“I’ll go get her right now,” Jane said. “Bring her to-oh. No.”
“What?” Jake said.
Jane envisioned that scene. “I can’t go. She’s terrified of me. I’m the reason she ran away. That moron Wilhoite apparently never told her-”
“Ah, I get it. You’re the child molester. Awesome.” Jake shook his head, then turned a switch on his radio again. “Okay, then. At least I can update the troops that the bad guy is in custody. How far away are your sister and Daniel?”
“In traffic,” Jane said. “Who knows?”
On the bank of monitors, the screen shots kept changing. Every third time, she calculated, the Gracie view came up.
“We can’t leave her there,” Jane said. “You have to go. She’ll be so frightened. Who knows what she heard or what she saw. The lobby is empty. I can at least keep an eye on her now, thanks to Hewlitt Security.”
“What?” Jake said.
“I mean I wonder what she was thinking, all that time. It’s been, what, half an hour? Poor child, did some adults just leave her behind? Ran away from the shooter, ignored the little girl? Anyway, go. You have to go get her. Look. There she is.”
The third cycle of video came around again. Gracie now appeared in front of the counter, a dark smear of something down her front. She stood, fussing with the ruffles on her dress, as if deciding what to do. She pointed one foot out in front of her, in her white shoe. Then switched to the other foot. Wearing just a white sock. Then the shoe. Then she turned back toward the counter, and-the shot changed again.
“You. Have. To go.” Jane didn’t take her eyes off the screen. No way were they going to lose Gracie now. “What do you mean, what? You’re a police officer, you’re not stranger danger. She’s got to know about police, and badges, right? Or should you call someone in uniform? A woman, maybe?”
“Jane,” Jake said. “The security. You said the name of the security company.”
“So what?” Jane said. “Hewlitt. It’s on the binder. Now go get Gracie.”
“Gracie? I’m Jake. I’m a police officer, even though I have on regular clothes.”
He stood in the doorway of the hotel gift shop, looking at the candy counter, where he knew the girl was once again hiding. Jane had kept him updated on Gracie’s whereabouts over their cell phones. As soon as he’d approached the shop’s open door, the child had scuttled behind her protective chrome and glass. He flipped open his wallet, held it up facing the counter. Hewlitt Security, he thought. But first, Gracie. “Here’s my badge, see? You recognize a police badge?”
No reply.
“Gracie?” Jake started again. “I know what happened. I know you must be scared. A woman came up to you, right? Well, we’ve talked to her, and everything is just fine. It’s all a misunderstanding. Her name is Jane, and she’s a good person. A friend of mine. And she really truly is a friend of your-” Jake paused. Who was the good guy here? Lewis? Robyn? “Family,” he said.
Nothing.
“Jane came to take you home.” This was turning into a disaster. He couldn’t go back and pull the girl out from behind her safety shield of candy and souvenirs. She’d freak. There was no reason to put her through that. Surely he could sweet-talk a nine-year-old out of hiding.
“Gracie? Listen, okay? I know you’re going to be a flower girl in a wedding, in Illinois. This weekend. Your dad, Daniel, is the groom, and he’s marrying Melissa, right? And I think you lost your shoe in the lobby. I know exactly where it is. You could be like Cinderella.”
A shift in the silence. Jake could almost feel the little girl considering.
“My daddy told me not to talk to strangers.” Her determined voice piped up from behind the cash register.
“Very good advice.” Progress. Jake continued to display his badge, took a step forward. “Good for you. But I’m a police officer, and that’s different.”
“And my parents always told me to yell and run and hide and if I was ever scared by a stranger,” Gracie went on. “So I did.”
“Very good,” Jake said. “And they’re right.”
She’d appear any minute now. He hoped. Thank God he wasn’t outstubborned by a kid. Jake’s phone was buzzing in his pocket, but he’d have to ignore it. He’d get Jane down here, introduce Gracie, smooth out any misunderstandings and make sure all was well, then figure out what to do from there.
“I know you’re a policeman,” Gracie said.
“Good girl.” Jake’s phone vibrated again. Gracie could go with Melissa and Daniel. Lewis was already in the hospital. Robyn was in custody. Gracie would have to be protected from that quagmire, at least as much as anyone could protect her. But it seemed like Jake was emerging victorious. One step at a time. He took one more. Closer.
“But Mr. Police?” Gracie said.
“Yes, honey?”
“I need my shoe. And I’m not coming out until you get my daddy.”
“Jake, they’re here.” Jake couldn’t answer his phone, so Jane texted, hoping he’d look. Melissa and Daniel had arrived, but the police at the door had stopped them. She’d seen Jake in the gift shop by way of the surveillance camera, seen that Gracie hadn’t budged from behind the counter. Whatever he was saying to her, it obviously wasn’t very convincing.
“M & D,” she continued her text to Jake. “Tell goons to let them in.”
In seconds the three were running toward the gift shop, Daniel in the lead, Melissa and Jane close behind. She’d filled them in on Lewis and Robyn-as much as she could-but all they said was “Gracie. Take us to Gracie.”
Jake stepped aside to let Daniel through the door.
Gracie was nowhere in sight. And then she was. She leaped from behind the counter, flew across the floor, off balance. She wore only one shoe.
“Daniel! Melissa!”
She called him Daniel, Jane thought. More proof of the weirdness level of this family. None of her business, though. No matter what anyone called anyone, this part of the episode was over.
“Honey bear!” Daniel had met Gracie halfway, scooping her up and twirling her, then plopping her back on the tiled floor. Her dress fluttered into place. He pointed at her, Melissa hovering behind him. “Where’s your shoe? You gave us a scare.”
“That rhymes,” Gracie said. “Bear and scare. And I was the one who was scared, Daniel. Because I didn’t know who would find me. And M’lissa? I lost my shoe. Because-”
The front of Gracie’s yellow dress was smeared with red. Her mouth, too, that’s what Jane had noticed on the video. Then she saw the Twizzler wrappers on the floor. Gracie apparently had a field day at the candy counter. At least the kid is resourceful, Jane thought. And all is well.
Gracie turned and saw Jane. Her face crumbled, the corners of her red-ringed mouth turned down, bottom lip pooching out. And she burst into tears.
“Because of her!” Gracie cried. She leaped into Daniel’s arms. Melissa placed a hand on her back, comforting the girl.
“Oh, no, honey bear,” Daniel said. “That’s Jane. She’s-”
All she needed. “Oh, no, Gracie, I-” Jane shook her head, surveying the room, looking for backup. Jake was on his cell phone, shoulders hunched over, facing the wall. Talking to who? Jane felt someone touch her on the shoulder.
“It’ll be okay.” Melissa had tears in her eyes. “We’ll explain it to her. And Janey?”
Jane felt her sister’s arm link through hers. “Yeah?”
“Thanks, Sis,” Melissa whispered. “We’ll take Gracie from here.”
Jane suddenly felt the entire weight of the day-the stress, the fear, the uncertainty. Her sister’s reassurance reminded her of family, and connections, and how they all had to rely on each other, somehow, no matter what. Gracie was unhurt. That’s what mattered. At least she’d been in hiding when whatever happened went down. Impossible to imagine how grotesque if this little girl had been faced with-but she wasn’t. Now the adults needed to figure out the rest of the story.