Because of a Girl by Janice Kay Johnson Page B

than graciously, plunking down a mug on the side table next to him. She brought Meg hers, then stood there looking stubborn.
    â€œI’d like you to hear this, too, Emily,” he said.
    She reached out and grabbed Meg’s hand. They held on tight. He’d lied when he said he didn’t have anything new. His expression right now had her pulse picking up again.
    He looked at Emily. “Please be honest with me. Have you heard anything at all from Sabra since Friday morning? Phone message, text, a secondhand message?”
    She shook her head vehemently. “I’ve been calling and calling, but her phone’s off.”
    â€œIt’s not just off, Emily.” His deep voice was gentle. “I’m guessing it’s been destroyed.”
    â€œYou mean, like, she dropped it or something?” Emily didn’t sound as if even she believed it had been a simple accident.
    â€œIt’s possible.” There was the unexpected kindness again. His chocolate-brown eyes met Meg’s briefly. “If she dropped it on the street, a car could have run over it. If it went in the lake, that wouldn’t be good for anything electronic. Who knows? I’m finding it worrisome, though. I’d think she would want to stay connected.”
    â€œEmily was just telling me that Sabra never turned her phone off,” Meg heard herself say.
    â€œMost kids don’t.”
    â€œAren’t you looking for her?” Emily burst out.
    â€œI am, in a roundabout way. I can’t search physically until I have some idea where to look.” He sounded as if he had all the time in the world to answer her questions. “I’ve been talking to students, teachers, Sabra’s mom. I even talked to her little sister today.”
    â€œSabra really missed Bryony,” Emily said.
    Meg hadn’t known that.
    â€œI was hoping Sabra had told her things she hadn’t told anyone else, but it seems not,” he said. “This is a puzzle to me, because I’m getting the feeling Sabra was usually...” He seemed to be searching for the right word. “Outgoing. Open with her emotions.” More slowly, his gaze keen on Emily’s face, he said, “Maybe even had trouble hiding what she was thinking or feeling.”
    For a moment, Emily stood silent, her forehead crinkling as if she didn’t get what he was saying. Then she dropped her mother’s hand, a glare that could have started a grass fire aimed at him. “You think I know who he is, don’t you? That Sabra couldn’t keep it to herself. Well, you’re wrong. Okay? She didn’t tell me!”
    Tears already brimming in her eyes, she raced from the living room and tore up the stairs as impetuously as Sabra had the last time Meg tried to get her to see sense.
    After a discernible pause, the detective said, “Well, that went well.”
    Meg’s laugh broke. “But oh, so familiar.”
    â€œShe does that when you talk to her, too, huh?”
    â€œWe’ve always been so close. Then, this last year, she jumps on anything I say.” She backtracked. “No, that isn’t true. I get glimpses of the Emily I know, but the next second she’ll be yelling at me because I treat her like a little kid. I never wanted to be the kind of parent who—” She made a face. “Sorry. You don’t need to hear this. You’re here about Sabra, not—”
    â€œI don’t mind.” His expression was kind...no, more. It was...she couldn’t quite decide, but it sent her pulse thrumming for a different reason. “I’m pretty good at listening.”
    Because it was his job, she reminded herself, trying to resist the tug of this unfamiliar attraction. She bet he was really good at getting people to spill their worries and, yes, secrets.
    Even so, she started talking, because he was here and offering. “She’s always accusing me of lying to her. Just lately,