Free Friendly Fire by Lorhainne Eckhart Page B

sister?”
    Dawn dumped her backpack behind the counter. “I don’t know. I waited for her, but she dumped me at lunch today for stuck-up Kari Richards, so I figured she took off on me. I finally left. I didn’t want to worry you.”
    “Oh, that was thoughtful,” Julia said, immediately regretting her sarcasm. “Sorry, honey.” What was going on with Trinity? She would have to have a talk with her about ditching her sister. That was never okay.
    The phone rang.
    “Tree’s cafe,” she said.
    “Julia, it’s Darlene. The girls aren’t here.” The secretary sounded breathless, as if she had raced to the phone.
    “Dawn just showed up here, but not her sister. She said Trinity was hanging around with Kari Richards. Are any kids still on the playground? Maybe Trinity is still there with Kari.”
    “Ah, well, I can see the playground from here, and I don’t see either of them. Did you want me to start checking the school?”
    “Well, if you could maybe give me the Richards’ number, I’ll call them and see if Trinity went to their place.”
    “Sure, here it is. Do you have a pen?” There was rustling in the background.
    “Yeah, uh-huh.” Julia scribbled down the phone number Darlene rattled off.
    “I can have a look around the school, check the girls’ washroom for you. If she is at Kari’s, call back and let me know.”
    “Thank you, Darlene. I’ll call you when I find her. This is so unlike her. She’s never not shown up with her sister.” Julia was counting the ways she was going to ground Trinity for pulling a stunt like this. She was ten, for the love of God. She hadn’t even gotten into the teenage years! Julia wondered what that was going to be like. Would she be pulling out her hair, or what? She hung up the phone and then dialed Kari’s house. The phone was answered by a woman with a high-pitched voice. “Can I speak with Missus Richards?” Julia said.
    “This is Missus Richards. Who’s calling?”
    “This is Julia Cooper. I’m Dawn and Trinity’s mom.”
    “Oh, hi, Julia. We’ve met before a few times. You have that lovely cafe on Main Street. I just love your sandwiches.”
    “Thank you,” Julia said quickly. “I was wondering if Trinity is there with Kari. Dawn said they were hanging around together today at school.”
    “Why, no! Kari is home, dear, but she didn’t bring a friend with her. Just a minute. Let me ask if she’s seen her.”
    Julia could hear her call out to Kari and ask about Trinity.
    She came back on the line. “Kari said she last saw her at lunch, but not after school.”
    Julia was feeling the knot tighten in her stomach again. “Okay, thank you,” she said before hanging up. She stared at the phone, her hand now shaking, feeling as if the floor was softening beneath her. She stared down at Dawn. “Tell me again what happened and when you last saw your sister,” she ordered.
    Dawn was worried, wearing the expression she took on when she knew she was about to get in trouble—but Dawn was the worrier, while Trinity was the risk-taker and challenger.
    “Well, at lunch she called me a baby, and her and Kari were both laughing at me. She made me cry. She wouldn’t even sit with me after lunch in math class, so I left without her and went to music.”
    “Did you see her in music class?”
    Dawn had tears in her eyes, and Julia knew she was scaring her. She couldn’t help it, because she was freaking out. She wanted to shake both of them. They were sisters! They should have been looking out for one another. They were all each of them had, with no other family around.
    Dawn was shaking her head. “I was so mad I didn’t want to see her. I didn’t look for her.”
    Julia dialed the school again. “Darlene, it’s Julia. I called Kari’s mom, and Kari hasn’t seen Trinity since lunch. Dawn said she doesn’t remember seeing her after math class. She went to music next, but she wasn’t looking for her there, either.”
    “Just a minute, Julia.”