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“What time did I get home?” I nod. “I think about midnight.”

“Did you see her when you got home?”

“No, and her door was closed, so I don’t know if she was in there or not.”

“The day that you took her to the jump place—is that the only time you think you saw Ezra?” Cole asks.

“Yeah, I don’t normally take her or my brothers places.”

“Barbra said that Romey only has one social media account. Do you know if that’s true or if there is some other account she uses to keep in touch with friends?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” He shrugs, then sits back with his eyes wide. “Roblox.”

“Roblox?”

“Yeah, the game. I know that she chats with some of her classmates on the app.”

“You never mentioned that to us.” Steven frowns at his son.

“Because she’s sixteen, and it’s not a big deal,” he tells his dad. “Or I didn’t think it was.”

“So you think Romey and Ezra . . .” Barbra says his name slowly, like she’s testing it out. “You think the two of them are together?”

“I can’t guarantee it, but the two of them going missing at the same time leads me to believe that might be the case.”

“Have you talked to her dad, their dad? Are they with him?”

“He’s been in jail for over six months.”

“What about Ezra’s mother?”

“She passed away when he was three. He was living with a family member, but taking care of him became too much, and they turned him over to state custody,” I tell her and watch tears fill her eyes. “I know that none of this seems like good news, but discovering the possible reason for Romey running could help us track her down. If she is trying to take care of her brother, it’s likely that at some point she will need help doing that.”

“Winter is coming,” Barbra says, and my gut clenches. She’s right—winter is right around the corner, and the nights are already freezing.

“I know and promise that I’m using everything at my disposal to track her, and now Ezra, down.”

“We just want to find her; we want her home,” Barbra says, leaning into her husband.

“We want to find her too,” I assure her and fill her in on my plan for a media campaign, getting the story on the news and doing more of a push around town to get Romey’s and now Ezra’s photos out there. After about fifteen minutes I get up from my seat as she stands with her husband, and Lucas gets up as well. “If we get any new information, we will be in touch, but in the meantime, if you guys can continue to keep us in the loop if you hear anything or think of anything.” I focus on Lucas. “If you think of anything at all, I want you to call me, and if you could get me the name of the jump place you went to and the log-in information for her Roblox account, that would really help. It might be how she was able to get into contact with Ezra.”

“As soon as we get back to the house, I’ll see if I can get in,” he mutters, making his way to the door before anyone else.

After shaking Steven’s hand and giving Barbra another hug, I walk them out to the front of the sheriff’s office and say goodbye before turning to Cole.

“They seem like a solid family,” he says, watching them leave.

“They are,” I agree, then add, “I’m hoping that if she was using that game to chat with Ezra, they communicated what their plan was or maybe where they were going to hide out.”

“Where do you think they are?”

“I’m not sure. Storm and I have searched the woods in the area Romey was seen but came up empty handed. Her friends claim they have no idea where she is and that they haven’t heard from her.”

“Do you think they are telling the truth?”

“Girl code runs deep among teenagers, so I don’t know.” I put on my jacket when I reach my desk. “Thanks for going in with me.”

“No problem.” He lifts his chin. “You heading out?”