Despite herself, Whitney smiled. “It’s just that she’s been lying a lot lately. Sneaking around. And now I found out she’s taken some money out of her account.” Whitney bit her lip. “I honestly don’t know what to think. It looks like she even skipped swim practice, and she never misses that.”

“Swim practice? But she’s not on swim team this year.”

“What? Yes, she is.”

“Have you been to a meet?”

“She’s only had one and it was an away meet. She told me the first home meet isn’t for a few more weeks.”

“Well, that may be true, but Amelia’s not on the team this year.”

Stunned, Whitney stared at the wall. She thought back to the afternoons Amelia came home, hair wet from practice, dumping her swim bag by the door. To all the evenings when Whitney came home late from the warehouse, asking about practice, and Amelia replied that it went well.

“I don’t...I don’t understand. Are you sure?”

“One hundred percent,” he said. “I paid her team dues over the summer for this upcoming season, but then I was refunded. When I called to ask her about it, she said she decided not to join this year. Studies were hard and she was worried about getting behind in classes.”

“She never said anything to me. I thought she was getting good grades,” Whitney said, this entire conversation leaving her dazed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I assumed you knew. Amelia said you did.”

“I didn’t,” she mumbled. Her head spun. It didn’t make any sense.

“Well, she couldn’t keep it from you forever. You’d figure it out soon enough when she wasn’t competing in any of the meets.”

Whitney nodded, forgetting Dan couldn’t see her. She wondered when Amelia had planned to come clean. “Amelia loves swimming. What would make her quit the team?”

“Maybe she was telling the truth. Perhaps she is struggling in school and just didn’t want to tell you.”

“Maybe,” Whitney said aloud, but she didn’t think that was it. “But then, where has she been when she was supposed to be at practice?” She’d been so busy at work lately that she hadn’t tried to track her while at practice. Didn’t think there was a point, anyway. Now she wished she had.

“She did mention to me that she had a new group of friends.”

“Group? I only know of one new friend.”

“Oh.” Dan paused. “I thought she’d said ‘friends,’ plural, but maybe not.”

Natalie poked her head into the room, her eyebrows high, her eyes speaking to Whitney from across the room. She was familiar with that expression. Natalie had information.

“Look, Dan, I gotta go,” Whitney said, her gaze never leaving Natalie’s.

“Okay. Let me know when you find Amelia.”