“I think that’s it. He wasn’t here at all. Maybe someone else had his hat and dropped it out here.”
Naomi was frowning too. “But his car is here.”
“True enough. Let’s go back there.”
They retraced their steps to the Neon. When Bree opened the door, Samson thrust his head inside and barked. Sherlock yipped and wagged his tail. Bree put her hand on his head. “It’s definitely Drake’s car.”
“Maybe the car broke down, and he called someone to come get him,” Emily suggested. This was very weird, and her stomach clenched.
“Maybe. The sheriff is checking out his friends,” Bree said.
“What if we drive up and down the road with the windows down? The dogs might catch something,” Emily said.
Bree and Naomi exchanged a long glance, then Bree shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”
At least they weren’t treating her like a kid. They piled back into the SUV and ran the windows down. Both dogs hung their heads out. Emily fastened her seat belt, and Bree drove down the road slowly. Several times they stopped, thinking the dogs had a scent, but each time failed to trigger an alert. The clock on the dash glowed nearly eleven when they got back in the car the last time.
“We might as well give this up for tonight,” Bree said. “Maybe the sheriff is having better luck finding him.”
Emily bit her lip. She’d thought the dogs could always find a missing person.
“I already got your books for you.” Olivia leaned against Emily’s locker. “Aren’t you glad it’s Friday? Come on, let’s go to homeroom.”
Something was up. “We have almost ten minutes until first bell rings.” She yawned. It’d been after eleven by the time she and Naomi got home, and another couple of hours before she’d been able to fall asleep. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Drake. She couldn’t believe the dogs couldn’t find him. And she felt like it was all her fault that he was missing and alone. “Hey, did you find a copy of your birth certificate last night?”
“No. Come on, let’s walk to class.”
“Okay, ’cause I have something to tell you. I just need to hang my jacket in my locker.” Emily held up her Windbreaker. She didn’t think she could face all day at school, but if she hadn’t come, no way would Dad or Naomi let her go on any more night searches. “Move and let me stick it in my locker, then we can go talk and you can tell me what’s going on.”
When Naomi called the sheriff that morning for an update on Drake and was told he still hadn’t been found, Emily had felt like she was going to be sick. She felt so guilty about turning that picture in. What if Drake had run away because he was innocent and someone else was framing him? Or because the fire was a horrible accident? And now he was alone in the woods, hungry and scared and maybe hurt—and it was all her fault. She needed to talk it out, and the only person she wanted to do that with was Liv.
Olivia didn’t move.
Emily shifted her weight from one leg to the other. What was wrong with Olivia?
“Liv?”
Just then, several high school kids walked by.
“Snitch,” someone said in a cough-like bark.
One of them bumped her, knocking her into Olivia, then they all laughed before moving on down the hall.
Heat flooded her face as her heart slammed against her ribs.
“I’m so sorry, Em,” Olivia whispered as she bent to pick up the lunch bag Emily had dropped.
Emily caught sight of her locker over Olivia’s shoulder. Someone had written in a black marker across the front, EMILY O’REILLY IS A SNITCH.
Tears burned her eyes. She blinked hard and fast. She. Would. Not. Let. Them. See. Her. Cry.
Lord, why? I did the right thing, right? So how come no one understands that?
Olivia put her arm around Emily’s shoulder and led her toward homeroom. “Ignore them. They’re just being bullies.”
A funny taste filled Emily’s mouth. “I told you this would happen if I went to Principal Sturgeon.” Her social life, or whatever one she’d ever dreamed of having, was over. Before it ever really started.
“This will all blow over in a few days, especially once everyone has a great time at the homecoming celebration, which we wouldn’t even be having if it weren’t for you.” Olivia led her down the hall. “You did the right thing.”
Right thing—maybe. Social suicide—definitely.
“Emily. Emily,” called out someone from behind them.
She stopped and turned, facing Rachel Zinn.
“Oh my gosh, are you okay? I heard from some of the high schoolers you told on Drake—that it was his jacket the sheriff found, and that’s why he ran away.”
Emily and Rachel had been friends in elementary grades, then had a rough patch during the beginning of middle school. They’d recently ironed out their differences, but Rachel wasn’t exactly a comforting type of friend.
“Drake probably ran away because he lied to the sheriff.” Olivia, ever the defender, stood beside Emily like Sherlock over his favorite toy. “Emily didn’t get Drake in trouble. Drake got himself in trouble.”
“Hey, I’m not accusing. I’m just saying what I heard.” Rachel ignored Olivia, staring at Emily.
Emily needed to know. “Who said I told on Drake?”
Rachel shrugged. “A couple of high school boys saw you leave the principal’s office, then heard Principal Sturgeon ask for the sheriff and Drake’s address. They called Drake and warned him.”
That made sense. Emily licked her lips. “I saw a picture of Drake wearing the jacket we found at the school the night of the fire. I told the principal so he could look into it because it was possible Drake had given the jacket to someone else, his mom could’ve donated it for the yard sale, or maybe he’d loaned it to a friend, anything like that. I didn’t say Drake set the fire. I just told him so that he could talk to Drake and maybe come closer to finding who did it so we wouldn’t lose homecoming.” If only she could take it back, she would.
Rachel nodded. “That makes sense. My dad’s always giving away stuff he doesn’t use. And some stuff I still want.”
The first bell rang.
“See you around, Rachel. And thanks for letting us know what everyone is saying.” Olivia was still in protective mode as she turned Emily toward their homeroom. “Ignore everyone, Em. Seriously.”
Just outside the classroom door, Olivia pulled her to the side. “Listen, I found something in the trunk last night.”
Her dying social life momentarily forgotten, Emily widened her eyes. “Your birth certificate?”
Olivia shook her head. “Maybe better. I found an old envelope that had a document from the Michigan Department of Health. It lists my birth mother’s name.”
Excitement rushed through Emily. “Well?”
Olivia’s expression was unreadable. “My birth mother was Mackenzie Barnes.”
Mackenzie Barnes. Emily had never heard the name before.
“I don’t know who that is, but I texted the information to Inetta.”
The second bell rang, ending the conversation. They joined the other students filing into English class. But at least now they had a name. It was a start.
They’d barely taken their seats when the morning announcements started. “Students, I’m pleased to inform you that since the jacket’s owner has been identified by a fellow student, the homecoming celebration tomorrow at the community center is back on.” Principal Sturgeon’s voice boomed over the intercom. “I hope to see everyone at the football game tonight. Don’t forget, it begins at seven.”
The intercom squealed before it shut off, then everyone was silent. Seconds slipped by, then a couple of kids turned to stare at Emily.
“What’re you staring at?” Olivia asked one of the football players who glared at Emily.
“We’ll probably lose the game tonight since our starting running back is missing because of you.”
A couple of other kids nodded, and a lot of people were lookin
g at her and whispering. Emily wanted to run away herself. To the bathroom to throw up. To go back to bed and pull the covers over her head. She had thought everyone would be excited that the celebration was back on, but instead it seemed to make them hate her more. Why couldn’t this all be a horribly bad dream?
Her life had become a nightmare.
TEN
Emily’s life just wasn’t getting any better. They lost the game last night, and everyone said it was because their second-string running back missed several big plays, and Drake still hadn’t come back home. Everything was her fault.
And she hadn’t even had a minute to do any type of follow-up on Mackenzie Barnes. Not even this morning because she’d had to look over her notes for the Smackdown demonstration in just a few minutes.
The only good news was that Dr. Meeks had called Naomi and said he would bring Charley home that evening. Naomi and Timmy were beyond excited. So was Emily—she’d missed him, and so had Sherlock.
The Saturday homecoming celebration was in full swing, a Rock Harbor celebration of education in all forms. The entire four corners where Houghton Street connected with Pepin had stages, each with a designation for the town-wide party. On the community center grounds, a roped-off area served as an information center, with all of the day’s events and locations listed. Across Pepin Street from it, on the lot beside the hospital, was a built-up stage where the Ojibwa elders gave example lessons for the children who lived in the Native American community.
Locals milled about, going from one demonstration to another. The dance would take place later in the evening. All of the town’s restaurants would do a lot of business tonight—that was for sure.
On the opposite side of Houghton Street, beside the Konkala Service Station, a stage had been built that held Rock Harbor history artifacts from Anu Nicholls, Dave’s grandmother and the owner of Nicholls’ Finnish Imports. And in front of the Kitchigami Journal office, the stage was built for the school’s Smackdown demonstration.
Nerves tickled up Emily’s spine as she clasped and unclasped her hands in front of her. Both of her palms were slick with sweat despite the coolness of the weekend. Even though everyone seemed relieved the celebration hadn’t been canceled, most of the students were still treating Emily as if she had a bad case of the chicken pox.
“You’ll do fine, honey.” Naomi planted a kiss on Emily’s temple. “Forget about everything but the facts. You know this.”
Emily nodded. God, please let this go okay. I don’t think I can handle it if they make fun of me in front of the whole town.
“Ignore the rest of them,” she whispered. “You did the right thing. Your dad and I are very proud of you.”
Emily had told them about the jacket as soon as she’d gotten home. The last thing she needed was for them to think she was keeping something from them. The sheriff would have been sure to tell them how the school found out about Drake. They’d both told her how proud they were of her for doing the right thing. It meant a lot that she had their support, but she still felt like an outcast with everyone else.
Naomi gave her a quick hug. “I’m going to sit with your dad and brothers out front. Remember, this is just a demonstration. You’re going to do great.”
“Emily!”
She turned to find Caycie staring at her, wearing a frown. “Is it true? Did you tell on Drake?”
Her mouth went dry. “I didn’t tell on him. I just pointed out that he was wearing that jacket in a picture in last year’s yearbook.”
Caycie’s eyes narrowed. “So you did tell on him. When Trevor told me that, I didn’t want to believe him. I thought you were cooler than that. I guess I was wrong.” She turned away.
“Caycie, wait. I didn’t mean to get him in trouble. Really. He could have borrowed the jacket or loaned it to someone else or lost it.”
“Whatever, Emily. You told on him, and now he’s gone.” She shook her head. “You really are a goody-goody.” Caycie disappeared in the crowd before Emily could muster a response.
What would she say anyway? What could she say?
Mrs. Kantola took the microphone and moved to the front of the stage. The art club had really gone all out with the stage setup for the mock Smackdown competition. Two large lecterns split the stage in half, each long enough for three people to stand behind with round red buttons portraying the buzzers. There were six members on the team, but for the purposes of the exhibition, there would be three on each team.
After Mrs. Kantola gave the spiel about the team, their winning streak, and a few other particulars, she introduced each of them. Emily’s stomach tied into knots as Clayton McGovern took his place. She was next. She let out a slow breath while Mrs. Kantola read her stats: GPA, past competition record, etc.
“Miss Emily O’Reilly.”
Emily moved toward her space on the stage. Only her family and Olivia’s clapped. A few in the audience snickered and made some comments Emily couldn’t make out from the stage. Her face felt hotter than ever. She tripped and nearly fell into the lectern, but her teammate, Clayton, caught her arm and helped her to her place.
“Thanks,” she whispered as she fought not to run off the stage in epic embarrassment.
“You’re welcome. Pull it together. Don’t let them see that they’re getting to you.” Clayton straightened, staring at Mrs. Kantola even as he spoke to Emily. “Pretend they don’t exist.”
Emily let out the breath she’d been holding. Olivia was right. Naomi and Dad were right. Clayton was right. She had nothing to be embarrassed about—she had done the right thing. It was because of her that the celebration was even taking place. If anything, the kids should be thanking her, not being mean to her.
She kept telling herself that over and over in her mind. It didn’t work—she didn’t believe it any more than she believed she’d ever live down telling on Drake.
God, please help me.
Since the demonstration was for homecoming, all of the questions posed for the mock competition would be about Rock Harbor and its history.
“Name the famous captain from Rock Harbor who built the house that is now the Blue Bonnet Bed and Breakfast and tell us why he built it.”
All six team members hit their pretend buzzers.
“Clayton McGovern,” Mrs. Kantola called on him.
“Captain Sarasin built the house so his wife could watch for his return from sea.” Clayton spoke clear and confidently, just like all the team had been trained.
Mrs. Kantola nodded and continued. “What is the current population of Rock Harbor?”
Again, everyone hit his or her red button.
“Betsy Montgomery.” Mrs. Kantola called on one of the team members playing as competition to Emily.
“Current population of Rock Harbor is two thousand five hundred and ninety-eight.”
The questions and answers came faster:
“When was the Rock Harbor Community Center built?”
“During the heyday of the Copper Queen mining era.”
Further questions about who were the first residents of the Michigan town and what impacts of the Finnish and Cornish peoples were on Rock Harbor. “When was the Rock Harbor Community Church built?”
“In 1886.”
“What was the Rock Harbor Inn originally?”
All the team members hit the button, as usual.
“Emily O’Reilly.” Finally, Mrs. Kantola called on her.
“In the eighteen hundreds, it was a French trading post.”
“Correct.” Mrs. Kantola set down her papers. “That concludes our demonstration of the Rock Harbor Junior High History Smackdown team. We’re always on the lookout for dedicated and inspired history students to try out.”
Emily kept the forced smile on her face as Mrs. Kantola continued to talk about the team’s successes and how it brought such honor and recognition to the school, and how they hoped to expand the program in the future to include the high school grade levels.
Come on, Mrs. K
antola, let us go. Emily stared out over the crowd of probably a hundred or so people. Most of their faces all blurred together, which was probably a good thing. Many of the students in the front frowned at her, blaming her. She could make out Caycie’s and Trevor’s disappointed stares from the stage.
Refusing to think about them, Emily stared over their heads to the community center’s yard. And then she saw her. No doubts, no mistakes. She smiled at Emily . . .
Marika was still in Rock Harbor. As if Emily’s life wasn’t complicated enough!
Emily wanted to find Dad and Naomi to tell them about seeing her mother right away, but she’d had to go straight from the Smackdown exhibition to the SAR school demonstration. Her family had waved at her onstage as they’d left to head to the SAR school grounds.
Emily kept a tight hold on Sherlock’s leash when he lunged toward a red candy bar wrapper blowing across the grass. Bree and Samson were already waiting with two other members of the search-and-rescue team. The training equipment was ready and waiting.
“Sorry I’m late,” Emily said breathlessly to Bree. Sherlock went to touch noses with Samson. The bigger dog’s tail swished happily at the sight of the puppy.
“Don’t worry. The rest of us just got here.” Bree patted Sherlock’s head when he jumped up on her leg. “You and Sherlock are going to be the stars of the show. Since this is a demonstration, I want the students to see how quickly a puppy begins to know what is expected of him.”
Emily zipped her jacket against the blustery October wind. “He didn’t do so well on Saturday. He still doesn’t like that fake window.”
“He’ll do fine. Have him crawl through the tunnel first. It will give him confidence. And then lead him along the balance beam. Keep the window for last.”
Good advice, but Emily still wasn’t sure Sherlock was ready. “Are we doing a mock search?”
Bree nodded. “I’ll have you hide in the box.”
Emily swallowed hard. She’d much rather someone more trained took the center role. She wrapped Sherlock’s leash around her palm and led him to the tunnel. Bree called everyone to attention and began to explain the process of training a puppy. Emily kept her eyes on the ground. Would her schoolmates think what she was doing was stupid? They already thought she was nothing but a snitch.
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