Page 67 of Clearly Charmed

‘What’s wrong?’ I said, her sudden entrance drawing more than a few stares.

‘I’ve been looking for you everywhere.’ She dragged in another gulp of air. ‘Lia needs you. Right now.’

‘Why?’

‘Mara Johnson’s gone.’

‘What do you mean she’s gone?’ I said.

‘I mean the deputy mayor’s daughter is missing.’

Chapter Twenty-One

Eerily Silent and Still

Aster continued to pull in gulps of air as she tried to catch her breath. ‘Banjo’s gone too. Darren thinks they may have taken off into the woods behind the amphitheater. He got distracted with his duties as deputy mayor and lost track of her. They’ve asked that you come and help.’

She tapped her hand against her elbow three times. A decades-old sign us girls had made to communicate as kids. It said we needed privacy from our grandparents, or from Belladonna whenever she showed up unexpectedly, which always made us unsettled.

‘Let’s go.’ I clasped her arm, leading her out of the tent.

‘Wait.’ Bryce chased after us. ‘Let me help. What can I do?’

‘Go away and stop bothering my clients,’ Aster huffed.

Yeah, she wasn’t letting that go.

He stayed in step with us. ‘You’ll need more people if there’s a search party.’

‘Is there any way we can stop you?’ I said, swapping a weighted glance with Aster.

‘Nope,’ he said firmly.

We raced through the streets, dodging in between tourists and local families. Clo waited for us on the corner near the tavern. She wrung her hands together. Swayed nervously like she was about to jump out of her skin. She’d become good friends with Darren and Mara over the years, even inviting Mara over to help in her garden.

Once she caught sight of us, she asked Aster to help her round up some more locals for the search. While they headed back into the throng of the festival, Bryce and I made for the entrance to the amphitheater.

Lia stood in a circle with a few men and women from the fire station and some SAR volunteers. She’d changed out of her pink jumpsuit and was back to her regular uniform of cargo pants and traffic-cone-orange SAR shirt. The group talked for a few minutes, putting together a plan. A tall, muscular guy with a shock of white-blond hair stood a few feet away speaking to Mara’s father, Darren, who looked like he might crumble at any moment.

‘How old is this girl?’ Bryce asked.

‘She’s eleven.’

‘Does this happen a lot? Kids getting lost? There are a lot of woods around here.’

‘Most of the kids know not to wander off, but if they want to get away from their parents, hang out with their friends, the forest is the best place to go.’

‘Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.’

‘There were times when the quiet of the forest helped me think, but I also knew not to wander so far away that I couldn’t find my way back.’

‘What will they do first?’

‘Divide into teams. One crew will go on foot. Some on four-wheelers. Others on horseback. A basic grid search. They’ll need to work quickly, though.’

‘Why?’

‘It’ll be dark in a couple of hours. As soon as the sun goes down it gets cold, especially the higher you get up into the forest.’