Vanishing Acts

Chapter 9

The Getaway

Beep.

Groggily, Madison looked at the clock.

Beep.

Eleven a.m. Wow, she’d slept late! She reached over and grabbed her cell phone.

Beep.

“Becca” appeared on the caller ID. Madison sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. She clicked the Talk button.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Madison, it’s Becca! You sound sleepy. Are you still in bed?”

“No, I—I was about to get up anyway. What’s up?”

“Well, Lacey, Jessi, and I are meeting in the mall food court at noon. I thought I’d find out if you wanted to come.”

Madison thought quickly. She did have homework to do, and she wanted to think about the Shelby case. And look for Ann. But maybe it would be fun to go to the mall like all the other junior high girls did. Plus, it was really nice of Becca to invite her. Ann was always the one the other girls invited to go to the mall, and Ann usually passed the invite to Madison. It felt good to get the invite directly from Becca.

“Sure!” Madison answered, swinging her legs out of bed.

At seven that morning, the sound of the front door closing had woken Madison up. Even though it was Saturday, her dad was at the office.

“My dad’s at work, so would I be able to get a ride with you?”

“We’ll pick you up in forty minutes.”

“Awesome. . . . Thanks, Becca! See you soon!”

Madison dialed her dad’s office, but the call went straight to voice mail. She sighed.

“Hey, Dad,” she said, “I’m going to the mall with Becca, Jessi, and Lacey today. I’ll have my cell if you need me. I love you.”

Snapping her cell shut, she went to the bathroom to shower.

The girls bought smoothies in the food court, then walked toward Nordstrom to look at shoes.

“So what’s Jake doing this weekend?” Becca asked with a coy smile.

Madison blushed. “I have no idea,” she said, stepping onto the up escalator.

“You should keep better track of your boyfriend.” Becca giggled.

Madison’s blush deepened. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s just a friend.”

“You hang out all the time; he always talks to you at lunch. He’s either your boyfriend or he wants to be,” Becca argued.

Madison wondered if Becca was right. Of all the girls Madison knew, Becca was the authority on boys. She had “gone out” with three boys since the fifth grade and even kissed Jason Tompkins after the sixth-grade graduation dance. Suddenly all thoughts of Jake and boys vanished.

Ann’s mother was passing Madison on the down escalator.

At least Madison thought it was Ann’s mom. It looked like the woman Madison had seen at every soccer practice and game since she was five, cheering on the sidelines—but something was different. Ann’s mom usually wore professional suits or tailored clothes even on weekends, and had her hair up in a tight bun or French twist. This woman had Ann’s mom’s face but was dressed in a long, flowing gypsy skirt, and her long hair hung down in unbrushed waves.

“Mrs. Beck!” Madison yelled.

The woman turned, and her eyes locked with Madison’s. For a second the woman looked startled. Then she flashed a forced smile and gave a tight wave.

Madison’s escalator reached the top, and she ran around to the other side of the floor to catch the down escalator, ignoring the other girls’ puzzled calls. She ran down the escalator, pushing past shoppers. When she reached the bottom, she scanned the floor for the woman. Radio Shack, Body Shop, Kay Jewelers . . . but she’d lost her.

When Madison got back to the top of the escalator, the girls were laughing.

Jessi was bent over, hysterical. “OMG, you ran off like a crazy lady!” she said.

“That was Ann’s mom. I can’t believe she ran away!” Madison said, embarrassed and confused.

“She didn’t run away,” Lacey said, giggling. “I saw her wave at you. She probably didn’t know you were chasing her.”

“No way. She had to have seen me run down the escalator. I bet she was trying to get away so she wouldn’t have to answer questions about Ann.”

“I’m sure she wasn’t avoiding you,” Becca said, rolling her eyes. “She may not have been Ann’s mom anyway. I’ve never seen Ann’s mom in an outfit like that.”

“It looked like Mrs. Beck’s hippie twin sister or something,” Jessi said.

“That makes me even more nervous.” Madison sighed. “Maybe she was in disguise so we wouldn’t recognize her.”

“I’m sure Ann’s fine,” Jessi said, annoyed by Madison’s never-ending dramatics. “I’m sure everything is fine. Let’s go look at shoes.”

“Yeah, a little retail therapy will make you feel better,” Becca added, giggling.

Madison gave a halfhearted smile, but she couldn’t shake the worry. What could have happened to Ann?