Silent Run

went to get the key."
    Jake jumped up, cursing himself for missing the obvious.
    Sarah beat him down the hall to Amanda’s door. She pounded hard on the wood, calling out Amanda’s name, but there was no answer. “What if Caitlyn is in there?” Sarah asked, desperation in her voice, in her expression.
    â€œShe’s not there now,” he said, his own nerves on edge. “Look, Sarah, even if Caitlyn was with Amanda earlier, Amanda would have taken her somewhere else as soon as she got rid of us. She would have wanted to put some space between us until she knew what to do."
    â€œWhy? Why wouldn’t she just give my daughter to me?"
    â€œBecause you don’t remember who you are. You didn’t know your name, and Amanda didn’t recognize me,” he said. “Damn, I was a fool not to think of this earlier."
    â€œBreak the door down,” Sarah ordered.
    â€œWhat?"
    â€œYou heard me. I said break the door down.” She gave him a determined look. “Caitlyn may not be there now, but she might have been there before, and I want to know for sure. If you won’t do it, I’ll find a way to do it myself. There must be something I can use to --"
    â€œI’ll do it; hang on.” He took a step back, then launched forward, slamming the door with his shoulder. It shuddered but didn’t break. He tried again, using every bit of strength that he had. The door cracked and then flew open. He stumbled into the apartment.
    Sarah pushed past him, searching the small area for any sign of their daughter. The floor plan was basically the same as Sarah’s place, although Amanda had added more color with fake flowers and cozy, bright blankets on the couch and bed. Sarah zeroed in on a set of plastic keys lying on a table. “Caitlyn’s,” she whispered, her heart in her eyes.
    Jake saw the pain of her loss, and knew that at least that emotion was real. Sarah still had a deep connection with their daughter, even if she couldn’t remember anything else.
    â€œTake a breath,” he advised, directing the words at himself as much as at Sarah. His heart was beginning to pound, and all kinds of crazy theories were running through his head. “You visited over here with Caitlyn. Amanda said she’d babysat for you. It doesn’t mean anything that those keys are here."
    â€œWhat about this?” she asked, picking up a child’s picture book. “You think I casually left these things behind?"
    â€œMaybe not. I don’t know, but there’s no real proof Caitlyn was here a few hours ago, which is what you’d like to believe."
    â€œAmanda said she had a lunchtime class, and she didn’t. She lied about that."
    â€œMaybe she has a second job at another gym.” He didn’t know why he was trying to defend or explain Amanda to Sarah, but deep in his gut he just couldn’t believe that Caitlyn had been with Sarah’s next-door neighbor for the past few days. “Think about it, Sarah. If someone attacked you in this building, you would not have left Caitlyn here while you drove up the coast. You wouldn’t have believed she would be safe, not after that man tried to get into the elevator with you."
    Sarah stared back at him, unblinking, as she processed his words. He could see the light dim in her eyes when the logic took hold and the hope faded. Finally she nodded. “I can’t argue with your reasoning, but I still think it’s strange that Amanda didn’t come back. She seemed so suspicious of you and worried for me. That doesn’t make sense."
    â€œWell, one thing is clear to me -- when we go to your workplace next, you’re going in alone. You might get a better reception that way. It’s possible Amanda would have said more to you if I hadn’t been standing right next to you."
    â€œAmanda could still know where Caitlyn is and just have been afraid to tell me,” Sarah suggested.
    â€œIt’s a possibility. We can try to find her. You have her cell phone. You can leave her a message. Maybe she’ll call back."
    â€œWhat should we do about the door?” Sarah asked. “We can’t leave her apartment open."
    â€œWe’ll try the landlord before we leave. Maybe he can nail the door shut until she gets home, and we’ll leave a note, some money to fix it."
    They walked down the hall and back into Sarah’s apartment. Jake noticed that Sarah was still