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“Well. Hurry.”

I nodded, but I wouldn’t move too quickly. I was worried about the Smoots’ whereabouts, but it wasn’t uncommon for folks to take off and not report in for a few days. What was strange was the door having been open the last time I was there and Trisha’s noting of the location of Joey’s phone.

On their own, none of those things might be too unsettling, but combined with everything else going on, something was most definitely off.

I glanced at the ground as I made my way to the trailer’s door. Footprints would have been a wonderful gift, but the dirt hadn’t seen a speck of water for months. The wind constantly blew. There wasn’t a hint of a print anywhere.

I continued to call out, even as I turned the flimsy handle on the door. Inside, I found the exact same scene. At first glance, it seemed that nothing had changed at all since my last visit. But on second glance …

I pushed open the door and signaled to Trisha. “Come in.”

She hurried to join me.

“Joey?” she said as she moved through the trailer, looking in rooms and closets. It took less than a minute for her to join me back in the small kitchen. “He’s not here. Neither is Jerry. No EpiPens either.”

“Last time I was here, this drawer wasn’t open at all. I’m pretty sure, at least.”

Together we zoned in on one of the kitchen’s small drawers set under the old counter. It wasn’t open enough to see inside, but it wasn’t closed all the way either.

“Okay?” she said.

“Let’s just look.” Since I didn’t bring gloves, I used my knuckle to pull on the drawer’s handle.

Inside was the sort of stuff that was ubiquitous to junk drawers, but atop the rolls of tape and collection of rubber bands and small screwdrivers was a cell phone.

Trisha gasped as she reached. “That’s his phone! I’d know it anywhere.”

I grabbed her hand before she could touch it and shook my head at her. “Nope. It’s time to get the police out here.”

“They won’t come!”

“Yes, they will. Don’t touch a thing. Let’s get back outside. I’ll make the calls.”

Trisha’s eyes filled with tears. It was just a cell phone in a drawer, but no one left their cell phone behind on purpose. I wasn’t sure exactly what might be going on, but something wasn’t right.

“I can turn it on,” she said. “I know his passwords.”

“Save it for the police.”

I got her out of there and called Verro.

Jenna answered the phone. She didn’t know where Verro was. I could sense hesitation when I told her where she needed to meet us, but she didn’t argue. I dropped a pin on her cell phone, and she said she’d be on her way.

I asked Trisha to sit in the Jeep as I looked around again. I didn’t see anything helpful.

“Shit,” I muttered.

As I made my way back around to the front of the trailer, I wondered, where in the world were Jerry and Joey? Why would they both be missing?

A couple of days of no communication here and there wasn’t too unexpected, but this, mostly because of the appearance of Joey’s phone, was cause for real concern.

A red sedan kicked up dust as it came toward us from the main road. I watched it approach and then met Jenna as she stepped out of the vehicle.

“This car’s not the best out here,” I told her.

“I’m aware of that, but no one has offered me a new vehicle so I’m going to have to figure it out. I’m here, though.”

“Yeah. Okay. Right.”