23
Sheena
After I hung up with Debbie from Cherished Hearts, I set the phone down and stared at my hands, splayed on my knees.
I ’ d be driving Dad to the memory care facility. Not in a week, like Debbie had first proposed—but tonight. I told myself it wasn ’ t a firm commitment. Just a safe place to take him for a couple of nights.
I had less than twenty-four hours until I was supposed to take the ransom money to Little Eddy campground. I could already tell it was going to be a race against time to do what the kidnappers had asked. Some of their specific requests might even be impossible, from what I knew about withdrawal limits. I needed to be certain that Dad was safe while I did what I had to do tomorrow, even if he hated me for it.
My breath came in rapid gasps that I tried to make as quiet as possible. If I sobbed out loud, Dad would wake up. And I wanted to let him sleep for a few more minutes before I got him up to make the drive to Cherished Hearts. It wasn ’ t far —maybe twenty minutes, out in the foothills near the old quarry.
My phone pinged again and I finally read the texts that had been coming through since I ’ d found the ransom note on the pizza box. All of them were from a number I ’ d gotten texts from previously, when Bright Beginnings relayed information about pickup procedures and field trips.
These texts were nothing like the ones I ’ d gotten before.
PARENT UPDATE: Police have located the children ’ s phones. We are unable to give more information at this time to protect evidence in this active investigation.
My stomach rolled. Evidence. Active investigation. Those were words from CSI and Forensic Files. Not my children ’ s aftercare provider. They hadn ’ t said the word “ kidnapping” yet. Did they know? I glanced at the half-open blinds in my living room, then back to the note. My eyes scanned faster, desperate for more information, for a text that read “ We ’ ve now found the children safe.”
The second, third, and fourth texts were mostly useless. Duplicate info about police contacts and repeated reassurances that, “ Bright Beginnings is doing everything possible to aid and cooperate with police and FBI.”
There was a plea for parents to come forward with any information they hadn ’ t already disclosed that might help officials find the bus and the children.
My jaw clenched as I pictured the pizza box I ’ d carefully stored in my refrigerator. There was probably evidence on that box. On the ransom note. Maybe there were cameras at Speedwagon ’ s that the police could use.
I was intentionally withholding information in a crime investigation. One that directly involved my two children and eight others.
My phone creaked, and I realized it was because I was clenching it so hard.
I couldn ’ t come forward.
Any attempts to contact police or deviate from our demands will result in swift and merciless consequences.
I could only imagine what the kidnappers meant by that. If they were degenerate enough to plan and execute something so heinous against elementary school children, I had to believe that their threats weren ’ t empty. If I didn ’ t do exactly what they asked, and something happened to my girls, and those children, it was my fault.
That thought burned through the guilt. All that mattered was keeping them safe, keeping them alive.
My phone pinged again.
PARENT UPDATE: Police and FBI have located the missing bus.
My heart leapt, then crashed as I read the rest of the update.
Detectives are still working diligently to locate the children and bus driver at this time. All public statements will be relayed via KTRB. We are unable to give additional information in order to protect evidence in this active investigation.
They ’ d found the bus, but not the children.
I braced against the helpless feeling that pressed so hard in my lungs it was nearly impossible to breathe. From the bedroom down the hall, Dad ’ s mattress creaked.
I ’ d never considered the idea that the police might find the bus, but not the children. How? How had the kidnappers managed to make eleven people disappear into thin air?
Dad ’ s footsteps thudded down the hall, slow and uneven. “ Sheen? I had a doozy of a dream. Just awful. It was the Schneider case all over again, but instead of that little boy it was Sage and Bonnie who went missing. I ’ ve got an awful headache, where’s the Tylenol?”
The Schneider boy. My blood ran cold. Micah Schneider had been abducted from a busy McCall beach on the Fourth of July, right before Dad retired. A few hours later, the mother got a call from an unknown number. By that time, the family had already called the police. When she realized the kidnapper was on the phone, she thrust her cell into the hands of an officer standing beside her.
The caller hung up and didn ’ t call back. The police traced the call to a burner phone. Micah Schneider was found dead ten days later.
The story struck me with fresh horror now.
Dad blinked at me. “ Sheen, you all right? It ’ s been a stressful day, hasn ’ t it?”
I forced Micah Schneider from my mind. And for the briefest moment, I told myself I could handle this. I didn ’ t have to take Dad to Cherished Hearts tonight. He was confused, sure, but his demeanor was settled now, not frantic. Maybe the chaos that had happened with Chez in the street was just the shock of what he ’ d learned in the rec center parking lot that had sent him into such a bad spell.
Dad shuffled his feet at the end of the hall, looking rumpled and red-eyed from his cat nap. Then he frowned. “ Is Jacob still at work? That man needs to prioritize his family,” he mumbled, brows furrowing as he looked at me, then tilted his head toward the stairs that led to Sage and Bonnie ’ s rooms. He lowered his voice. “ Can ’ t let the girls see you like this, Sheen. Wipe those eyes and get your chin up. Marriage isn ’ t easy.”
My heart sank. “ Dad, I need you to come on a drive with me, okay? I … I ruined dinner, so we ’ re going to stop at Big Judd’s, okay? And then …” I swallowed, not wanting to lie to him but not sure how to do anything else. Dad loved the burgers at Big Judd ’ s. It was enough to perk up his appetite even when he turned down everything else.
He shrugged but went for the shoe rack to put on his sneakers.
I wiped my eyes and stood up from the couch. When he ’ d gotten his shoes on, I grabbed his hand. “ There ’ s an emergency at work, and I need you to stay at … somewhere else tonight, okay? Do you remember the place we talked about? Cherished Hearts? It ’ s really wonderful, the foothills are beautiful out there, and I just talked to Debbie who says they could take you tonight as a sort of—”
Dad yanked his hand away and stared at me like I was speaking French. “ What emergency? If you need to go somewhere, I ’ m fine right here,” he said incredulously. Karen leaped up onto the counter and made a plaintive meow, angling herself toward Dad ’ s arm a few inches away. He reached to pet her. “ You ’ ll leave the cat home alone, but not me? I ’ m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Sheena Renae. I was a goddamn lieutenant.” He looked back toward the stairs. “ Where are the girls, anyway? Where is Jacob?” His voice rose to a thundering boom with each word, and I could see him getting agitated again.
“ Dad, please,” I begged, tears spilling over before I could stop them. “ I ’ ve been divorced from Jacob for years. The girls are gone, and I ’ m at the end of my rope. Please, Dad. Get in the car.”
I strode across the kitchen and reached into the cupboard above the microwave, careful not to let my hand come in contact with the ransom note again. My fingers curled around the first pill bottle I found, and I pushed it toward Dad so he could see his name on the label. “ I can ’ t leave you alone. You have Alzheimer ’ s. I ’ m afraid you ’ ll hurt yourself while I ’ m gone. Please, just listen to me and get in the car!”
The last part came out like the snap of a belt, harsher and louder than I ’ d intended.
His eyes flicked from the prescription bottle then back to me. I watched the clouds part long enough for him to purse his lips and duck his head. “ Okay, Sheen,” he said softly, all the fire gone out of him just like that.
I wanted to wrap him in a hug, tell him I was sorry, tell him about the ransom note and ask him whether I was doing the right thing. Instead, I rushed down the hall to his room and grabbed his pajamas, some clothes, and anything else I could cram into the duffel bag in the closet in sixty seconds.
I knew all too well by now that I might only have a few minutes before the pathways that had become tangled and unruly in his mind crossed and we had to have this conversation yet again.
Debbie had told me he ’ d have everything he needed for tonight if I could just bring his medications and some clothing for him, and I had to take her at her word.
“ I love you, Dad,” I choked out. “ I promise I ’ ll get you anything else you need soon. Just give me one day, okay?”
He nodded slowly and rubbed his wrist. “ Where ’ s my Rolex?”
I swallowed hard. The broken watch was still lying in the cup holder of the car where I ’ d left it. “ It ’ s getting fixed right now. We ’ ll have it back in a couple of days. Won ’ t be long. I promise. I love you, Dad,” I tried again, desperate for him to say it back.
Instead, he glanced up the stairs one more time, then shook his head and headed to the garage.