Annie didn’t know her name; they had not been introduced.

“Your daughter made her go.”

They stood in a mudroom on one side of a small ranch; a number of rubber slickers hung from coat pegs along one wall; the space held the pungent aroma of the sea. The woman remained in the inner doorway; she was dressed in sweatpants and a flannel shirt. With sandy brown hair that showed signs of gray, she looked around John’s age—late forties. Her eyes were large and dark, perhaps magnified by fear. Or anger.

John’s chest inflated. His stance stiffened.

Annie rested her hand on his back, hoping it might help diffuse his anger.

He exhaled only a little. “What did she say?”

“She left a note. They took off from school after lunch. They stopped here, then went on their way. Wherever that was. She said she’d be back by six. It’s now eight thirty.”

“Have you tried calling her?”

“Maggie does not have a phone. She’s only fourteen. She’ll get one at sixteen, not a minute sooner.”

Annie tried not to show surprise. Then she remembered that this was an island, where the crime rate was low and year-round people often knew one another. Everyone—kids included—was part of a larger community where people looked out for one another: the good, the bad, the in-between.

John didn’t mention that he’d tried calling Lucy but she hadn’t answered.

“Do you still have the note?”

“No.” She did not explain why or where she’d disposed of it. She only glared at him.

“Did she say anything else?”

“Only that she’d gone with Lucy to help one of Lucy’s friends. No offense, John, but your daughter is a bad influence on mine. Maggie was saving her babysitting money for school clothes. Lucy got her to use it for some ridiculous DNA test kit. As if my daughter doesn’t already know who her parents are. She lives with us.” Maggie’s mother’s large eyes narrowed, reducing to slits. “My husband might be a fisherman, and maybe he’s away too much. But make no mistake. We are a two-parent family. One of us always knows where our daughter is. Except tonight. Because she’s with Lucy Lyons. Who seems to have the run of the island. Because her father is a big-time cop.”

Annie flinched.

John rocked back on his heels, but his eyes remained steady on the woman. He lowered his voice and said, “I’m going to be the adult here and chalk up your rudeness to panic. Now, please. Did Maggie say anything else? Any clue about where they might have gone?”