The girl was gone now.
Nathan, recognizing he was in over his head and lacking the ability and ambition to ask her any more questions, called the sheriff. Then, his parents. They all arrived at about the same time and asked him and Archie question after question after question.
Where did she come from?
What is her name?
DId she seem physically hurt?
What did she tell you?
Nathan shared what he could. Archie felt the need to bring up Trivial Pursuit, mixtapes, and how it was weird that she wasn’t wearing shoes in the snow.
“She didn’t act all that cold,” he said.
“I noticed that, too,” Nathan said. “For someone who had been out in the woods, she didn’t shiver. Her cheeks were red, but as soon as we let her in the house, she seemed fine.”
Nathan’s mom held Archie close. His dad stood with his hand on Nathan’s shoulders.
“Did she say who took her?” Nathan only shook his head and told the officer what the girl had said about them still being in the woods. Then, the sheriff nodded for his parents to join him in the other room. The sheriff tried to whisper, but Nathan heard what he said to them.
“We’ll search the woods and see what we find. Her parents should be here any minute. The girl’s name is Susan. Susan Carpenter. This is the damndest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“What do you mean?” Nathan’s dad asked.
“Susan Carpenter has been missing for fifteen years.”
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