Five Days in Summer

“So he knows we’re piecing his puzzle together” — his eyes sliced at Amy — “and he knows we linked her to the Ford.” His cool evaporated as he pitched forward and slammed the table so hard Janet’s laptop shook. “How did he find out we traced her to the Ford?”
    Silence. All these experts, and no one knew.
    “He’s going to escalate his deadline.” Geary looked at Sorensen. “He’s setting his calendar back, to today.”
    “I’ll alert Fall River that Mrs. Parker could be in their jurisdiction,” Amy said. “I’ll send out an APB on the Corvette.”
    “How hard could it be to trace a car like that?” Snow asked.
    “Not hard,” Amy snapped at him like a rubber band, “if it’s still on the road.”

Chapter 23
    Dr. Bell took just a minute in the bathroom, then came out with that wry smile of his. His goatee bothered Sarah; it forced you to notice his dark lips and yellow teeth.
    “Thank you. My morning coffee travels faster than my car.” He laughed.
    “I’ll give Will your message,” Sarah said. “He’ll be back soon with the baby. I’m sure he’ll be interested in speaking with the psychologist.”
    “I’m happy to help.”
    He offered a hand, and she leaned forward to shake it. It was still wet.
    Sarah opened the screen door, glancing around for the boys. They weren’t in the car. She couldn’t see them anywhere. She wondered if they had gone down to the lake.
    Dr. Bell curved his long body down into the sports car and pulled shut the door with a loud crack.
    “If you see the boys up the road, would you mind asking them to come home?” Sarah shielded her eyes from the harsh sun so she could see the doctor’s face.
    “Certainly.” He started the engine, then looked up at Sarah. “I’m terribly sorry about your daughter, Mrs. Goodman. I’m sure she’ll turn up.”
    Sarah nodded and waved as the bloodred Corvette sped up the drive.
    Turn up, like a lost shoe. His insensitivity made her angry. Coming over when he could have called, just to give him something to do with his morning. The arrogance of doctors. She wondered just what kind of a doctor he was.
    Sarah walked down the grass slope next to the house, around to the back gardens.
    “David! Sam!” Her voice echoed vaguely. “Boys!”
    She didn’t like them disappearing like this. They had all promised Will they’d stay in the house until he got back.
    She hurried down the path, into the clearing, then through the clot of trees that hid the house from the lake. All was tranquil: the hammocks were still; toys lay just where they’d been dropped by the children. In the distance she saw a fisherman with his line hovering in the water. She saw the old reaching tree. But no David and Sam.
    “Boys!” She walked as quickly as she could back up to the house. “Boys!”
    The bottom door was locked, so she went up around the other side of the house, through the garage entrance. The mudroom door was also locked. Will had sealed the house up tightly the night before. Sarah had lain awake in bed all night, thinking of everything, trying not to think, tormenting herself with questions that had no answers. Wondering if Emily had her key and, if not, how she would get into the house with all the doors locked. When she came home.
    For Sarah, it was the unbearable sorrow that pulled her down from any possibility of hope. For Will, it seemed to be a fear of lurking danger — locking all the doors and windows, not letting the boys out of his sight, insisting they leave for New York today. In themiddle of the night, her uncontrollable thoughts had wondered if he knew more about Emily’s disappearance than he’d shared with her. It was as if he expected more disaster.
    Sarah went into the house through the front door, weaving in and out of rooms.
    “David! Sam!”
    The house was empty.
    She went back outside and jogged up the drive, past her fragrant summer gardens, and into the cool shade of Gooseberry Way. If that Dr. Bell had come upon the boys and offered them a ride in his Corvette just to give himself something more to do, she’d really tell him off. That had to be it — she was sure.
    She walked slowly back down the road, calling the boys’ names every now and then, knowing they weren’t there. She wondered if there was any way to reach Dr. Bell before Will got back. She could call the police station and ask for John Geary. She remembered Will saying they worked together.
    She went into the house and straight