Chapter 4

I rented a car and drove forty minutes to the end of that road.

It ran out at a stretch of rough hillside.

The slope was steep, loose rock and scrub brush all the way down. The wind was strong enough that I had to brace myself just standing there.

This wasn't a trail. There were no signs, no path, just a dirt track leading up into the slope.

I walked to the top and looked down.

Below was rock and dry grass and a ravine cut through by what looked like old floodwater.

If someone went over the edge here.

I stopped the thought.

I started asking around the area.

There was a small cluster of houses nearby, maybe eight or ten of them, spread out along the base of the slope.

I went door to door with Lily's photo.

No one recognized her.

Seven doors, eight doors. Every one of them shaking their head.

I was turning to leave when I saw a little girl sitting under a tree at the edge of the road.

Six or seven years old. A faded pink t-shirt. Barefoot, sitting in the dirt playing with stones.

She was holding something.

A phone.

Pink case.

A cartoon rabbit sticker on the back.

Everything went quiet in my head.

That case was a birthday gift I'd given Lily.

I'd picked it out myself. Pink, rabbit design, because Lily loved rabbits.

I walked over and kept my voice gentle.

"Hey. Where did you get that phone?"

The girl looked up at me and pulled it behind her back.

"Is it yours?"

"No," she said quietly. Her eyes moved away from mine.

"I'm not going to get you in trouble," I said. I crouched down so I was at her level. "The person this phone belongs to is my best friend. She's lost and I'm trying to find her. Can you tell me where you found it?"

The girl pressed her lips together.

She didn't say anything.

But there was something in her eyes I don't often see in kids that age.

Fear.

Not of me.

"Did you see something that scared you?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Her lip moved. Still nothing.

I reached into my pocket and held out some bills.

"You tell me, and I'll get you something nice. Okay?"

She looked at the money. Looked at me.

A long pause.

Then she said, very quietly, "I found it at the bottom of the hill."

"Which hill?"

She raised her hand and pointed toward the mountains.

My stomach dropped.

"Did you find anything else?"

She went quiet again. Her eyes shifted.

"You did, didn't you."

Slowly, she brought something out from behind her.

A small bag. Canvas, floral print, with a little tassel on the zipper.

Lily's.

I knew that bag.

Two years ago she'd seen it at a store and couldn't bring herself to spend the money, so I went back the next day and bought it for her without telling her. She was happy for days.

Now the fabric was dark with mud and water stains. The canvas had started to go moldy.

I took it from her. My hands were shaking.

I opened it.

Inside: lip balm, a portable charger, and a photo of the two of us.

Everything still there.

Lily would never throw these things away.

If they were at the bottom of that slope.

Then where was she?

"Can you take me to where you found these?" I asked.

The girl shook her head hard.

"I'll pay you."

Still shaking her head.

"Please."

My voice cracked.

I wasn't thinking about whether I was scaring her anymore.

Lily's phone and bag were at the bottom of that hill.

Lily wasn't.

I had to go there.

The girl looked at my face for a long time.

Maybe my expression was frightening.

She stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off her shorts.

"Okay," she said. "I'll take you."