37 McKenna
McKenna
doesn’t let on. I’m sure people buy all sorts of weird stuff at these places, so my little haul of peanut butter, tuna packets,
baby wipes, batteries, and duct tape doesn’t seem to faze him. I’ve been getting better at choosing only essential items when
I go for supplies, but I notice a display of car air fresheners off to the side and can’t stop myself from grabbing one. Having
caught a whiff of the sour smell coming off my sweatshirt, I decide air freshener is essential too.
As soon as I’m back in the car, I hang the little pine-scented tree around the mirror. It’s probably going to take a lot more
than a three-inch piece of cardboard to freshen up this space, but here’s hoping. I’m just turning on the car to head back
to campus when my phone rings with a number I don’t know.
“Hello?”
“Is this McKenna Jamison?” the man on the other end of the line asks in a gravelly voice.
“Yes.”
“This is Officer Haversham with the Cedar Hills Police Department.”
My first thought is Hollyhock. They must have found something, and now they want me to come in for questioning.
“I understand you have a relationship with a young man named Leo Becker.”
“Leo?” I straighten in my seat. “Is he okay?”
“He’s gone missing, ma’am, and we’re calling around to see if anyone knows where he might be. When was the last time you saw
him?”
“How could Leo be missing? His whole existence is about sticking to routines. It’s actually really sweet. He goes to the same
few places, like the Y, his school, this place called Wunderkinds. I’m sure you could find the address online.”
“The last time you saw him, ma’am?”
The cop on the line is so serious that I start to worry something is really wrong. I rack my brain, trying to be helpful.
“We had coffee,” I tell the cop. “It was like two or three months ago. I haven’t seen him since. But he just texted me the
other day. He’d spent that day working at the Y. Did you call over there? There’s a woman, Karyn, maybe she could help.”
“Did he mention anything out of the ordinary? Maybe he was in some kind of trouble?”
“Oh, shit.”
“Ma’am?”
“The drone racing league.”
I know Leo wanted me to keep our conversation confidential, but if he’s gotten involved with bad people, he could really be in danger. I thought I’d convinced him to stay uninvolved, but what if he went ahead and helped them cheat anyway? And now someone wants to hurt him?
I tell the cop everything I can remember about our conversation.
“Please, please let me know if you find him.”
“I’ll make a note. Thank you for your time.”
When we hang up, I’m still parked outside of 7-Eleven. I watch a silver-haired man go inside and head straight for the counter.
He and the guy at the register start talking, and I can tell even from far away that they’re making jokes and catching up.
It’s so different from how things are for Leo, who struggles to make friends wherever he goes. It hurts my heart to think
about where he might be, what might have happened to him. I feel so powerless just sitting here, worrying.
Before I can stop myself, I dial Beck’s number. Even though he made it clear he didn’t want to stay in contact, I think this
situation calls for an exception to be made.
“McKenna.” He’s all business as he answers. “Do you know where he is?”
“No, that’s why I’m calling. How can I help?”
“You can’t help, McKenna.” His words bite. “If you don’t know where he is, there’s nothing for us to discuss.”
“Wait, did you call Tatiana?” I ask, mentioning the girl from Wunderkinds. “He’s been—”
“Yes, we called Tatiana. Wait, how do you know about Tatiana?” His voice is laced with unspoken accusations.
“We’ve been talking, Leo and I. Mostly texting. And he—”
Beck cuts me off again. “I thought you weren’t in contact anymore.”
“He reached out. I wasn’t going to turn him away.”
“Right, and as soon as the two of you reconnect, he makes a break for it.”
“Not as soon as we reconnect. We’ve been back in touch for a few months.”
“Well, that’s just great.” His voice is full of sarcasm. “So is this something you brought into his life, some kind of trouble
like at Hollyhock?”
“Beck! I wasn’t the one who did those things to the pool. You know that.”
“McKenna, look. I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, hand to god, I do. If it were any guy besides my kid brother,
I’d be willing to hear you out. But protecting Leo has always been first priority for me. Always will be.”
“I understand.” And I do, but I still feel a weight in my chest at his willingness to cast me aside. I won’t let my bruised
ego stand in the way of helping Leo though. “I can tell you what I told the cop, about the drone racing league.”
I fill him in, and he asks, “But he never mentioned a location, somewhere they asked him to go?”
“Not to me.” I shake my head, even though he can’t see me.
“I appreciate this, McKenna. From the heart. But I’ve got to go.” And then he just hangs up.