There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia

Author:Jade Adia [Adia, Jada]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2023-03-21T00:00:00+00:00

“Missing?! Like missing missing?” Marley frantically runs her hands over her curls.

“She’s gone. Disappeared. Nobody knows where she is, and her phone is off.”

“Who was the last person to see her?” I ask.

“Us.” Malachi sinks against the nearest telephone pole, gripping the back of his head. “When she got in that car sent by her client last night.”

Malachi’s mom’s voice rings in my head, reminding us to always stick together and make sure everyone gets home safely at the end of the night.

We let Zeke walk by himself, and he ended up seeing a dead body.

We let Camesha go home alone, and now she’s missing.

It really sucks when parents give good advice.

We fill in Zeke and Lou and run next door to Auntie Inga’s apartment. We take two steps at a time, bounding up to Auntie’s unit on the second floor. She opens the door before I have the chance to knock. “Come in, sweet ones.”

There are already five glasses of ginger lemonade waiting for us on the dining table. She knew that we’d be coming.

Malachi practically knocks over a chair in his rush to fold Lacy into his arms. She burrows her head into her little brother’s chest, smearing the mascara running down her cheeks onto his clean shirt. Normally Malachi would wince at the stain, but today, he simply bunches up the fabric and uses it to further wipe Lacy’s face.

Across the room, Zeke is the first to give Auntie a long, heavy hug. “How are you holding up?”

“I have faith that she’s okay, but right next to the faith is a pit in my stomach the size of Africa.” Her voice cracks as she repositions a rogue wave from her long, pale orange wig. Her Amy Winehouse–esque wingtip eyeliner frames her eyes, streaked red with the residue of sleeplessness.

“What do you know about that sugar daddy guy she’s been seeing?” I ask.

“Not much more than what you and anyone else with access to the local news knows,” she says.

“Camesha’s on the news?” Lou asks.

“No, of course not. The stations don’t give a fuck about a missing Black girl,” Lacy says.

I pause, perplexed. “So, then…the guy is on the news?”

“Haven’t you heard?” Auntie scans our faces for recognition, but we’re all lost. “They found the creep dead in the parking lot behind El Pollo Loco late last night.”

This is the part where the world starts spinning. “Camesha was dating Vic?!”

“I just threw up in my mouth a little bit,” Zeke winces.

“Wait, wait, wait, how did they even meet?!” Malachi blurts out.

Auntie sighs. “He owns this building, you know, so he’d come by occasionally. Maybe two years ago, I remember taking Camesha to go back-to-school shopping. When I finished locking the door, I turned around and saw him staring at her. I had a bad feeling about him from that moment. He asked for her name, and I made a point to say that we’re shopping for her high school supplies,” she groans. “I added Camesha to my lease once she turned eighteen, so I guess he got the memo that she was finally legal.

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