Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
However, he could get its last known location.
I’ll take it.
Ben clicked on the locater mode and a map blossomed on the page with a red circle pointing to a location. Ben clicked on the icon and it gave him more details.
It was a gas station, a ViroClean Pacifica outlet yesterday afternoon, located on a boulevard near Kayla’s school. It was open twenty-four hours. Ben knew where it was and headed for the garage.
At this hour, few cars were on the street in this part of Cielo Valle.
Unsure of what he expected to find, Ben had no other choice but to check out the gas station where Kayla’s phone was last located.
He parked at the pump and gassed up, using the time to think. No other cars or customers were around. Crickets were chirping when he went inside to pay. The clerk at the counter had a wispy beard, looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing a navy ViroClean Pacifica golf shirt with a name tag that read Noah.
After paying, Ben said, “Hey, Noah, could you help me?”
“I dunno, can I? My powers are limited.”
“I think my daughter may have lost her cell phone here. Did someone find one?”
As Noah leaned back and looked under the counter, Ben saw the small bank of security monitors. Noah put a cardboard box on the counter with keys, paperbacks, vapes and a bracelet.
“Sorry. No phones.”
“What about those cameras? She was here yesterday afternoon between noon and six. Could you review them and let me see? Maybe she lost it near the pumps?”
Noah shook his head. “Sorry, sir. You gotta call corporate. I’ll give you a card.”
“Would you let me have a quick look for two hundred bucks?”
Noah smiled. “Show me the green.”
Ben paid him and Noah went to a keyboard. “You said yesterday afternoon?”
“Yes.” Ben craned his neck, eyeing the monitors from the counter as Noah cued up the time period. They watched vehicles come and go at the pumps in high speed before Ben recognized Emma’s SUV.
“Hold it—that’s my wife’s car.”
Ben got his phone out to record the footage as Noah rewound and replayed it in real time. Ben’s heart lifted. There was Kayla leaving to go to the bathroom, while Emma gassed up, then cleaned out the car. It looked like she was tossing magazines and newspapers into the trash before Kayla returned and they drove off.
“Keep it going,” Ben said, wanting another few minutes to record other vehicles.
Okay, they’re together and safe.
“Thank you, Noah.”
Walking back to his car, Ben stopped at the pumps and picked up the trash can Emma had used. He emptied the contents onto the pavement, felt a clunking just as the intercom clicked with Noah’s tin-voiced protest.
“Hey, dude, what the fuck?”