Lane and Harper shook hands and introduced themselves.
“Sammy is in my office. He and Cole were on the playground.” O’Malley guided Harper and Lane into his office.
Sammy sat with his hands on the arms of the chair. His red hair was cut short. He looked up when they entered the office. His eyes opened wider.
“Hello,” Lane said.
“Hi.” Sammy swung his feet back and forth while waiting for the detectives to sit down in the chairs arranged around a circular table.
“You were on the playground with Cole?” Harper asked.
“Yes.” Sammy studied his white running shoes.
“Can you tell us what you saw?” Lane asked.
“Okay,” Sammy said.
Lane waited. Harper followed his lead.
“We were playing on the monkey bars. Then he was going up the hill. Someone was waiting for him on the hill.” Sammy stuck his hands in the pockets of his black pants.
“Did the person call Cole’s name?” Lane asked.
“Don’t know,” Sammy said.
“What did this other person look like?” Lane asked.
Sammy frowned and shrugged.
O’Malley said, “Mrs. Dakin is Sammy’s teacher. I’m going to ask her to join us.”
Lane was about to disagree when Harper smiled and said, “That would be a good idea.”
Mrs. Dakin looked to be about fifty years old. Her hair was cut short, and her eyes were red from crying. She wiped her nose, looked at the officers, and bent down to hug Sammy who immediately began to cry. It took five minutes before the child could speak again. Mrs. Dakin glared at the officers. “Sammy’s scared you’re going to take him to jail. Tell him he’s done nothing wrong.”
Harper said, “Of course he’s done nothing wrong. Sammy, we just need you to tell us what you remember, so we can find Cole.”
Mrs. Dakin said, “Sammy? They just need your help. Can you remember anything else?”
Sammy sniffed and wiped his sleeve across his nose.
“The man on the hill waved at Cole.”
Lane said, “What was he-”
Mrs. Dakin stopped Lane with another glare. She lifted the boy up and sat him on her knee. “It’s okay, Sammy. You just tell us what you saw and we’ll listen.”
Lane thought, This teacher knows what she’s doing.
And, she’s a tiger.
Sammy looked out the window and put his hands on Mrs. Dakin’s arm. “We were playing on the monkey bars. I was at the top. I looked for Cole. He was running up the hill. He went to the top of the hill, and the man picked him up. Cole looked back at me and waved. I think he was smiling. Then, they were gone.”
“Do you remember anything else about the man?”
Mrs. Dakin asked.
“Black hair,” Sammy said.
Mrs. Dakin said, “Thank you, Sammy. The boys and girls in class are worried about you. Can you go back and show them you’re okay?”
“Okay.” he squirmed off her lap and went out the door.
“If he tells us any more, I’ll call you. Have you got a card?” Mrs. Dakin asked.
Lane and Harper handed her their cards.
“I need to talk with you about Cole,” Mrs. Dakin said.
“This is not the proper time,” Mr. O’Malley said.
Mrs. Dakin said, “I couldn’t agree less. I’ve been concerned about Cole for some time now.”
Lane asked, “How’s that?”
“His mother often takes him to the doctor. He goes to the doctor feeling well and comes back to class not feeling very well at all. Also, he has drawn some worrisome pictures of what’s been happening to the family dog.”
“Mrs. Reddie is a respected member of the community and a good Christian!” Mr. O’Malley said.
“So? It’s Cole I’m worried about. He’s been withdrawing inside himself,” Mrs. Dakin said.
“Mrs. Dakin!” O’Malley said.
“Oh shut up, Jack! The old church code of hiding the ugly truths isn’t going to save this child!” Mrs. Dakin said.
“The child’s upset because his sister and father are dead!” O’Malley said.
“Cole was like this before his sister died! I’ve never seen a child so devoid of hope!” Mrs. Dakin glared at each of the men in turn.
Harper looked at Lane who was transfixed by what Mrs. Dakin was saying.
“I’ve been doing this for a lot of years,” Mrs. Dakin said. “There’s something wrong with the way that mother treats her son. What are you going to do about it?”
“Go home! Mrs. Dakin take the rest of the day off!
You’re hysterical! Get out of my office!” O’Malley wiped the spit from his lips.
There was pounding on the door. It opened.
“Where’s my Cole!” Bobbie cried.
A camera light glared over her shoulder.
Lane squinted and put his hand up to shade his eyes.
A reporter asked, “Any comment detective?”
It was ten o’clock. Martha watched the news with Lane. She sat across from him, wrapped in a comforter. Her greying hair reached to her shoulders. Martha turned her thinning face to Lane. The latest saga of the Reddie story appeared on television. Riley lay between them on the floor.
The voice-over said, “It appears that Bobbie Reddie’s son was abducted today. Ms. Reddie went to her son’s school to demand answers.”
The camera had caught Lane. He raised his hand to protect his eyes from the intense lights.
The camera turned to Bobbie. She asked, “Where’s my boy? What have you done with my son? How could you let my Cole disappear? Haven’t I been through enough?” Bobbie spotted Mrs. Dakin who watched Bobbie warily. “I want my son!”
The face of a twenty-something blond reporter appeared. “As yet, there is no news concerning the whereabouts of Cole Reddie, Ms. Reddie’s sole-surviving child. This is Alena Zarena for V Channel News.”
Lane pressed the remote. The screen went black.
“My, my, my,” Martha said.
“What?” Lane asked.
“Bobbie keeps saying “My.” It’s odd, that’s all.” Martha shifted her body. She winced with pain.
“You all right?” Lane asked.
“They had to start the chemotherapy too soon after the mastectomy. The cancer’s too far along. The doctor said we have to pull out all the stops. God told me to listen to the doctor.”
“How come it was left so long?” Lane asked.
“Alex, my husband, said the lump was nothing. He said God would take care of me. Then I found out he was sleeping with someone from the church. That’s when we came here. God told me to bring Matt here and go to the hospital.”
Lane looked at Riley. The retriever wagged his tail and yawned. “Arthur said the lawyer called today.”
“Yes. He said Alex is threatening to take Matt away if I ask for half of his assets. I prayed, and God told me to take the bastard for all he’s worth!” Martha said.
Riley closed one eye and cocked his head to the right to get a better look at Martha. The dog licked his lips.
Lane thought, Matt, you’ve really got your hands full. A mother who talks with God, a father who uses you as a bargaining chip, and a pair of uncles who are an abomination before the Lord.
“I know what you’re thinking. You think I’m making it up about talking with God.”
“You know, it’s very dangerous to try and read someone else’s mind,” Lane said.
“What are you going to do about the child?”
Martha asked.
“You mean Matt?” Lane asked.
Martha smiled, “Well, now that you mention it, him too.”
“Lane! Wake up! You’re having a nightmare!” Arthur said.
Lane opened his eyes. He could feel his heart pounding. His ears were ringing with a child’s screams. The child had been behind a locked door. Lane had used his heel to kick the solid-core door open. The screams stopped. Lane reached for a light switch. The child was on the wall. Nails had been driven though its hands and feet. Blood dripped onto a green garbage bag on the floor.