Free Bad Connection by Melody Carlson Page B

and it turns out she bought a ticket to Phoenix.”
    “Phoenix?”
    She nods. “And those mountains you drew…”
    “Phoenix?”.
    That's what I'm thinking. I've only been down to Arizona once, but they have some spectacular mountains there. Some that are all jagged and cut up like the ones you drew today.”
    “And the heat and dryness?” I ask hopefully. “Maybe it's not a fire?”
    “It can get pretty hot down there. Especially if you're in a place without air-conditioning.”
    “So where do you begin to search for her in Phoenix?” I ask.
    “Well, we send all the information we have down there, and then we pray for a miracle.”
    “And that God will give me some more clues?”
    “That's what I'm going to be praying.”
    And so as I walk into the house, I feel slightly encouraged. It seems that I'm really on the trail after all. And, I remind myself, it's God who's doing the leading here. It won't do any good for me to get impatient.

Eight
    B y Friday, it's been nearly a week since Kayla left town. Not to San Diego like we all thought, but to Phoenix. I'm amazed at how quickly this new bit of information sweeps through our school. Apparently it was on the news last night, an attempt to jog some memories and warm up what seems to be turning into a cold case. And it must be working because today Kayla seems to be the hot topic of the locker room again.
    “So, if Kayla's in Phoenix,” Brittany says as she pulls on her jeans, “then whatever happened with that Colby dude she was supposed to marry down in San Diego?”
    I'm not sure who she's directing this question to, but I decide to field it myself. “Does anyone really know for sure that there ever was a Colby dude?” And now the locker room grows quieter. “I mean, did anyone ever see a photo of him? Did you see any of the e-mails she got from him?”
    “Well, you remember what Kayla told us last fall,” says Emma. “How she met him in San Diego. Are you saying she made that up?”
    “Well, the search for him in San Diego has come up empty,” Olivia points out. “And the newspaper said that Kayla's aunt had never heard of him.”
    “Besides,” I remind them, “Kayla didn't go to San Diego. Remember?”
    “But she went of her own free will to Phoenix,” says Brittany “Maybe she was going to meet Colby in Phoenix.”
    “Maybe Colby moved,” adds Emma.
    We continue speculating, going round and round, but mostly we don't land anywhere. And then it's lunchtime, and since it's Friday, Olivia and I are heading over to Sushi-Yaki to celebrate the end of the week.
    Olivia's older sister, Clair, and her husband opened up this little restaurant about a year ago, and they're struggling to make a go of it. We do our best to support them by eating there on Fridays. It's not that I'm into sushi, but I do like their teriyaki.
    “You know what I'm starting to think?” I ask Olivia after we visit with Clair and place our orders and sit down.
    “About what?”
    “About Kayla.”
    “What?”
    “I'm thinking that she made up that whole bit about Colby.”
    “Why?”
    “Well, I was thinking about when Kayla told us about meeting this guy back in October when we were setting up the photo exhibit for the fall art fair. Emma had been going on and on about Parker this and Parker that. They were still dating then, and I could tell that it was bugging Kayla. Then suddenly she just started talking about this really cool guy she met in San Diego. And, well, it just sounded a little too convenient. Not only that, but he sounded a little too good to be true.”
    “And you know what they say about that.”
    “If it's too good to be true, it's not usually true.”
    “But what about the e-mails with the name Colby?” she asks.
    “That's just the thing. I was really trying to remember the conversation back in October, and to be honest, I can't say that I remember everything. But I do not recall her saying a name. In fact, I think that's what made me a little