***
Rachel lifted the lid on a big trash can halfway down an alley. The smell of rotting garbage made her stomach heave. “She’s not here.”
Tess looked behind a pile of old wooden pallets. She pushed her hat out of her eyes and frowned at Rachel. “If you were eight years old, where would you go?”
Rachel looked down the alley. “I wouldn’t go here, that’s for sure. I don’t understand why she went into the café when she wanted to go to the craft store.”
“What time did Bella jump out of Tank’s SUV?”
Rachel wiped her hands on the side of her jacket. “At about half-past one. Why?”
“I’m trying to work out if there was another reason why she would have come into the café.”
“She wouldn’t have been hungry. We had a big lunch before we went to Pastor Steven’s house. And even if she was hungry, Bella didn’t have any money with her.”
Tess started walking out of the alley. “Kelly bought a sandwich from me. It would have been about the same time that Bella was trying to get into the craft store. Kelly doesn’t usually close for lunch, but it was so busy with the parade that she didn’t have much choice. What if Bella ran to Kelly’s store and the door was locked? Would she come into the café to wait for you or talk to me?”
“She could have. She likes going to the café and I know she enjoyed spending time with you at The Bridesmaids Club. She would have known that Tank and I were going to be upset with her. Maybe talking to you would have been her way of working out what she was going to do next.”
Tess kept walking toward the café. “That still doesn’t account for why she took off her jacket. She wouldn’t have been in the café long enough to get hot.”
Rachel looked closely at the stores they were passing. They’d already been into each and every one of them, asking about Bella, finding out if they’d seen anything out of the ordinary while the parade had been on.
Tess stopped and picked up a red button that was lying on the sidewalk. “Does this belong to Bella?”
Rachel held the heart-shaped plastic button in her hand. “No. Her jacket had a zip and she was wearing a pale blue sweater underneath it.” She threw the button in the trash and looked further down the street.
It was getting darker. In another hour, it would be impossible to see anything without a flashlight. By now, if Bella wasn’t somewhere warm, she would be in serious trouble.
Tess hadn’t moved from where she’d found the button. “You told me that Bella had a GPS tracking chip in her jacket. Do the chips show you exactly where the person is?”
“Tank said it was accurate to within eight feet.”
Tess’ eyes widened. “Did you look above the café in my old apartment?”
“It was the first place we went to after we’d checked the kitchen.”
Tess’ shoulders slumped forward. “I was so sure we might have found her there. Out of everything we’ve talked about, it makes the most sense.”
Rachel took a step toward Tess. A spark of hope flared inside her. “We didn’t go inside the apartment. Tank tried the door handle. It was locked tight.”
“The police asked me for the key. I told them where the spare key should have been, but they couldn’t find it. They couldn’t even find the magnetic box I keep it in.”
“Why would someone take the key?”
Tess shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. The apartment’s empty, so there’s nothing to steal. And it’s directly above the café, so I’d notice if someone was living there. I could understand the key not being there if I’d forgotten to put it in the box. But finding out that the whole box was missing was odd.”
“How did the police get into the apartment?”
“I gave them another key that I keep on my key ring. It was still busy when they came and saw me, so I didn’t go with them.” Tess started walking as quickly as she could along the sidewalk. “We’ve got to go back to my apartment.”
Rachel joined her, getting more excited with each step they took. “The police officers would have searched the entire apartment. Why do you think Bella could still be there?”
“It’s an old building. There are plenty of places an eight-year-old could hide.”
Rachel’s foot hit a patch of ice and Tess grabbed her elbow. “Are you okay?”
“I’m trying not to get my hopes up,” Rachel said as they power-walked their way down Main Street. “How would she have gotten inside if the door was locked?”
Tess’ stride didn’t falter. “I’ve got a theory on that. I’ll tell you after we’ve looked in the apartment.”
They kept walking, catching each other when they slipped on the ice, wiping soft snowflakes from their faces when fresh snow fell. Rachel had assumed that Bella had been kidnapped by the people that had sent John death threats. But what if something else had happened? What if she’d gone to a place she thought was safe?
She knew that finding Bella in Tess’ apartment was a long-shot. If she was inside, it would be a miracle. But two hours after she’d first gone missing, a miracle was what they needed.