home and going to MCC ... No ... No, I didn't realize that...” She rolled her eyes. “I'm very pleased she got into Geneseo ... Yes, I know it's a good school ... Tanya, I really need to talk to Danielle—it's urgent. Could you please give me her phone number?”
Ms. Bennett was making gestures like semaphore flags with her hands. “Residence Advisor,” she mouthed.
I knew that was in case Danielle didn't pick up and needed to be tracked down on campus.
Geneseo? I thought. What was Danielle doing going to Geneseo, instead of RIT with Emily?
Mom wrote down both phone numbers and finally managed to end the conversation with the talkative Mrs. Gardner. I could see her hand shaking.
“You did fine,” Ms. Bennett said, but she took the phone to make the call to Danielle herself.
Sure, I thought, thinking of how she had spoken to Frank, scare the hell out of the poor girl.
But they hadn't had Danielle's number before, as opposed to her not answering—so Ms. Bennett didn't go all legal and ballistic when Danielle answered.
She also—I could tell—didn't get anywhere with her. When she hung up, after several “If-you-think-of-anything's,” she told us, “She says she doesn't know why her number isn't on Emily's list, and suggests maybe it got erased accidentally.” She made a How-likely-is-that? face before continuing, “But in any case, she says they talk two or three times a week. On the other hand, she also says Emily never said anything about a fight with Frank Lupiano. She hasn't noticed any unusual behavior with Emily, has no idea what could be troubling her.”
Adam pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Sybella,” he said, “can you check Emily's phone for calls made and calls received? Look for this number...”
Ms. Bennett turned the clipboard so that he could read Danielle's phone number.
After a few moments, he said, “Did you check both voice and text? Okay. How far back does the record go? Thanks.” He snapped his phone shut and gave a triumphant grin. “No calls to or from that number,” he said. “And Emily's log goes back as far as November.”
“Did I,” Ms. Bennett asked, “or did I not make it clear to that little ... young lady ... that this was very important?” She held out her hand for Adam to return the phone.
“You made it clear,” Mom said. But she was obviously shaken that Emily's best friend was covering something. “Why would Danielle lie?” Mom asked me. Like I would have some special insight. “After all the times she ate over, and slept over, the times we brought her with us to Darien Lake and treated her like family?”
“I don't know,” I said. I might have suggested that maybe Danielle misunderstood and somehow thought she was doing Emily a favor by covering for her, but I had heard Ms. Bennett tell her, “I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but her very life is in danger.” I mean, if someone said that to me about my best friend, I would have spilled my guts.
And that didn't explain why they hadn't called each other in months.
This time, the phone rang once, then went straight to voice mail.
Next, Ms. Bennett called Danielle's dorm adviser, where she had to leave a message. I don't think I'd ever heard anyone say “important,” “urgent,” and “of gravest consequence” so often in one headache-inducing sentence.
“I'll call Tanya Gardner again,” Mom said when Ms. Bennett finally hung up, sounding angry now. “I'll tell her that her daughter is endangering—”
Ms. Bennett was shaking her head. “We've tried this on our own. I think it's time to call in the police.”
That was scary, since I could be sure Rasmussem's legal department, as embodied by Mr. Kroll, would have warned against the bad publicity of a police report.
“Campus security would be more likely than city police to be able to find her,” Adam pointed out, “knowing the layout of the college.”
“Campus cops are no more scary than mall cops,” Ms.
Ms. Bennett was making gestures like semaphore flags with her hands. “Residence Advisor,” she mouthed.
I knew that was in case Danielle didn't pick up and needed to be tracked down on campus.
Geneseo? I thought. What was Danielle doing going to Geneseo, instead of RIT with Emily?
Mom wrote down both phone numbers and finally managed to end the conversation with the talkative Mrs. Gardner. I could see her hand shaking.
“You did fine,” Ms. Bennett said, but she took the phone to make the call to Danielle herself.
Sure, I thought, thinking of how she had spoken to Frank, scare the hell out of the poor girl.
But they hadn't had Danielle's number before, as opposed to her not answering—so Ms. Bennett didn't go all legal and ballistic when Danielle answered.
She also—I could tell—didn't get anywhere with her. When she hung up, after several “If-you-think-of-anything's,” she told us, “She says she doesn't know why her number isn't on Emily's list, and suggests maybe it got erased accidentally.” She made a How-likely-is-that? face before continuing, “But in any case, she says they talk two or three times a week. On the other hand, she also says Emily never said anything about a fight with Frank Lupiano. She hasn't noticed any unusual behavior with Emily, has no idea what could be troubling her.”
Adam pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Sybella,” he said, “can you check Emily's phone for calls made and calls received? Look for this number...”
Ms. Bennett turned the clipboard so that he could read Danielle's phone number.
After a few moments, he said, “Did you check both voice and text? Okay. How far back does the record go? Thanks.” He snapped his phone shut and gave a triumphant grin. “No calls to or from that number,” he said. “And Emily's log goes back as far as November.”
“Did I,” Ms. Bennett asked, “or did I not make it clear to that little ... young lady ... that this was very important?” She held out her hand for Adam to return the phone.
“You made it clear,” Mom said. But she was obviously shaken that Emily's best friend was covering something. “Why would Danielle lie?” Mom asked me. Like I would have some special insight. “After all the times she ate over, and slept over, the times we brought her with us to Darien Lake and treated her like family?”
“I don't know,” I said. I might have suggested that maybe Danielle misunderstood and somehow thought she was doing Emily a favor by covering for her, but I had heard Ms. Bennett tell her, “I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but her very life is in danger.” I mean, if someone said that to me about my best friend, I would have spilled my guts.
And that didn't explain why they hadn't called each other in months.
This time, the phone rang once, then went straight to voice mail.
Next, Ms. Bennett called Danielle's dorm adviser, where she had to leave a message. I don't think I'd ever heard anyone say “important,” “urgent,” and “of gravest consequence” so often in one headache-inducing sentence.
“I'll call Tanya Gardner again,” Mom said when Ms. Bennett finally hung up, sounding angry now. “I'll tell her that her daughter is endangering—”
Ms. Bennett was shaking her head. “We've tried this on our own. I think it's time to call in the police.”
That was scary, since I could be sure Rasmussem's legal department, as embodied by Mr. Kroll, would have warned against the bad publicity of a police report.
“Campus security would be more likely than city police to be able to find her,” Adam pointed out, “knowing the layout of the college.”
“Campus cops are no more scary than mall cops,” Ms.
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