COMMENTS:

Mae Koeler

37 min ago

I have a friend who works in admin at the University Hospital. She said that there’s some woman up there who the police were talking to about her missing baby.

Eastern Elijah

36 min ago

Some woman with a missing baby? Are you serious? Isn’t that exactly the kind of the thing the police should be telling us?

Darren C.

30 min ago

Some university kids trashed my car when it was parked overnight on Franklin Avenue last week. I complained to campus security: total runaround. It’s like the NSA over there—everything is one giant cover-up.

Cara Twin

15 min ago

I agree. I have a friend whose son went to Ridgedale and he said that break-ins were rampant on campus. I don’t know if they’re ever reported to the police. Just because they haven’t told the police doesn’t mean the university doesn’t know what happened.

246Barry

12 min ago

YOU’RE NOT GETTING ANY WARMER

OPEN YOUR EYES AND FIND HIM

BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

James R.

10 min ago

Knock it off, 246Barry. Everyone’s had enough of you. You better hope we don’t find out who you are. People in this town don’t take harassment lightly.

Colleen M.

8 min ago

What is WRONG with you 246Barry? If you actually knew something you’d go to the POLICE. You don’t, so leave us alone.

JENNA

MAY 3, 1994

The Captain sat with me during lunch! I was eating out in the courtyard with Tiffany and Stephanie when he came out all by himself. And like he was LOOKING for me!

Thank God Steph and Tiff took off when he came. They did it real subtle, though, like they just had somewhere to be.

They still think the Captain is a dick and that he’s fucking with me. But now that they’ve said their piece, they’re not going to stand in my way. Because, unlike my parents, those girls actually care about me.

All my parents have ever cared about is “bettering themselves.” Especially now that my dad is the brand-new night manager of the Stanton Hotel, which my mom acts like is the same as president of the United States. And after my mom got that office job at her church? Forget about it. We’ve got to be this picture-perfect family so we can keep “getting somewhere in the community.”

Or really, I’ve got to be perfect. Because my parents already think they are. And if their idea of me being perfect—quiet, girlie, sweet (none of which I am)—makes me feel like crap? Oh well, too bad so sad for me.

But the Captain doesn’t judge people just on the surface like that. Because he isn’t pretending to be something he’s not.

After Tiff and Stephanie were gone, the Captain and I talked for a while. He said his history paper was kicking his ass, which is kind of hard to believe considering how smart he is. I liked that he talked to me about school. Guys always think that all I can talk about is getting wasted and maybe music or something. But I’m interested in lots of things and it shows how smart the Captain is that he can tell I’m pretty damn smart myself.

And that was it. For a whole thirty minutes. Nice, sweet. And at the end the Captain said: Good talking to you. See you around.

I hope that means soon.

Barbara

“Hello?” Barbara called for the kids as she stepped inside.

No one answered—no Hannah, no Cole. But they weren’t technically late yet. Hannah picked up Cole on Tuesdays after swimming, and they’d be even later because Barbara hadn’t canceled his stupid playdate with Will afterward. Really, she should have brought Cole home when The Very Hungry Caterpillar was finished. She’d been right there, it would have been easy enough to do. It wasn’t as if he would have missed something critical. He was only in kindergarten. But Cole loved school, and he loved routine. He would have been upset about leaving without some kind of explanation. It seemed absurd now, but Barbara had also been worried about Cole being disappointed—missing swimming, missing his playdate. That had seemed so much more important a few hours ago. It had felt like the only thing that mattered.

Barbara looked out the kitchen windows toward the row of bare trees ringing the small backyard. The sun had already sunk out of sight, a wide swath of pinks and purples marking the place where it had gone. It would be dark before long.

“I’m sure Cole’s fine,” Steve had said when she’d called him from the Ridgedale Elementary School parking lot after her meeting with Rhea and after she’d had to return an hour later to suffer through The Very Hungry Caterpillar. “Rhea means well, no doubt. But that doesn’t mean she’s right. All kids act funny sometimes. Even the totally normal ones are mostly weirdos.”

Steve was trying to lighten things up, but it was hard not to feel like he was also searching for the fastest way off the phone, so he could get back to what he really cared about: work. “I hope you’re right,” Barbara had said, not persuaded in the least.

“I’m sorry, Barb, but can we talk more about Cole when I get home? I’ve got my hands full here at the moment.”

After what had happened to that poor baby, she could hardly blame Steve for being distracted; surely he was overwhelmed by the investigation. Assuming that’s where his mind really was. And Barbara refused to let herself speculate about the alternatives. Nothing good would come of it.

“Sure, I guess, okay,” she’d said, trying to be supportive. It was the right thing to do. Even though she really wanted to beg Steve to come right away. “But when will you be home?”

“As soon as I can. But really, Barb, try not to worry about Cole,” Steve had said. “He’ll be fine. He’s a tough nut, just like his mom.”

Finally, Barbara heard a key in the side door.

“Hi, guys!” she called—too cheerfully, probably—smiling wide as the door opened.

But Barbara’s chest seized the second she saw them. Hannah looking stunned and pale as she clutched Cole, his face buried in the shoulder of her long Brown University sweatshirt.

“What happened?” Barbara asked, rushing over and grabbing him. “Cole, what’s wrong?”

He felt leaden in Barbara’s arms. He wasn’t crying anymore, but from the look of the puffy little scar under his eye, he’d been outright bawling. Cole buried his face in Barbara’s neck but didn’t answer her.

“Hannah, what on earth happened?” Barbara snapped. She’d tried to keep the accusatory edge from her voice, but it was no use. All Hannah had to do was pick him up. Was it that much to ask that she manage it without him getting hysterical?

“I’ve asked him at least a hundred times, but he won’t tell me.” Hannah sounded like she might cry, which was hardly helpful. “Will’s mom said they were playing LEGOs and Cole just freaked out.”

“Freaked out?” Barbara snapped. “Hannah, I’m sure she didn’t say that.”

“But she did.” There were tears in Hannah’s eyes now. “She said it exactly like that. That’s kind of mean, isn’t it? For a mom?”

Barbara took a deep breath and rocked Cole back and forth in her arms. That’s because Stella’s not a regular mom, Barbara wanted to say. She’s an oversexed narcissist who probably cares more about finding a new boyfriend than her own children. Stella was exactly the reason Will was so out of control. Look at Will’s brother, Aidan. One messed-up child could be a fluke; two was a pattern that could be traced right back to the parents.