Chapter 35
Sutton
Report of a lost child, approximately seven to eight years old, crying. Caller states they found the child at Evergreen Park near Ninth and Boone. Unable to locate parent. No signs of injury. Caller is staying on scene.
I turn my cruiser in that direction. The radio crackles again.
“Copy,” I reply. Missing children, or in this case, missing parents, are some of my least favorite calls, but the men and women I work with are good at their jobs, and I drive to the location with hope for a swift reunification.
Droplets begin to splatter lightly across my windshield. I pop on my wipers. As I pull up to the park, I see the bystander with the girl on the sidewalk. She’s down on one knee trying to console a clearly inconsolable child.
I pick up my mic. “Dispatch, Unit 7 on scene.”
Copy, Unit 7 on scene.”
I set the mic down and open my door, preparing to stay calm and controlled. But when I open my door and look beyond the rain splatter, my stomach drops straight out of my body. The blood in my veins turns to ice.
“Eleanor.” Her name isn’t so much a question as a statement of shock. I stride forward, intent on closing the distance, but Nellie sees me and takes off running in my direction.
“Daddy!” The scream that rents the air is unimaginable. The most gut-wrenching sound I’ve ever heard from my child. One I desperately never want to hear again. The sound of it alone makes me want to tear apart the earth with my own two hands.
I meet her halfway, bending down as she slams into me at full speed. I hoist her up and into my arms where she tucks her face securely in my neck. Sobs shake her entire body as she hyperventilates against my chest.
I don’t waste time getting the story. I click on my mic at my shoulder, fighting to remain controlled.
“Dispatch, I need backup now. Evergreen Park at Ninth and Boone,” I bark.
Copy, Unit 7 requesting priority backup. All units, stand by. Any available unit respond to Evergreen Park at Ninth and Boone.
Despite my training, I click the mic again. “Sher, it’s my daughter. Get my brother, Captain, Marlowe, Calloway. Get everybody.” My throat grows tight, and I have to stop to swallow. “Get everybody here,” I rasp.
Copy, Unit 7. We’re all here for you.
I carry Nellie straight to my car. I open the back door and set her on the hard seat, wishing it were softer. Her grip clamps down around my neck, refusing to let go.
“I’m not going anywhere. Breathe with me, honey.”
Her body bucks against mine. “Th-Th-They t-t-took h-h-her!” she wails in my ear. The pain in her voice nearly unveils my barely controlled fury.
“Can you describe them for me? What did they look like?”
A cruiser with its lights on screeches to a stop behind mine. I don’t need to look to know it’s my brother. Nobody else would get here as fast. Not when it’s his niece in trouble.
“I-It was a man. An old one a-and a young o-one.”
Silas crouches down beside me. “That’s good, Nell-Bell. Can you tell me what color hair they had?” he asks, his voice gentle. Underneath, I hear the vibrating current of fury present in my own.
“Black.” She hiccups. “And white. But not like d-daddy. It’s all white like snow.”
My hand strokes soothingly up and down her spine as her sobs begin to subside. Silas and I share a look over her head.
The one with black hair is Lanighan. It has to be. But who the fuck is this other guy, and what does he want with Alice?
“Lanighan’s father or another relative?” Silas asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“What else?” he continues, coaxing her softly.
She coughs. “I don’t know. Th-The one with black hair he-he covered my mouth and told me not to scream.”
My stomach roils, and my heart pounds so hard I’m certain Silas can hear it.
More cruisers arrive, and sirens fill the air. People I trust are here to help. Determination starts to take the place of some of the fear occupying my gut.
Captain strides over, his face severe. “Fill me in, Sutton.”
“My daughter was found crying, and my nanny is missing. I need a full canvass of the park, and I need to know where we are with Lanighan and whether a warrant was issued for his video footage. Get together everything you have on him.” I glance around the group now slowly forming and stand with my daughter in my arms. “Marlowe, knock on every door here and see what they have for security systems and doorbell footage. Ask for it. If anyone says no, get in contact with their security company and tell them it’s life and death. ”
“Sutton, keep a calm head, son,” Captain says.
“I am calm,” I bite out.
“Captain?” Marlowe asks, that one word asking permission.
“Go,” he says, choosing wisely not to contradict me.
“I need to get to the station.” I juggle Nellie in my arms. She cries quietly on my shoulder with her eyes closed, arms tightening to near choking levels.
Captain puts his hand on the opposite shoulder. “You need to get her home. We’ve got it from here.”
“I’m not sitting on my ass at home. Not while my woman is out there.”
His weathered brown eyes meet my steely blues. “Your little girl needs you right now.”
As soon as he says it, I know I’m caught in the middle. There’s my daughter, who needs her dad, and my woman, who needs her man. Both I’ve sworn to protect. Neither one I can face letting down. My arm nearly convulses around my daughter as my worst fears come true.
“You can’t leave her,” Silas cautions quietly.
“I can’t leave Alice either.” The words slice my vocal cords like razors.
Silas grips the back of my neck, swaying me. “Trust me to handle this side for you. Just for a little while. I’ll call you the second we have any information.”
It pains me to agree, so I don’t. Not out loud, anyway. As if that’ll somehow make it less real.
“Call everybody. Call Lee, Jack, Jude, all of ’em. Get them to my house. I need people to take care of Nellie so I can get out there, and I need people who are able to look.”
Silas lets go. “I will.”
I look from my brother to my mentor. “Don’t let me down, Captain.”
“You know I won’t.”
I hope like fuck this is one of those days where everyone can keep their promises.
Me included.