“Maybe she didn’t get that far yet,” Hakeem said. “Maybe she’s still close by. Why don’t we just drive around and take a look? We might see her in front of a hot dog stand or something. ”

“Yeah,” Tarah chimed in. “Maybe she never left the ’hood. Or even if she did take a bus downtown, maybe she lost her nerve after that. She could be sittin’ in the bus station right now. ”

“Come on,” Cooper said. “We can ride in my truck. ” They all piled in and Cooper drove slowly around the neighborhood, stopping where groups of kids gathered. Then they headed for downtown. The area around the bus station was crowded. There they found the usual mix of people, men in shabby clothes, a few military people, and some teenagers. But Jamee was not one of them.

Cooper parked, and they went into the bus station and looked at the people who sat waiting on benches. They did not find Jamee. Darcy did not really expect it would be that easy.

Down the street from the bus station, there was a group of teenagers gathered in front of a video store.

Darcy reached into her wallet. She pulled out a small photograph of Jamee that Mom had taken last year and walked over to them. Hakeem, Cooper, and Tarah followed her.

“We’re looking for my little sister. She disappeared yesterday, and no one knows where she is. Here’s her picture. Anybody seen her?” Darcy asked. The kids leaned in close to get a good look at the tiny photograph.

One boy with a shaved head studied the picture carefully. “Try looking down at the canyon,” he said. “Lotsa kids and runaways head down there at night. ”

“Thanks, man,” Hakeem said, as the boy walked away.

“The canyon?” Tarah asked, unable to hide the alarm in her voice.

Darcy had heard of such a place before, but only in news reports and rumors about drugs and crime.

“That place is no joke,” Cooper explained. “Let’s hope she ain’t there. ”

A cold breeze began to blow as they climbed back into Cooper’s truck and headed toward the canyon on the outskirts of the city. The sun was getting lower, and a thick line of clouds was beginning to crawl into the sky from the west. Darcy felt a sudden chill. She tried to convince herself that Jamee was somewhere warm and safe. But as the truck got farther and farther from the neighborhood, Darcy shuddered at the thought that her sister might be alone in the cold and darkening hills.

Chapter 9

“Your sister’s not gonna be in the canyon hangin’ with those losers,” Tarah scoffed. “They do drugs and fight and—”

“I just want to make sure,” Darcy said, swallowing hard.

Cooper drove into the park, and the four of them walked down toward the canyon, toward the murmur of voices and the smell of marijuana.