“What about his clothes? Do you recall what he was wearing?”
“Not really. He was dressed normally.”
“Jeans? A suit?”
“I really don’t remember, Ms. Steel.”
“All right. Let’s attack this from another angle. What time did you see him?”
“I didn’t check my watch, but it was shortly before I left for the day. I leave at four p.m.”
“Okay. That’s helpful. You say he was dressed normally. Can you elaborate?”
“How can I elaborate? If he’d been wearing bright purple, I’d have noticed. I didn’t notice his clothes.”
“And you really can’t remember the length of his hair?”
“Nondescript. I would have remembered if he’d had really long hair, you know?”
“How tall was he?”
“Tall. Taller than me.”
“Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of. I’m sorry I’m not more help.”
“That’s okay,” I said sweetly. Best not to burn this bridge. “If I have more questions, I’ll call you.”
“Yeah. Of course.”
“Thanks for your help.”
“You’re welcome.”
Yeah, I was definitely bringing Joe and Talon in on this. I began to text them when the phone buzzed again.
“Hello?”
“Marjorie, hello. Evelyn Simpson.”
My heart dropped. Why was Bryce’s mother calling me? “Hi, Evelyn.”
“I’m so sorry to bother you, but Bryce went out, and can you believe this? We’re out of diapers. I need to run into town and get some. I was sure I had another whole box, but they seem to have gotten lost in the move. Anyway, could you possibly come over and keep an eye on Henry while I’m gone? He’s been fussy all day, and I don’t want to drag him into town. He’s cutting another tooth, poor thing.”
Bryce had gone out. It was dinnertime, after all. Who had he gone out with?
None of my business.
None of my fucking business.
“I’m happy to, but I’m just putting dinner on the table for Talon, Jade, and the boys.”
“Oh, goodness. I don’t want to interrupt your dinner.”
“No worries about that. I’m not hungry anyway.” That was the God’s honest truth. After Bryce’s note, I might never eat again.
“You’re welcome to anything here. The place is stocked.” She chuckled, which sounded a bit forced. “With everything except diapers, that is.”