Twenty minutes later, I was banging on Janie's front door. I didn't expect her to answer – she wasn't known for getting up before noon. But I was reasonably certain babies didn't sleep that late, so Sammi should have been awake.

"Sammi? If you're in there, open up! We need to talk."

I jumped down to the dirt patch in front of the window, a garden that likely hadn't been a garden in fifty years. I rapped on the dirt-encrusted glass.

"Sammi! It's Nadia. Look, I'm not here to chew you out. I just need to know if you're coming back to work."

Silence. I put my ear to the window, but couldn't hear so much as a baby gurgling. I rapped harder.

Nothing. I stalked back to the pickup. As I was getting in, I heard a soft voice behind me.

"She's not there. She's gone."

I turned to see Tess Hargrave. Her face was wan and splotchy, eyes rimmed with red.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Tess cast a nervous glance at the Ernst place. After a series of bounced checks years ago, her dad had stopped serving Janie, so Tess was no more welcome at the hovel than I was, even if she was Sammi's friend.

"Climb in," I said. "Let's grab a coffee."

"I can't. Stock arrived this morning and Dad needs my help. Can I catch up with you later?"

"Lunch?"

She nodded. Again, her gaze flickered toward the Ernst place. "I told Don about it, but he doesn't seem to care."

Staff Sergeant Don Riley was commander of the local Ontario Provincial Police detachment.

"What'd you tell him?" I asked.

"That Sammi and Destiny are gone."