“Sorry.” She apologizes to a bewildered mother who gives her a hostile stare. A leaf detaches and brushes her shoulder. The crunch is satisfying under her shoe. She can’t wait to attend the fall festivals with Savi. Halloween is her daughter’s favorite—the whole season, in fact. Carving pumpkins, dressing up, finding spooky activities—it’s all part of the package as Savi’s mom. She’s been told that Elmhurst allows kids to run lawless through the streets. Neighbors transform their homes into makeshift haunted houses. Crystal appreciates the trustworthy nature of this town, but there’s no way in hell she’d ever leave Savi alone to run through the neighborhood without her.

At the playground, she searches for Bec. Not here. She glances around for any familiar faces and sees a few women on the park benches. She hesitates. She doesn’t want to seem creepy, but she’s also just curious about her friend. Rebecca comes here almost every day. Surely, someone has seen her.

She takes a deep breath, feeling like a new kid at school, and approaches. “Hi.” She offers a wave.

Two moms stop their conversation and look up. One bounces an infant on her knee and wipes his face with a wet wipe.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I was just wondering if either of you know Rebecca Gray?”

They look at her blankly.

“She’s … blind.” Her face heats at the admission, as though she’s exposing her disability for some sort of benefit.

The woman smacks her friend on the arm. “That’s her. That’s who everyone’s talking about.”

Fear detonates like a bomb. “What do you mean?”

“Here.” The other one reaches into a bag at her feet. A few bracelets slide down her wrist. She extracts a folded flyer and presses it into her hands. “These were being handed out yesterday. I also heard some other rumors, but you know how people talk.”

Crystal slowly unfolds the paper. Jackson’s face stares back with the title: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?

“Holy shit.” Crystal’s heart beats so fast, it clogs her ears with sound. She scans the flyer. There’s not much information. Just facts about Jackson and when he was last seen. She lowers it. Is this a joke?

She thumbs back through their texts. There’s no way this can be real. Rebecca would have called her. She wouldn’t be so flippant in her texts. She wonders if this is a prank someone is playing on her. Maybe Rebecca got wind of it and is furious, embarrassed, or ashamed.

She interrupts the women on the bench, already deep in another conversation. “Sorry, but where did you get this?”

“At the parade yesterday. Two ladies were handing them out.”

“I thought it was for free yoga.” Her friend snorts.

“Has he been found?”