Chapter 3
Charlotte’s throat tightened as she pressed the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“This is an automated message from Tuckerton High School. We’re calling to inform you that Sophia Meyers was marked absent from her first and second-period classes today.
If you’re aware of this absence, no action is needed.
If this absence is unexpected, please contact the school office at your earliest convenience. Thank you.”
The recording ended, leaving Charlotte staring at her phone in confusion.
Sophia’s being absent didn’t make any sense.
Her daughter had left for school that morning, just like any other day.
She offered a quick goodbye at the door, with her backpack slung over one shoulder and her earbuds already in place.
“Wait,” she said. “That can’t be right.”
She dropped the phone into her lap and quickly pulled over to the curb, putting the mail truck in park. Her hands weren’t quite steady as she picked up the phone again and dialed Sophia’s number. The line rang three times, then went to voicemail.
“Hey, it’s Sophia. Leave a message.”
“Sophia, it’s Mom. I just got a call from the school saying you’re not there. Are you okay? Please call me back as soon as you get this.”
She ended the call and immediately dialed again.
The second time, it still went straight to voicemail.
Charlotte felt a flutter of panic rising in her chest. Sophia rarely missed school.
Even when she’d had a fever the previous winter, she’d been reluctant to stay home, worried about falling behind in her advanced placement classes.
“Okay, think,” Charlotte muttered.
Maybe Sophia had gone to her grandparents’ house. She dialed her parents’ number next, but after five rings, there was still no answer. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard. It was 10:45. Her mother would be at her weekly book club meeting, and her father was probably out running errands.
Charlotte took a deep breath, trying to slow her racing thoughts.
There had to be a reasonable explanation.
Maybe Sophia wasn’t feeling well and had gone to the nurse’s office.
The automated system might not have updated yet.
Or perhaps there had been a mix-up with the attendance.
She forced herself to put the truck back in drive and continue down the street.
“Focus,” she said. “Sophia’s sixteen; she’s responsible…there’s an explanation.”
As she sorted through the mail for the next delivery, her mind kept circling back to the same question. Where was her daughter?
The elderly man at the next stop noticed her distraction immediately. “Everything all right? You seem a bit off today.”
“I just got a call from my daughter’s school,” Charlotte said. “Teenagers, you know how it is.”
He chuckled. “Three of my own, all grown now. They’ll give you gray hair before you’re forty.”
If only it were that simple, Charlotte thought as she handed over his mail.
If Sophia had skipped class to hang out with friends or decided to take an unauthorized day off, she’d be annoyed but not terrified.
Something about the timing bothered her.
The weather alert, the unexpected absence, and the unanswered calls made her stomach twist.
At the next house, she found herself checking her phone between every piece of mail she delivered.
Still no callback from Sophia. By the time she reached the end of the next block, Charlotte had called her daughter four more times, sent three text messages, and tried her parents’ house twice. Each attempt was met with silence.
The rational part of her brain knew Sophia was probably fine.
The part of her that was a mother, the part that had already lost too much, couldn’t bear the uncertainty.
She pulled over again in front of a small park where she often stopped to reorganize her mail between sections of her route.
From there, she was twenty minutes from the high school, fifteen from home, ten from her parents’ house.
If she left, she could check all three places and still have time to finish her route afterward. Her phone rang, cutting off the spiral of questions. Charlotte grabbed it so quickly she nearly dropped it, but the name on the screen wasn’t Sophia’s. It was the main number for Tuckerton High.
“Yes, hello?”
“Mrs. Meyers? This is Principal Winters. We spoke last month at the parent-teacher conference.”
“Yes, of course. I got your automated message about Sophia. Is she okay? What’s happening?”
There was a brief pause on the line. “I’m afraid I don’t have any additional information about Sophia’s absence. The call was automatic. It goes out whenever a student misses their first two classes without prior notification. I’m just following up as a courtesy since we’ve met.”
“So, you don’t know where she is? No one’s seen her today?” Charlotte asked.
“I’m sorry, but no. The attendance office noted her absence at 8:15, but beyond that…
Perhaps she’s at home sick? Many students come to school feeling unwell and then have their parents pick them up later.
I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.
Teenagers can be unpredictable. Perhaps she’s with friends? ”
“I’ve tried calling. She’s not answering. I’m her mother. I should know where she is.”
“Of course. Would you like me to have the school resource officer make some inquiries? Check with her friends, perhaps?”
“Yes, please. I’m finishing my route, and then I’m going to look for her. If you hear anything, please call me immediately.”
“I will,” he promised. “We’ll find her, Mrs. Meyers. Try not to worry.”
As Charlotte ended the call and pulled back onto the road, worry was all she could manage.
With each passing minute, each unanswered call, and each empty text message, the knot in her stomach grew tighter.
Something was wrong. She could feel it with the same certainty that had told her something was wrong the day Jacob died.
It was a mother’s intuition that transcended rational thought.