Gwendy's Magic Feather

57

BACK HOME, GWENDY SLIDES the button box into the safe and pushes the heavy door shut behind it, listening for the audible click as the lock engages. Then she spins the dial, once, twice, three times, and gives the handle a good hard yank just to make sure. She’s almost to her bedroom when the doorbell rings.

Freezing in the hallway, she holds her breath, willing whomever it is to go away.

The doorbell rings again. A double-ring this time.

Gwendy, still dressed in the clothes she’d worn to the hospital earlier, pulls her cellphone out of her sweater pocket. She punches in 9-1-1 and hovers her finger over the SEND button. Creeping down the hallway, she eases into the foyer, careful not to make any noise, and peeks out the peephole.

The doorbell rings again—and she almost screams.

Stepping back, she unlocks the deadbolt and swings the door open.

“Jesus, Sheriff. You could have called before you—”

“Another girl’s gone missing. Right down the road from here.”

“What? When?”

“Call came in about an hour ago.” Sheriff Ridgewick reaches down to his belt and adjusts the volume on his radio. “The girl’s father said she was ice skating at the pond with friends. Some of the older kids had a bonfire going and maybe twenty-five or thirty people were there. Another parent was supposed to be watching her, but she got to talking with a neighbor, and you know how that goes. No one noticed the girl was missing until it was time to go.”

“Your men checked the ice?” Gwendy asks, knowing it’s a dumb question even before it leaves her mouth.

“We did,” he says, nodding. “But it’s been solid for at least six weeks now. No way she fell in.”

“So now what? You search the area—and what else?”

“I’ve got officers combing the surrounding woods and side streets. We also set up roadblocks in a couple of locations, but if whoever took her stuffed her in the trunk and started driving right away, they’re long gone by now. The rest of my people are knocking on doors up and down View Drive, asking folks if they’ve seen anything suspicious the past few days.”

Gwendy’s face drops. “I think you better come in, Sheriff.” She takes a step back to give him room. “I have something I need to tell you, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.”