Kent called out Koa’s name, but the wild girl never looked back. She ran full speed down the potholed dirt road, the soles of her bare feet taunting pale flashes. She veered into the vacant lot full of the Valley’s debris, and disappeared.

She could run, but he knew where she went to hide.

Kent had a bad feeling as he gazed into the empty road.

A curl of dread tightened his gut—and it wasn’t just abandonment because Koa had bolted without so much as a goodbye. Something bad was on its way.

But feeling shitty was probably from the stress of seeing Koa go borderline catatonic at his “good news” about her family. He’d felt like he’d kicked a puppy. The sight of her panicky face in the restaurant was seared on his brain.

Notifying the parents that he’d found her, without her being present or willing to meet them, was going to be a bitch.

They’d want to see her right away. Know why he’d let her run off into the jungle. He could picture the hysteria. The pressure. When all he really wanted was for her to have the freedom to take this whole thing at her own pace, or not at all.

And yeah, okay. He liked her. A lot. He wanted time to get to know her more. Be able to build on the connection they had.

How could that happen, now? “Fuck.”

He turned the key and cut the truck’s engine.

He had a job to do. When in doubt, do the next right thing. His plumbline, empty as it was.

Kent left the truck in the road and approached Manny and Ella’s cottage, entering the garage. A quick glance at the dry tires of the man’s truck told him it hadn’t been moved.

Kent called out. “Mr. Abalo? It’s Detective Higa. I’m here to do a health check on you.” There was no response except for the creaking of wooden stairs under his weight as he stepped up to the interior door leading into the kitchen. “Mr. Abalo?”

No answer.

Kent turned the handle; it was unlocked. As he’d left it, when he put Abalo to bed two days ago. He pushed the door open. The air was still, heavy; the house had an empty feeling.

The knot of dread tightened in his belly.

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