Page 95 of Searching for Bristol
Rocky couldn’t bring himself to sleep in his bed, not without Bristol there to share it with him, so he’d been spending the nights on his couch. Sleeping in short spurts. Any tiny noise made him jerk awake, thinking it was Bristol coming home. But he was disappointed every time.
He looked like hell, but didn’t even care. He hadn’t brushed his hair or beard in days. Couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten or changed clothes. How could he worry about shit like that when his woman might be starving? Or wearing the same clothes she’d been taken in? Or not allowed to bathe?
When it got close to the time Ethan would be meeting with the people in the square, Rocky left his apartment to attend. He wanted to say something to the townspeople. Needed them to be aware on a different level than they’d been before.
He was halfway down the stairs, heading to his car, when one of the apartment doors opened behind him.
Looking up, Rocky saw Lance closing his door.
“Morning,” Lance told him as he started down the stairs. “Any luck finding your girlfriend?”
“Not yet,” Rocky said, as they both reached the parking lot.
“I’m sorry. That has to hurt.”
Hurtwhat an understatement. “Yeah,” he said absently.
“Well, I hope you find her. I’m off to the grocery store and the post office.” He gestured to a package under his arm, giving Rocky a small smile.
“Thanks. Have a good day,” he returned without thought. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d run mundane errands like grocery shopping. The cake Bristol had made for him the day she’d disappeared had sat on his counter for a week, before Ethan had wrapped it up and taken it away. His brother knew without asking that throwing it away was something Rocky couldn’t do. He was sure Ethan had dumped it once he’d gotten home, but would never do something so heartless in front of his twin.
Rocky didn’t even remember the drive to the square. He knew that was extremely dangerous, but lately, he couldn’t muster up the energy to care about his own safety.
There were several dozen people milling around the Circle, the gazebo in the middle of the square. He couldn’t help but be heartened that so many were still trying to find his Bristol.
He walked up to where Ethan was standing in the Circle, and the crowd around them got silent. Rocky didn’t always show up to the meetings when Ethan organized searches, but when he did, people had been sympathetic and positive, which he appreciated.
He immediately addressed the crowd. “Thanks for coming out again today. I know Bristol would be so happy and surprised with all the support people have shown her. But…here’s the thing…I think we need to alter our thoughts on the search,” he told the locals.
Rocky could feel his brother looking at him, but he kept his eyes on the volunteers. “If she was hurt in the woods or anywhere in the town, we would’ve found her by now. I don’t think we can escape the fact that someone is keeping her hidden. I think we need to start talking about things we’ve seen not while searching, but when we’re just out and about. I’ve never been a fan of gossip…but that’s what we need right now. What have you seen or heard that seems out of place or unusual? Have any of your neighbors been acting strangely? Furtively? Did someone leave town suddenly without notice? Anyone bought a ton of cleaning supplies lately?
“Whoever took Bristol can’t hide her forever. And before anyone gets crazy, I’m not suggesting you should make accusations about your neighbors and friends. I simply want you to change your way of thinking…from looking for Bristol around every corner, to dissecting any information you might have about something you saw or heard, and putting those pieces together.
“I miss her. So much. She needs us. Needs us to band together andtalkto each other. She’s out there somewhere. Waiting to be found. Please…think hard about anything out of the ordinary that you’ve seen, and call the police. Even if it’s something small, it could be the clue we need to find Bristol. Thank you.”
Rocky’s gaze swept the crowd. He saw Silas, Otto, and Art. They’d left their spot in front of the post office to join in the search, or at least to listen to whatever Ethan had to say each morning. Sandra was there. As were most of the owners of the businesses in the square. Hell, even the owner of the pool hall, Whip, stood a short distance from the rest of the crowd, and he was a standoffish son-of-a-bitch. But Rocky wasn’t going to turn away anyone who was interested in helping to find Bristol.
Davis was there, looking scruffy as ever, as were the servers from On the Rocks. His friend’s bar didn’t open for a few hours, and they were here on their free time, wanting to help. Nissi O’Neill, the town’s lawyer, Finley, Khloe…even Edna Brown, the woman who owned the motel where Elsie and Tony had lived for so long. There were teachers from Tony’s school, and even people Rocky didn’t know.
Fallport was a community, and when something happened to one of their own, everyone took it personally.
Ethan ended the meeting by announcing there would be no official searches organized today, and instead urged everyone to do just as his brother had suggested—talk to each other. Think about the things they’d seen and heard recently, and if anything seemed to be suspect in any way, to call Simon at the police station.
When everyone had left, and it was just Rocky and Ethan left standing in the Circle, Rocky turned to his brother. “She’s losing time,” he said quietly.
“We aren’t giving up,” Ethan said sternly.
“I know, but…it’s been two weeks.”
“You know as well as I do that sometimes our searches take even longer than this,” Ethan said.
“I do, but in almost one hundred percent of the cases that take this long, we find a body, not a person,” Rocky said, admitting for the first time what he was beginning to fear deep in his heart. He hadn’t wanted to think his Bristol was dead, he hadn’tfeltlike she was dead, but he had to consider the most obvious scenario.
“No,” Ethan said, getting up in his brother’s face. “She isnotdead. You’d know it.”
“Would I?” Rocky asked.
“Yes! You know that as well as I do.”
