Hiding In The Dark. Sava Mathou

to help Shelby and not get her into trouble. If Shelby is in trouble in some way, then you need to let me know. I can help her and have friends who can help her and keep her safe. If Steve is the reason that she is hiding, then I need to know.” Ellie laid it all out on the table.

      The girl bounded from her chair, saying, “I am sorry that I can’t help you anymore.” It was obvious the conversation was over. Ellie handed the girl her card and walked out the front door and back to the car. She was about to turn around to say goodbye when the door closed quickly behind her.

      Once in her car, Ellie backed out of the driveway. It had been an interesting conversation. She knew now that the girl was not missing but in hiding. That had become obvious. Ellie drove and wondered if she jumped too quickly at the end of their conversation. It was obvious the girl wasn’t ready to say more, yet she hoped that by giving her the business card that she would use it. Something definitely had to have happened for the girl to feel she needed to hide.

      When Ellie arrived at Shelby’s friend Lynn’s house. It was abundantly clear that the girl no longer had anything to say to her. In the time it took to drive from Stacy’s parents place on Holter Lake and reach Lynn’s house over on Highway 434, the phone lines must have been burning. Lynn wouldn’t even come to the door. Her mother answered the door, saying that her daughter was terribly upset and now was not a good time to talk. Ellie barely had time to give the mother her business card before the door was closed in her face.

      Ellie said loudly through the door, “I am here to help the girls. I know that something bad is going on. I can’t help if the girls don’t talk to me. My number is on the card. Please get your daughter to use it. I really want to help them out and bring Shelby home!” She could hear the footsteps move away from the door, hoping that her plea had not fallen on deaf ears and that the mother would talk some sense into the girl.

      *****

      Getting back to her office, Ellie stretched out on her comfy sofa and tried to piece the afternoon’s events out in her mind. First, she found it odd that Stacy had specifically used the word disappearance. There were so many other words that the girl could have used to explain what she thought had happened. But she had started off the conversation with that word. Second, when she mentioned quite by chance if there was a reason for Shelby to hide from Steve, the girl suddenly looked like she had let the cat out of the bag. That one, thankfully, didn’t have a good poker face. Third, the other girl, Lynn, would no longer even talk to her. It was strange in itself. After all, she was hired by Shelby’s father, and you think her best friends would be jumping at the chance to help?

      Something was definitely going on with these girls, and since she couldn’t sleep anyway, it was time to take a ride back up to Wolf Creek and do a little tailing of the girls. Ellie walked to the back room and grabbed her go bag with all her equipment in it. She set the bag on the desk and started to prepare for her first stake out. She checked through the bag to make sure everything was there.

      Binoculars. Check.

      Camera and lenses. Check.

      Handheld video camera. Check.

      Digital tape recorder. Check.

      Flashlights. Check.

      Extra batteries for everything. Check.

      Ellie grabbed the bag and headed to her car. She would stop at the house and change vehicles and drive John Sr.’s old Ford Explorer with the tinted windows. The girls wouldn’t know this car, and she doubted they would expect her in this kind of vehicle. She grinned. Besides, what would a sweet old lady be doing driving a big truck like this?

      After picking up the other vehicle, she made a quick stop at the store to pick up a few things to nibble on before she headed out. Might be a long night, and it was better to be prepared than wishing she had made a stop earlier.