34. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Beth
J ill Smith. I didn’t recognize her name or her face when Agent Maxwell showed me her picture. Her son was, had been, the same age as Chase, but we’d never crossed paths. I wanted to hate her but having lost my husband in a car accident, I understood her grief.
What I couldn’t understand was her going so far as to kidnap my son. Chase could never replace her son or lessen her grief. He was just a little boy. A little boy who was probably terrified.
If he’s still alive .
Was Maxwell right? Would she be kind to him, or would she get frustrated when Chase didn’t act like her son and do something horrible to him? Would she drug him? Hurt him? Kill him?
A sob escaped my throat as I paced in the lobby. It took every effort for me to not pepper Meg with questions while she worked. I didn’t want to interrupt her efforts to help find Chase.
I picked up my phone and looked at the screen for what felt like the thousandth time today. No messages or calls. Well, none that mattered. The daycare left a message with more apologies, to ask if we’d found him, and to offer help in any way they could.
And a text message from Mary sending her love and support.
I replied to Mary with a brief update and thanked her.
I wasn’t ready to talk to Chase’s daycare teachers yet. I was terrified for Chase and blaming them for the situation, even though there was a little voice in the back of my mind reminding me it wasn’t their fault. Maybe it wasn’t, but I wasn’t ready to forgive them yet, and I didn’t want to say something I’d regret later. My text message reply was borderline rude as I told them Chase was still missing.
Feeling angry, even if misplaced, felt better than feeling scared.
I went back to pacing, glancing at the stairs every thirty second to see if Doug, John, and the others were coming down. They weren’t.
“Beth, do you want to sit and talk?” Meg asked.
I’d been so engrossed in my thoughts; I hadn’t heard her get up or walk over.
I do. “I don’t want to interrupt your work.” She was helping find Chase.
“There’s nothing more I can do right now.” She gently grabbed my elbow and led me to the couch. “Let’s sit. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”
Afraid I’d start sobbing again if I answered, I shook my head. After taking a few deep breaths, I asked Meg in a shaky voice, “Do you think Maxwell is right? Do you think she’ll hurt Chase?”
It was terrifying to know Chase was in the hands of a woman who was mentally unstable, willing to kidnap an innocent child to replace her own.
“Jones said she’s one of the best profilers he’s ever worked with, and she has a great track record for being right.”
I nodded, praying this wouldn’t be one of the times she was wrong.
Meg continued, “If she says Smith is probably caring for Chase, not hurting him, then we have to trust her.”
“I can’t stop thinking about how scared he must be.” I felt the sting of fresh tears in my eyes. When I looked at Meg, I saw tears in her eyes too. She loved Chase. So much so she’d asked him to give her away when she married Jack. I smiled at the memory of how proud Chase had been when she asked him, and how grown up he’d looked when he walked her down the aisle and then told Jack, “You better take good care of my Auntie Meg.”
That was what, five, six weeks ago? It didn’t matter. Today he was missing, and his Auntie Meg and everyone he loved and admired was doing everything in their power to bring him home.
“He’s a tough kid, he’ll get through this.”
I couldn’t help but notice she didn’t say he’d be okay.
Because she can’t know that, none of us can .
“If they find him, I don’t think I’ll ever let him out of my sight again.”
“When. Everything Maxwell said gives me reason to believe he’s alive and well. Let’s not give up hope yet.”
I didn’t resist when she hugged me.
Meg had grown so much in the past year. It was probably condescending for me to be proud of her, but I was. She’d been through so many horrible things in her twenty-five years, some of it just last year. It was amazing to see her thriving. Thinking of how much she’d healed in the last year with help from Jack and a loving family, gave me hope for Chase.
If, when, I corrected myself, when they bring him home, he’ll be surrounded by people who love him, and we’ll help him heal. No matter how long it takes.