We hurried to the car as quickly as we could without running, and as we went, I wished Dad and I had devised a language that I could use while we walked. Maybe something like base coaches or catchers in baseball use with nose tugs and arm rubs.
Once we had the doors closed, I grabbed my phone and groaned when I saw it had no bars. Mika shook her head. She didn’t have any signal either.
“Okay, so we need to go with the kidnap-victim plan then,” I said with an attempt at levity. “A note in the car window so that they can see it as we drive by.”
“Isn’t that risky?” Mika asked. “I mean other people might see it, too.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but do you want to go up there without our back-up understanding the situation?”
“No. Okay, what do I write?” She had a tube of bright-red lipstick and a na
