash register. “My brother played hockey with her cousin’s ex-boyfriend’s next door neighbor. People talk.”

Apparently so.

Officer Ted handed her a twenty-dollar bill and looked at me. “She did, in fact, have a bit of a skirmish with her parents awhile back. Took off for a weekend. Found her at a family friend’s farm over in Wisconsin. Ended up not being a big deal, but...well, there’s a history, I guess you might say.”

“Is her family worried this time?” I asked.

The girl handed Officer Ted back his change and he dropped it all in the glass tip jar. “Well, sure. They aren’t quite sure what’s going on.” He fitted his cap back on top of his bald pate and nodded at the girl behind the register. “Thanks.”

She sat down on a wooden stool and picked up the paperback book she’d been reading before I got there. “Anytime.”

He pushed the door open for me and I stepped past him into the chilly morning air. The last of the leaves glowed golden in the early morning sun.

He let the door shut behind him before he said anything else. “Sorry. Didn’t want to say too much. She’s right. People talk in Moose River.”

“I know and I’m sorry,” I told him. “It’s not really any of my business anyway. It’s just been something we’ve been around this week because the girls are in the play with her.”

He waved his free hand in the air. “No, no. Wasn’t talking about you, Daisy. I knew why you were asking and that you aren’t one of the town criers. Didn’t mean to act like you were.”

“You didn’t.”

“Shoot, you’re almost an unofficial department employee at this point,” he said, smiling. “You’re solving stuff without us.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said, more embarrassed than flattered.

“Anyway,” he said. “Yes, her family is worried.”

“So it’s official then? She’s missing? And I’m only asking because I feel like no one’s been too concerned around the play, almost like it was no big deal.”

He rubbed at his chin, holding the pink box of donuts under his other arm. “Her family filed a report. There is some concern. But since she’s an adult and she’s done it before, I can’t say that it’s at the top of anyone’s list.” He made a face. “I mean, we haven’t seen evidence of anything bad and for all we know, she might be at that farm in Wisconsin right now.”

“So you aren’t looking for her?”

He shrugged. “I don’t wanna say we aren’t looking for her, but we’re a small department, you know? We can only do so much. Looking for someone who might just be tired of her family just doesn’t hit the top of the list, unfortunately.”

I understood that. They were a small department. Manpower was at a premium. But I’d think that if her family was really worried about her, they might be pressuring them to do more.

“I’d be freaking out if it were my daughter,” I admitted.

He chuckled. “I would, too, Daisy. They’re younger and don’t have a history. We’d approach that one a lot different.” He adjusted his cap. “Hopefully, she’ll turn up and we’ll learn it was all a big misunderstanding. That’s the best case scenario.”

“What’s the worst?” I asked.

He rubbed at his chin again and looked me square in the eye. “That she stays gone.”

FIFTEEN

“I have a crisis,” Brenda said.

I switched the phone to my other hand. I’d been home for a couple of hours and I’d made some significant progress on the play program, putting together two different designs Will had helped me with. The girls were both upstairs reading and Will had transitioned to working on a game app that he’d been fixated on for the last couple of weeks. I saw Brenda’s name pop up on my phone screen and was grateful for the temporary diversion.

Until she mentioned the crisis.

“Is this a real crisis or the kind of crisis that only feels like a crisis because you’re ready to tear your hair out?” I asked.

“Real,” she answered. “My house is a giant vomitorium.”

I made a face. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes! Four of five are puking their guts out,” she said. “I’ve got them all on different levels of the house and I’m sprinting up and down the stairs.”

Stomach viruses in large households were like wildfires. They spread quickly and took out everyone in their paths. We’d been there. I lived in fear of them when I heard they were circulating, washing my own hands obsessively and reminding the kids to keep their hands clean.

“And Johnny is at the corn maze all day.”

“What? I thought he hated corn mazes,” I said.

“He does.” She chuckled. “But it’s a work thing. Team-building or something. So who knows when I’ll see him again. If ever.”

A vision of Johnny racing frantically through a maze flashed in my head and I stifled a giggle. “What do you need?” I asked.

“Maddie is at cheer this afternoon,” she said. “Would you possibly be able to grab her and bring her home?”

I contemplated saying no. After all, I could be introducing deadly stomach virus germs into my own household. But my hesitation lasted all of two seconds. It was Brenda, and I couldn’t say no. “Yep, no problem,” I said, wondering if I somehow owned a hazmat suit I’d forgotten about. “What time?”

“She’s done in half an hour.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.”

Brenda breathed a sigh of relief. “I owe you.”

“No, you don’t,” I said. “But do not come out of your house or touch me when I drop her off.”

SIXTEEN

A woman started eyeing me as soon as I walked in the gym.

I’d closed up the computer after I hung up with Brenda, told the kids where I was headed and got to the gym about five minutes early. It was filled with loud music and shouting and teenage girls doing tumbling runs and sporting gigantic fake smiles while they moved. The smiles withered as soon as they finished whatever movement they were practicing.

I took a seat on one of the lower bleacher benches and immediately noticed a woman looking at me. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, the hair pulled so tight it looked like it hurt. She had on too much makeup, a tight red T-shirt with “FLY OR DIE!” emblazoned across the front and black spandex leggings. A whistle hung around her neck. She had the physique of those workout people you see on TV – all muscles and hard angles that don’t look entirely real.