Once Gone (a Riley Paige Mystery--Book #1)

Chapter 12

"April!" Riley screamed. "April!"

Riley ran to the bathroom and looked inside. Her daughter wasn't there either.

She ran desperately through the house, opening doors, looking into every room and every closet. She found nothing.

"April!" she screamed again.

Riley recognized the bitter flavor of bile in her mouth. It was the taste of terror.

At last, in the kitchen, she noticed an odd smell wafting in through an open window. She recognized that smell from long-ago college days. Her terror ebbed away, replaced by sad annoyance.

"Oh, Jesus," Riley murmured aloud, feeling immense relief.

She jerked the back door open. In the early morning light she could see her daughter, still in her pajamas, sitting at the old picnic table. April looked guilty and sheepish.

"What do you want, Mom?" April asked.

Riley strode across the yard, holding out her hand.

"Give it to me," Riley said.

April awkwardly tried to display an innocent expression.

"Give you what?" she asked.

Riley's voice choked back more sadness than anger. "The joint you're smoking," she said. "And please—don't lie to me about it."

"You're crazy," April said, doing her best to sound righteously indignant. "I wasn't smoking anything. You're always assuming the worst about me. You know that, Mom?"

Riley noticed how her daughter was hunched forward as she sat on the bench.

"Move your foot," Riley said.

"What?" April said, feigning incomprehension.

Riley pointed at the suspicious foot.

"Move your foot."

April groaned aloud and obeyed. Sure enough, her bedroom slipper had been covering a freshly crushed marijuana joint. A wisp of smoke rose from it, and the smell was stronger than ever.

Riley bent down and snatched it up.

"Now give me the rest of it."

April shrugged. "The rest of what?"

Riley couldn't quite keep her voice steady. "April, I mean it. Don't lie to me. Please."

April rolled her eyes and reached into her shirt pocket. She pulled out a joint that hadn't been lit.

"Oh, for Christ's sake, here," she said, handing it to her mother. "Don't try to tell me you're not going to smoke it yourself as soon as you get a chance."

Riley shoved both joints into her bathrobe pocket.

"What else have you got?" she demanded.

"That's it, that's all there is," April snapped back. "Don't you believe me? Well, go ahead, search me. Search my room. Search everywhere. This is all I've got."

Riley was trembling all over. She struggled to bring her emotions under control.

"Where did you get these?" she asked.

April shrugged. "Cindy gave them to me."

"Who's Cindy?

April let out a cynical laugh. "Well, you wouldn't know, would you, Mom? It's not like you know much of anything about my life. What do you care, anyway? I mean, does it make any difference to you if I get high?"