She moved around the front of the house, looking for any windows she could reach. Working her way around, she tried to look through the basement windows. Curtains were on every one of them.
Around the back at the kitchen, Rodney was there, searching through the windows. He looked at her when she joined him. “No sign of anyone.”
“A garage is at the back in the alley,” she said. “The asshole could be anywhere.”
“And maybe a vehicle’s there, maybe not,” he said, “but I want to go in and see if that child is here. Just because the perv says ‘basement’ doesn’t mean I’ll believe him.” With just cause, he quickly popped the door and pushed it open. They entered, calling out that they were the police and had a search warrant.
She didn’t know that they actually had one yet, but that was a moot point, since they were looking for a missing child and already had a confession with a confirmation that the child was in imminent danger. They raced through the main floor and headed toward the basement. With the door opened, they slipped down the stairs quietly. At the bottom was all dark shadows. With little alternatives, they waited for their eyes to adjust for a moment and quickly swept through.
There was a large locker room, with massive storage rooms off to one side. Several other smaller rooms were on the opposite side, all with doors. She checked one, placing her ear against it, but she heard nothing inside. She opened it quietly and found nothing. They went to the next one, and it was already open. The last one had a lock on it. She stared at it, pulled out her pick, and quickly popped the lock.
The presence of the lock meant that no adult should be inside, but they didn’t dare take a chance. She dropped low with her gun out, and Rodney went in high. There on the floor, in the corner, was a little boy. Maybe five or six. She picked up her phone, turned on the flashlight, and saw that he slept. The same drugged sleep that she’d seen before. But she didn’t recognize this child.Not Leonard. She turned to Rodney and nodded. He had his phone out in seconds, sending out a call for expedited backup and an ambulance.
*
Simon sat inthe vehicle, as he’d been ordered to. His shoulder burned, and the bloody wound was making a mess of his clothing. He’d pulled off his jacket and used it to staunch the bleeding. Something in his pocket kept getting in his way.
He pulled it out. And snorted. It was the yellow ball Yale had tossed him. He’d automatically picked it up and pocketed it. The damn thing wasn’t leaving him alone. He vaguely remembered the ball from his childhood, but he’d blocked so many memories; this was just one more.
As he studied it, something,… someone, spoke to him.
“Mommy…” a young boy whimpered.
Simon studied the interior of the vehicle before dropping his gaze to the ball on the seat beside him.
He picked it up carefully, closed his eyes, and whispered, “Leonard?”
Instead of ayes, he felt the boy jolt.
“It’s Simon, a friend of your aunt’s.”
“Aunty Caitlin?”
Simon gave a silentwhoop. “Yes, her. Are you alone?”
“I’m in a room all alone.” He started to cry. “I want to go home.”
“I know. That’s what we’re trying to do. I need you to hide though. The bad man is in there looking for you.”
“I know. I hid under the bedcovers. But he will find me again. He got angry with me. And gave me some more medicine. But this one tasted different.” His voice was fading, getting woozy.
“Can you find a better hiding place?”
“I’m too scared,” Leonard whimpered. “No place to hide.”
“Can you get out of the room?”
“Only to go to the bathroom.”
Simon exited the detective’s vehicle and stared up at the massive house. “Can you see a window anywhere?”
“No, no windows. Huge boxes are everywhere.”
Simon smiled, as an idea came to him. “Leonard, listen to me. I need you to find a box that you can climb into. It will slow him down. The police are at the house, but we don’t want the bad man to find you first.” Sensing movement, Simon whispered, “Look for a box just big enough for you. Best if other boxes are stacked around it.”
“I can’t move them,” he announced, his voice panicky.
“Calm down. Can you hide behind them? Can you see a ripped one that you could crawl into? Are they small enough you could stack them around you?” He knew a seven-year-old didn’t have much strength, but there was no counting how much could be summoned when needed.