Grace’s voice broke as she said thank you. She turned away to hide her tears.
Ty came in with Ashley and gave Darnell a fist bump. “Hey, man. Any news?”
“Not yet,” Darnell said.
“I’m sorry about Johnny, Mrs. Walker,” Ty said. “I feel like it’s my fault. If Jason and I had turned off our game and gotten here faster, he wouldn’t be gone.”
“It’s not your fault,” Grace said. “I’ll tell him that as soon as he’s home.”
Ashley hugged Grace and kissed her cheek. “I’ve been telling him the same thing, but it’s better coming from you.”
“Do you mind if we hang out in Johnny’s room for a while?” Darnell asked.
“Please do,” Grace said. “Maybe it won’t seem so empty.”
Ryan announced that the food was ready and when members of the task force lined up to load their plates, Agent Shepherd said, “Grace and Ryan first.”
The group parted for the two of them. Ryan handed Grace a plate and motioned for her to serve herself. She dished the small amount she thought she could stomach and took her plate to the kitchen, hoping for some peace and quiet. Ryan and Alec were close behind, followed by Steph. The rest of the group gave them their privacy.
No one spoke while they ate. What was there left to say?
Ryan’s phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up and read the screen. “It’s Mark. He’ll be here as soon as they finish the last service at the restaurant. Valerie will come after she drops the kids at school tomorrow.” He smiled and set the phone on the table. “He says they’ll bring food for everyone after they close each night, so we don’t have to worry about meals. At least we’ll have plenty to eat.”
“More food? Did you tell him about Jayda’s dinner fund?” Grace asked.
“I did, but he insists. He said it makes him feel like he’s doing his part to contribute.”
“Thank him for me.”
Ryan picked up his phone and texted Mark. “Done.”
“Johnny would love this,” Steph said. “We’ll have to keep it going to celebrate once he’s home.”
Steph’s words broke Grace’s defenses. She covered her face with her hands and gave in to her tears. Ryan pulled her against his chest, wiping his own eyes.
When Grace’s crying slowed, Steph said, “I don’t feel like crying. I’m too pissed. Wish I knew where to direct my anger. At Johnny for taking off without telling us? At the person hiding him from us? She pointed at the window. “At that random guy out walking his dog?”
“None of this makes sense,” Ryan said. “Did Johnny call an Uber or get on a bus to somewhere? Where would he go?”
“If I find out he’s being stupid and hiding from us, he’s going to get it from me for putting us through this,” Steph said.
“You’ll have to wait in line,” Alec said.
All Grace could imagine was her little man shivering in the cold and dark. He may have been a fourteen-year-old giant, but he knew so little of the world and she was to blame for that.
Ryan stood and stretched. “Agent Shepherd said they’re organizing a search party for the morning with as many people from the community as they can get. It’ll be an early start, so we should get to bed and pretend to sleep.”
“No way I’m even pretending to sleep with my baby out there alone,” Grace said.
Adam came in with a plate of food in one hand and a box from Juliana’s Bakery in the other.
“Hey, babe,” Alec said when he leaned down to kiss her.
He put the box on the table and said, “What good is a Walker family crisis without cannoli from Juliana’s?”
Alec flipped the lid open and handed Grace two cannoli. She put them on her plate and stared, not even capable of choking down a bite of her favorite food.
Adam took a medicine bottle from his jacket pocket and handed it to Grace. It was a prescription for strong a sedative with her name on the label. “Take one of those right now while I’m watching.”
He sat next to Alec and scooted Grace’s water bottle closer to her. She grudgingly fished out one of the pills and popped it in her mouth before washing it down with a gulp of water. “Satisfied?” she said.
“The last thing we need is you suffering a collapse from sleep deprivation.” He reached into his pocket and took out another bottle. “Ryan, you take one, too.”
Ryan shook his head. “I’ll be able to sleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open now.”
“Don’t hesitate to take one if you need to,” Adam said. “After I eat, I’ll shoo all unnecessary bodies out and make up the couch bed in the man-cave. Steph, you take the guest room. There’s an overnight bag for you in the car, Alec.”
“You don’t have to sleep here. Go home, or you’ll all be sleep deprived, too,” Grace said. “By the way, where are your children?”
“I called the nanny. She’s agreed to stay as long as we need her,” Alec said. “I told you I was staying until Johnny’s home and I meant it.”
* * *
Grace pulled her coat tighter the following morning as she gazed over the crowd that huddled in the church parking lot and spilled into the street at the end of their block. The task force had sent out a call for volunteers to help in the search for Johnny. At least a hundred people waited for instructions from the sheriff. Grace didn’t recognize most of them, and she was touched by their willingness to sacrifice their time and comfort to come to the aid of a stranger.
Further up the street was the line of news vans and reporters standing behind yellow police tape. The sight reminded Grace of the days when she was trying to garner support for keeping Johnny on life support when he was a baby. The news media had been both a hindrance and help back then. She hoped they’d be cooperative in keeping awareness of Johnny’s disappearance alive. News cycles changed the instant public interest waned. With Johnny’s history, their story might stick a little longer.
Grace joined Alec, Adam, and Ryan at the front of the crowd. Ryan had tried to talk her into staying back in case Johnny came home, but officers were posted at the house to notify them if he did. There was no way she was going to sit on her comfy couch wondering while everyone else was sacrificing to search for her son in the thirty-degree weather.
She inched close to Ryan and reached for his hand. He gave her a weak smile and squeezed her shoulder. He was pale, and his eyes were puffy and red-rimmed. For all his professing he’d have no trouble sleeping, Grace heard him tossing and getting up and down all night. Even with the sedative, she’d only slept three and a half hours.
Sheriff Granderson stepped in front of the group, and everyone quieted. “We want to thank all of you for answering the call to help in this search. Johnathan James Walker has been missing for approximately thirty-six hours. His family was unaware he was missing for the first eighteen hours, and though we began looking for him as soon as we became aware of his disappearance, we didn’t want groups out searching last night in the dark. We’ve lost valuable time, so we need to get moving as quickly as possible.”
He turned to one of his deputies, who handed him a stack of papers. “Is there anyone here under age eighteen?” No hands went up, so he said, “Good. We’re providing each group with a map, fliers with Johnny’s pictures, and instructions for how to properly and safely conduct this search. Please read and follow them carefully. The most important points to remember are not to touch any evidence, but to take pictures of anything you believe will help the investigation. If you find anything, mark it with the flags we’ll hand out and contact one of us immediately. Take care for your own safety and don’t take unnecessary risks. Go slowly, scanning your surroundings carefully, and be respectful of the property of your neighbors. Stay within arm’s length of the others in your group and don’t get separated. We don’t want to lose anyone else. We’ll break you into groups of ten. Assign one person to carry the map of your grid. Please, stay within your grid, so we don’t have overlaps or holes. Let’s get going and bring this bo
y home alive and well.”
The sheriff’s words should have encouraged her, but a sick foreboding crept over Grace while he talked. Images of Johnny’s dead, frozen body hidden under a bush flashed in her mind. She’d seen enough crime shows to know that the longer someone was missing, the less chance they’d be found alive. As angry as Johnny had been, he was too much of a homebody to have stayed away so long, and there’s no way he would have gone so long without texting Darnell or Ty.
Alec gave her a soft tap on the shoulder, and she jumped. “I know that look. What’s twisting in that brain of yours?”
“He’s dead, isn’t he, Alec? We’re wasting our time. I can’t do this.”
She started toward home, but Alec grabbed her arm to stop her. “I won’t let you quit this early in the game. Look at all these people who still believe Johnny’s alive. Even in the minuscule chance he’s not, God forbid, we need to find him. We’re going to find him alive, and Johnny needs you.”
“He never wants to see me again. Ever. Those were his last words to me. Mine is not the face he wants to see.”
“He’s had time to cool off, and he’s waiting for you to rescue him like you always have. Remember that day in the PICU? You told me Johnny’s spirit cried out to you. He’s calling you now. He’s alive, Grace. I feel it. Search your heart. You’ll believe it, too.”
Alec’s words were like a punch in the gut. Johnny was her reason for existing, and Alec was right, he needed her. She’d lost sight of that in the chaos. No one else was quitting. How could she?
She gave Alec a quick hug. “I told you I can’t do this without you. Point me in the right direction.”
Alec led her to where Adam and Ryan waited with the map and the rest of their group. Steph chose to team up with a group closer to her age, thinking they could cover the more difficult areas. Adam described their search zone and lined them up to begin. Grace pushed her dark thoughts aside and focused on finding her boy.
* * *
The temperature had reached sixty-five by four o’clock. The sky was overcast, but the searchers had ditched their coats and gloves to work in shirt sleeves. Crazy Richmond weather, Grace thought as her group searched the last corner of their third grid, but the warmth was preferable to the chill. If Johnny were exposed to the elements, there’d be no risk of hypothermia.
Grace rubbed her neck and extended her arm to make sure Ryan was still within reach. He reached back for her when she tapped his forearm. The feel of his skin under her fingers was comforting. Not alone, she thought.
“How are you holding up?” he asked.
“I’m exhausted. I need to take a break when we go for our next grid assignment,” she said. “How about you?”
“Tired but fine. I have a few more hours in me. I keep telling you to exercise more.”
“Not the time for a lecture, but you may be right.”
They were searching a small stand of trees a few blocks from their street. Grace pushed some undergrowth aside with a stick she’d found. Johnny was far too big to fit under that bush, but the action made her feel she was doing something productive. She heard a rustle in the bushes to her left and swung around to check it out, but Adam beat her to the bush in the direction of the sound.
“It’s a fawn trapped in some dead blackberry canes,” he said.
He freed the fawn, and it leaped away at top speed. Where is your mother? Grace thought. Is she out searching these woods for you? Or did she give up and go back to her comfy hollow?
“I think we can call this one,” Ryan said. “Let’s head back to the command center.”
Grace was hyper-vigilant while they walked back to the church. She scanned every inch of the area around her, desperately looking for the slightest clue that might point to Johnny. But it was just road and dirt and houses and trees. Her hope started to waver, but she reminded herself of what Alec had said that morning and gathered her strength. She was committed for the long haul.
She and Ryan each got a text just as they reached the church. It was from Agent Shepherd. Calling off the search. Johnny’s phone recovered twenty-five miles west on Route 60.
“What the?” Ryan said and ran for the command trailer with Grace close behind.
* * *
Sheriff Granderson was thanking the volunteers for their time and hard work, and sending them home when Grace and Ryan reached the parking lot. They found Agent Shepherd on her phone inside the trailer. She waved for them to wait and hung up. They both bombarded her with questions.
“We’ve been pinging Johnny’s phone since we found out he was missing and got nothing. Then, an hour ago, we got a response. The sheriff in Powhatan County dispatched some units to find it. They just got back to me. They’re on the way here with the phone for you to identify, but they’re pretty convinced it’s his. The deputy I spoke with said the phone had obviously been there for a day or so. All I can think of is that it got wet and dried out in the warmer weather.”
“How did his phone end up in Powhatan?” Ryan asked.
“How bad is this? Don’t lie to me, Agent Shepherd,” Grace said.
“I’d never lie to you,” Agent Shepherd said. “And please, call me Nichol. I need more information before I can answer your question. Does Johnny have any family or friends in Powhatan that you forgot to put on the list? Is there any connection to that area?”
Grace and Ryan shook their heads. “I have some colleagues that live out there, and I work in that area occasionally, but other than that, I can’t think of anyone,” Ryan said.
“Neither can I,” Grace said. “And that’s outside Johnny’s school district. I don’t know how he’d know anyone in that area unless a friend moved there that we don’t know about. So, how bad is it?”
“Well, it’s not good, and honestly, it’s confusing. It’s possible Johnny threw his phone out a car window or lost it, and someone else took it and dropped it in Powhatan, but it’s time to switch the investigation from likely runaway to abduction. We’ll ratchet the search up a notch. Go back to your house. I’ll meet you there.”
Grace was too distraught to speak on their walk to the house. When she got there, one of the officers told her they’d allowed Johnny’s friends in to play video games in the basement.
“You allowed them in yesterday, so I didn’t think you’d mind. I can ask them to leave if you’d like,” he said.
She wasn’t thrilled to have the house full of Johnny’s friends, but it occurred to her they might know something about Johnny’s phone. “It’s fine,” she told the officer. “I’ll take care of it.”
She went to the basement but stopped on the bottom stair. She hadn’t been there since the argument with Johnny, and her gut tightened into a knot. She switched her gaze to the boys sprawled around the room and took a breath. Seeing their familiar faces calmed her. She took the last step and told them about Johnny’s phone.
“Does he know anyone in Powhatan?” she asked.
“My cousin lives there, and Johnny went to his house with me one time a long time ago,” Damien said. “I don’t know if he’d even remember. If he did, I doubt he’d know how to get there.”
“Go tell Agent Shepherd please, and give her his phone number and address,” Grace said. She looked at the other boys, but they shook their heads. “Did you hear anything at school?”
“No, and it’s all anyone talked about,” Darnell said. “We’re keeping the word out there for Johnny. Someone has to have seen him. He’s hard to miss.”
Grace thanked them and went upstairs just as Ryan was telling Steph, Alec, and Adam about Johnny’s phone.
Agent Shepherd came in as he finished. “We want to request Johnny’s phone records. I need your permission since he’s on your account. Otherwise, we have to get a warrant.”
“Of course,” Grace said.
“Having access to the records will tell us when his signal went dead. He or someone else may have erased his activity, although most people don’t know how to wipe phones
correctly. Do you know how to unlock his phone?”
The tracker, Grace thought as the memory of sneaking it onto his phone flashed into her mind. She rushed at Ryan and grabbed the front of his shirt.
“What are you doing, Grace?” he asked, trying to break free of her grip.
“You made me take the tracker off his phone. If you hadn’t, we would have known where he was from the minute he left here. It’s your fault, and you” She pointed at Alec. “You were all so worried about Johnny’s privacy and feelings. All I cared about was his safety. Still glad you made me get rid of it? I don’t know why I listened to you.”
She let go of his shirt but didn’t move. Alec reached out to calm her down, but she slapped her hand away. “You think you know everything, but I’m his mother. I know what’s best for him. I’ve always known. From now on, you have no say. He’s my son!”
She went to her room and slammed the door expecting Ryan to follow but was relieved when he didn’t. One of his soothing lectures was the last thing she needed.
As much as Ryan and Alec were at fault, Grace blamed herself for listening to them. Hadn’t all the years, all the challenges she’d faced taught her to trust her instincts? She’d gotten lax. She’d never make that mistake again.
She paced the room trying to quiet her shaking limbs, not from fear or shock, but from rage. She hadn’t been so angry in years. She stopped pacing at the realization that she was moving through the stages of grief. She’d hit them all in the past twenty-four hours, except for acceptance. She’d never reach that stage.
There was a tap on the door. “Go away,” she yelled.
“Grace, it’s Scott Michaels.”
She climbed off the bed and unlocked the door for him. “Sorry,” she said and rubbed her face. “I thought you were Ryan.”
She sat on the end of the bed and motioned for Scott to take the rocking chair in the corner.
“Ryan explained about the tracker,” Scott said. “In his defense, that app probably wouldn’t have helped much. Johnny’s phone had been lying on the side of the road for hours by the time you realized he was gone.”
Little Lost Things Page 10