They Just Don't Know You

Chapter 22

Jade's POV

Wednesday, October 2

It's the first week in October, and staring to get dark earlier. But even if it weren't, Nana would still insist on driving Karl and me to our shift at Fright Farm after dinner. 

I don't bother reminding her that it's only a 10 minute walk as she plucks her keys from a hook next to her wall-mounted phone. Ellie has been missing for four days, and the entire town is on edge. Search parties all day, and candlelight vigils at night. After two days of heated debate at school, homecoming is still on for Saturday, but without a court. I'm no longer technically a princess. Which is fine, I guess, since I still don't have a date. 

The same few theories keep circulating: that Ellie ran away, that she's the victim of the Murderland killer, that one of the Edwards kids did something to her. Everything in Echo Ridge feels like a thick, bubbling mess that's about to boil over.

Nana is silent on the ride over, clutching the steering wheel and driving 15 miles below the speed limit until we near the entrance. Then she pulls to the side of the road and says, "The House of Horrors closes at 11, right?"

"Right."

"I'll be outside the gates at 11:05."

That's two hours past her bedtime, but we don't argue. I told her earlier that Perrie could come get us, but she insisted on picking us up anyway. I don't think she believes Perrie's involved in Ellie's disappearance, she hasn't told us to stop hanging out with her, but she's not taking any chances anyway, and I can't blame her. I'm a little surprised she's still letting us go to work. 

Karl and I climb out of the car and watch its rear headlights recede so slowly that a bicycle passes it. We're halfway through the gates when my phone rings with a familiar UK number.

I hold it up to Karl. "Norma must've heard."

It was only a matter of time. Ellie's disappearance has become worldwide news, and Nana's been hanging up all week on reporters angling for a "One Town, Three Missing Girls" story. Hamilton House Rehabilitation Facility allegedly bans internet access, but since Norma's already used her borrowed phone to check out Karl's Instagram before FaceTiming us, she's obviously flouting that rule too.

I slide to answer and press the phone to my ear. "Hi Norma."

"Jade, thank God you picked up." Her agitated voice crackles across the line. "I just read about what's happening there. Are you and Karl alright?"

"We're fine. Just worried about Ellie."

"Oh my God, of course you are. That poor girl. Her poor family." She pauses for a second, her breath harsh in my ear. "So the article...it said there were threats beforehand? Towards three girls, and that one of them was someone who...who was related to...Was it you, Jade?"

"It was me," I confirm. Karl gestures like he wants me to FaceTime, but I wave him off. It's too crowded here. 

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The bitter laugh springs out of me without warning. "Why would I?"

Silence on the other end, so complete that I think she's disconnected. I'm about to pull the phone away from my ear to check when Norma says, "Because I'm your mother and I have a right to know."

It's exactly the wrong thing to say. Resentment floods my veins, and I have to grip the phone extra tight to stop myself from hurling it to the ground. "Oh, really? You have a right to know? That's rich coming from somebody who's never told us anything that matters."