Chapter 12 - The Empty Apartment
The cruiser turned into the parking lot of our apartment building and the tires crunched over fresh snow. It was coming down harder now, sideways in the headlights. I held Lily on my lap in the back seat, her head heavy against my shoulder. Her snowsuit was damp at the cuffs and her cream hat was crooked. She still had the bunny squeezed under her chin.
I knew that lot. I knew the cracked curb by the dumpster and the blue door with the paint peeling at the bottom. That was home. My stomach dropped because the windows were dark.
The sheriff parked and radioed something low. "This it?" he asked, looking back at me.
I nodded. "Second floor. Two B."
We got out and he carried Lily for me up the icy stairs because my legs were shaking. The hallway smelled like old heat and someone's cooking. Our door was shut. Locked. The little Christmas sock Mom had taped up last week was still there, a little soggy.
I knocked anyway. "Mom?" My voice cracked. "Mom, it's us."
Nothing. No TV. No footsteps. Just quiet.
Lily lifted her head. "Mommy?"
The sheriff knocked harder, then looked down the hall. An apartment manager came out of 1A with keys jingling, a big man in a flannel shirt and work boots. He looked at us, then at the sheriff's badge.
"Sheriff Ray Collins," he said. "We need to check on the resident. Karen Mitchell. Two small kids here."
The manager frowned. "She pay rent? She's current." He unlocked the door for us and pushed it open. "You got five minutes. I got pipes freezing downstairs."
Warm air hit my face, but it felt stale and cold at the same time, like the heat had been off for hours. I stepped in first. My boots left wet prints on the rug.
"Mom?" I called again.
No answer.
It was messy in a way our place never was. A kitchen chair was tipped over. Dad's big work coat was gone from the hook by the door where it always hung. Mom's phone charger was still plugged into the wall by the couch, the cord stretched out empty. Her purse wasn't on the counter. One of Lily's socks was on the floor by itself.
My chest got tight. Mom never left without her phone charged. She always said that.
The sheriff walked through slow, checking the kitchen and the short hall to the bedrooms. The manager stood by the door with his arms crossed. Lily wiggled down and ran straight for the couch and grabbed her coloring book.
"Look, Emma," she whispered. "Bunny wants to color."
I couldn't move at first. Then I saw the note on the fridge, held up by a pizza magnet. Mom's fast writing, slanting down.
County - Dad worse. Bus. Love you. Stay with E. - M
My hands were shaking in my gray gloves. I read it twice. She'd left in a hurry. She meant for us to stay somewhere, but with who? E? Emma? Me?
"She went to the hospital," I said. My voice sounded too loud. "She took the bus."
Sheriff Collins came back and read the note over my shoulder. "When did you last see your mom?" he asked gentle.
"This morning," I said. "She said wait for Grandma to call. Then the ambulance... Dad..." I stopped because I didn't know how to say it right.
He nodded and wrote it down. Just then there was a knock and Mrs. Diaz from 2C leaned in with grocery bags. Her eyes got wide when she saw us.
"Oh, mijas! Where you been in this snow?" She set the bags down and came to Lily, touching her cold cheek. "Your mama was running this morning, Emma. Crying. She said your daddy took a turn. She missed her ride and had to run for the county bus."
"Which bus?" the sheriff asked.
"The 14," Mrs. Diaz said. "Down on Fifth. Goes right to County General. She didn't even have a hat on."
I felt a little sick and a little better at the same time. She hadn't left us on purpose. She'd gone to Dad.
While they talked, I opened the junk drawer where Mom kept bills. My fingers were numb. I pushed past takeout menus and found the phone bill envelope, already opened. There was Mom's number right on top in big print. I stared at it and pulled it out.
"I can call her now," I said. "I didn't know it before. Now I got it."
The sheriff took the paper carefully and folded it into his pocket. "Good work, Emma. That's real good."
May you like
Lily was falling asleep on the couch with the bunny tucked under her arm. Mrs. Diaz covered her with our throw blanket. The apartment was empty and quiet except for the fridge humming. Mom wasn't coming back here tonight. I knew that.
But we knew where she went.
