Finding Sky (A Nicki Valentine Mystery Book 1) by Susan O'Brien

don’t think she ran away. She knows she could have come here.”
    “Isn’t this the first place her parents would look for her?”
    “Sure. It’s the first place everyone, including the police, looked. Where else would she go? It kills me. Just kills me! To picture her alone somewhere.” Her voice trailed off.
    “You and April can’t imagine anywhere she would go?”
    “Nope. We’ve racked our brains. April’s talked to other kids too. She won’t say much about it, but that birth father, Marcus, he’s bad news. You know he wouldn’t have anything to do with the baby, right?”
    “That’s what I heard.”
    “Beth approached him several times. At first he got pissed and denied it, and then he damn well ignored her—acted like she didn’t exist. I don’t know if he ever admitted it was his.”
    “But it is his?”
    “Has to be. April and Beth act tough. They try to look tough. But they keep to themselves a lot. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was Beth’s first time, if you know what I mean.”
    “Of course. So when was the last time April saw Beth?”
    “A week ago Sunday. I know it was a Sunday, because April and Beth had a big test Monday. They studied here that night, and April drove Beth home—even watched her go in the house. But the next morning, Beth wasn’t at school, and no one knew where she was. Her parents said they never heard her come home the previous night.”
    “What time did April drop her off?”
    “About eleven, April said.”
    “And April was home on time?”
    “She didn’t break her curfew. I know that. I was asleep, but if she’d come home after midnight, I’d remember. She always checks in with me.”
    “This is so helpful,” I said. “I appreciate that you’re willing to talk with me. Is it okay if I call April tomorrow and talk some more?”
    “Fine by me as long as you don’t get her in trouble. I don’t want that gangster to think April’s snitching on him. She hates talking about him. She’s scared. After what he might have done to Beth, what if April’s next?”
    She poured water into our mugs.
    “I’ll be more than careful,” I said. “You have my word.”
    Just what I needed. Another child’s welfare in my hands.

Seven

      
    I had four things on my agenda the next day in addition to parenting. 1) Take Marcus’s mom to see him. 2) Talk with April when she’d recovered from her inevitable hangover. 3) Get through Dean’s class without making a fool of myself. 4) Remember to pick up Mom from the airport, otherwise I’d lose a babysitter and gain an angry parent.
    On the way to the kids’ camp, I thanked God for the umpteenth time for a place where they were happy and safe. Sure, I’d never stop worrying about them, but that was the deal I unknowingly accepted when I got pregnant. From then on, I loved so much it hurt. Good thing the realities of parenting aren’t evident at conception or birth. If a screaming baby popped out right after sex, or women delivered two year olds having tantrums, the population would shrink. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.
    I dropped the kids off uneventfully and checked the sky for signs of rain. I didn’t want a stray thunderstorm to force them indoors, meaning poor Jack would have suffered through sunscreen application for nothing, and Sophie’s energy level could hit the danger zone.
    The horizon was clear and my mind drifted to my dad, for whom a day like this was the ultimate, not because of how he could enjoy it down here with the rest of us, but because he could enjoy it alone, in a plane, with a distant perspective on the world. I smiled, thinking of the view he must have now. I hope it’s awesome, Dad. I miss you.
    I headed home to a quiet house where I could make calls in peace. The first was to Marcus’s mom, who finally answered with a warm greeting.
    “What do you want?” she slurred. I was stunned into silence. “Hell-o-o?” She had to be under the influence.
    “Umm, hi?” I was