Missing Persons by McCoy Shirlee

Author:McCoy, Shirlee [McCoy, Shirlee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

soft sweater, scraping still-wet hair into a low ponytail and putting the baked goods in two bags. She carried those and her laptop out into the early morning. The rain had stopped, but moisture was thick in the air, the trees and grass shimmering with reflected sunlight. As Lauren rounded the side of the house, the door opened and Dee appeared, her dark suit emphasizing her slim figure, her hair pulled away from her perfectly made-up face. She smiled as she caught sight of Lauren, her eyes dancing with humor. “For someone who’s on vacation, you sure are up early.”

“Up? I never slept.” Lauren passed one of the bags to her sister. “I made some sweet bread.”

“With raisins?”

“And glaze. There’s oatmeal cookies in there, too.”

“Keep it up and I’ll be ten pounds heavier by the time you go home.” Dee peered into the bag, inhaling deeply.

“That’s why I packed it up and brought it out now. I figured you can bring it to work and share it.”

“Share? We’ll see.” Dee pulled open her car door and set the bag inside. “So, what kept you baking all night?

You’re still worried about what happened the other night?”

“Partly that. Partly other things.”

“Like?”

“The past. Seth mentioned some of the things that happened when we were at Magnolia College. Adam Kessler’s death. Scott’s.”

“That was ten years ago, Lauren. You can’t get yourself upset about it now.”

“I’m not. It just seems odd. So many things going wrong in such a short period of time.”

“Two things isn’t a lot.”

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Missing Persons

“Three, if you count the body buried beneath the sidewalk. Four, if you count Parker Buchanan’s accident.”

“I don’t. Each has nothing to do with the others.”

“Seth’s sister, Ellen, is missing, too. He hasn’t seen her for ten years.”

“Ellen was always a free spirit. Even when she lived at home she wasn’t there much. I can remember you coming home from the Chartrands’ saying how glad you were we didn’t have huge fights with our parents the way Ellen did with hers.”

“I know, but—”

“Lauren, you worry too much. Look up the stats for any university. I guarantee you’ll find a list of accidents and incidents that puts Magnolia College’s to shame. Things happen. Bad things. Good things. We saw a lot of both while we were in college. It was normal. Not sinister.”

“No? Well the phone call I got at two this morning was.”

“What phone call?” Dee’s eyes went dark with worry, and she rubbed a hand against the back of her neck.

“Someone wants me to go home and stop sticking my nose into other people’s business.”

“Did you call the police?”

“Not yet. I figured I’d contact them after the sun came up.”

“I wish you hadn’t waited.”

“There was nothing the police could do. It wasn’t like someone was trying to break down the door to get to me.”

“Still…” Dee closed the car door, her face pale beneath her makeup. “Maybe I’d better stay home and go to the police with you. First the vandalism, then that strange e-mail, now a threatening call.

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