Chapter 66
Suzy scanned Izzy’s bedroom. Her bed hadn’t been touched. After peering underneath the bed and in the closet, Suzy ran down the hall to the kitchen. She returned out of breath. Izzy and Nelly appeared to be gone. Gone.
Izzy’s friend, Paige, snored on the floor with her head mostly covered by a purple sleeping bag. One of Izzy’s stuffed animals was by her side. A textbook lay open near her.
Heart pounding, Suzy sprinted back to the bedroom to wake Ken. She shook his shoulder hard. “Wake up. WAKE UP. Izzy’s gone.”
Ken sat upright in bed and rubbed his eyes. “What?”
Suzy swallowed. “Izzy and her friend are gone. Her bedroom window is open.”
Ken threw on sweatpants and bolted for his daughter’s room. Paige was still sound asleep on the floor. Ken’s voice boomed, “Paige. Get up.”
The young girl’s eyes widened when she awakened to Ken leaning over her. He nudged the teen’s shoulder. “Listen to me. Where is Izzy? Where is Nelly?”
Paige held the stuffed animal as she glanced from the empty bed to the window. “I don’t know. I was asleep.”
Ken’s voice rose to umpire level. “What do you mean you don’t know? How could you have slept through the commotion of the girls crawling out the window?”
Suzy tugged on his arm when she saw Paige’s face turn ashen. “Ken, calm down. Let her tell us.” Suzy squatted down beside Paige. “Honey, did you hear or see anything?”
The young teen’s eyes filled with tears as she shook her head vehemently. “I didn’t see anything. I promise. We listened to music and studied. We tried to pull an all-nighter before our tests today but I guess I passed out. I’m—” Her voice wobbled. “I’m sorry.”
Suzy sat on Izzy’s bed. “Take a minute. Think about this. Where could they have gone?”
Paige scratched her head. “I don’t know.” She avoided eye contact with Ken who paced like an angry tiger.
Realization hit Suzy. “Wait a minute. That pizza delivery guy. Didn’t you say he invited you girls to a party?”
Ken bellowed, “Pizza guy? What party?” He glared at Suzy. “You didn’t think I’d want to know about this? What pizza place? Call them. Call them right now.”
“Let’s hope they called that new 24-hour pizza place.” Suzy ran to the kitchen and found the discarded pizza box smashed in the trash. She yanked the coupon off the front and dialed. After listening to the stupid menu three times, she finally got through to an actual person and asked for the name of the delivery driver.
The impatient voice on the other end requested the home address and phone number. After what seemed like forever, she said, “We show a female delivery person in your area.”
“Are you sure?” Suzy asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Suzy hung up and turned to Paige. “I heard you girls saying he was hot. You specifically said ‘he.’”
Paige lowered her head. “I don’t know. There was a female too.” She shrugged. “The guy walked up the sidewalk about the same time. I thought she was training him, you know?” Paige locked eyes with Suzy. “After the pizza woman was paid, I came into the kitchen with the sodas. It spilled, remember?”
“Let me get this straight. This ‘hot guy’ was not delivering a pizza?” Ken asked at several decibels.
“I-I guess not,” Paige said. “I thought he was. I don’t know.”
Ken rubbed the stubble on his chin. His eyes flickered. “Is this ‘guy’ some kid from your high school?”
Paige shrugged. “I don’t think so. He looked a little older. He was friendly, though.”
“Not the answer I wanted.” A deep-blue vein pulsed on Ken’s forehead. “I bet he was friendly. He’s probably getting real friendly about now. Dammit. Suzy, we’ve got to call the police.”
“On it.” Suzy punched numbers into her phone. “I know exactly who to call. Alex’s boyfriend is a cop.”
“Why don’t you just call 911?” Ken asked.
“Tony is 911. He’s a Crystal City Police Department officer, a lieutenant, I think. Since he has met me, maybe he’ll give this case special attention.”
Ken shook his head. “Case. Izzy is a case. I can’t believe this.”
Suzy called the local station and asked for Tony Montgomery. “Damn. It’s going to his voicemail.” She explained the urgent situation, left her number, and hung up.
Ken grabbed his phone. “We can’t wait for him. I’m calling 911.”
Suzy stared transfixed at her phone. “Wait. Someone’s calling me. It says CALLER UNKNOWN. This must be Tony.”