“He has a talent for breaking and entering. Check while I look in the garage.” No way was she going in the house with him. She made her way to the garage, but as she stepped inside, she was flooded with memories of the afternoon they’d made such kinky love here. She couldn’t imagine ever being so uninhibited again.

She searched the interior of the garage, then went outside to check the area around the woodpile. The longer Toby went missing, the more anxious she became. In so many ways, Toby was her doppelgänger. She knew what it was like to be a kid who felt alone in the world, and she knew how dangerous that kind of desperation could be.

Panda emerged from the house. “It’s clear inside.”

“Maybe the boathouse.”

But that, too, proved fruitless. They split up to circle the yard and the woods nearby. Lucy had tucked her cell in her pocket, and she called Bree, but the agitation in her friend’s voice told her nothing had changed.

“What if he went to the beach?” Bree said. “Anything could have happened. The thugs who vandalized the farm stand—Maybe he ran into them. I called the police back, but they won’t do anything till morning. Why did he have to make things worse? That’s all he’s done, right from the beginning, is make things worse.”

Panda came up behind Lucy. “Ask her if his bike is still there.”

Lucy did.

“Hold on,” Bree said. “Mike’s beeping in. I’ll call you right back.”

Lucy’s phone rang again within minutes. “Toby’s bike is gone. Mike’s out on the highway, but so far he hasn’t seen anything.”

Lucy relayed the information.

Panda took the phone from her, every inch the cop. “Bree, it’s Patrick Shade. Can I have Mike’s cell number?”

Lucy looked frantically around for something to write with, but Panda didn’t seem to need pen or paper. “Got it. Is there any particular place Toby tends to go when he’s upset?”

He listened and nodded. “Okay. What was he wearing?” He listened again. “Go to his room and look around. See if he took anything with him. A backpack? Clothes? Anything at all. Call me back when you’re done.”

“He’s going to be fine,” Lucy said to herself as he disconnected. “I know he’s fine.”

Panda was already talking to Mike. “Toby has his bike. Where are you now? All right … Check the south beach, and then stop here and we’ll work out what to do next.”

Lucy tried to imagine where she’d have gone if she were Toby. Even though he’d grown up on the island, she couldn’t imagine him huddling in the woods all night. He’d look for someplace where he’d be alone but where he’d also feel safe.