by Jason Davis
“Dad, the chief is up there.”
The other kids continued to talk over each other, but Rob had focused on his son. The boy was solemn, his face blank, his eyes sad. He looked like he was in shock. Rob nodded at him, then pulled him into another hug so tight, he could almost hear his bones protesting.
“Dad...,” came the muffled response. Rob let go. Jake glanced at the kids around them. Chris looked down. The rest kept talking, oblivious, trying to get Rob to follow them so they could show him what they found. He wanted to, but he needed to call their parents.
He called Robyn first, who showed up within minutes. She immediately wrapped Jake in her arms as Rob called the other parents. He was more comfortable with her there, keeping track of Jake. It wasn’t as though he was going to go missing again if Rob took his eyes off him, but that didn’t stop the man from worrying. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to stop worrying again
Even before Rob finished with all the calls, cars started to show up. After Robyn, he had called Samantha, who set the phone lines ablaze. As Rob got down to the bottom of the list of parents, he found they were already on their way. It didn’t take long for him to start getting phone calls from other people with missing loved ones, knowing some kids had been found. Even with all the excitement around him, those were hard to get through, having to tell people he hadn’t yet found their child.
After he hung up with the last person, he knew he had to do something he should never ask of any child. No one should be forced to relive their nightmares.
He sat sideways in the front seat of his squad car, then called Jake over. Reluctantly, he left the protection of his mom’s arms. The look Robyn gave him was one that should have told him he was already on thin ice. Hecouldn’t meet her eyes for too long. Every time he did, his vision filled with the florist, her ripe breasts thrusting into his face. If he hadn’t done anything wrong, why did he feel so odd around his own wife? Why was that damn woman inside his head? How many times could he make her orgasm?
Get out of my head!
When Jake stood in front of him, he pulled his son into another hug. He wasn’t sure he could ever get enough hugs again.
Rob pulled away, holding Jake’s arms. “What happened?” he asked, looking into his son’s innocent eyes. They held him, the large orbs reflecting the red and blue lights.
His son sniffed, tears forming. “We were looking for Bobby. The other kids thought they might know a place he would hide, so they wanted to see if he was there.”
“Okay.”
“Well, we went to this place, and there was a metal grate. It was really heavy, and it took almost all of us to lift it.”
Jake fell silent. His eyes lost focus as he looked away. Rob figured he was trying to remember something difficult, making him feel like the world’s worst dad for making his son go through this. Would other parents do it? They would probably be there to protect their kids. If he were talking to any of the other children, their parents would probably scream at him, telling him their child has been through enough.
They had seen something. Rob was certain of it. They all said different things, their stories all so wild, Rob was quick to believe there was something up there.
“What did you see once you lifted it?” Rob prodded.
“There was a hand holding the grate. Just the hand. We all ran after that,” Jake whispered.
“But you said you thought it was the chief.”
“The ring.” Rob looked at Jake, cocking his head, trying to figure out what he meant. “I saw the wedding ring on the hand.”
Rob nodded, the pieces clicking together. He knew the ring. It was a man’s wedding ring, a single silver band, but he was sure if he looked around town, he would find a half-dozen men with rings just like it. Seeing it on a severed hand didn’t necessarily mean it was the chief. He had to wonder how Jake was so sure. There weren’t too many other missing people, but it just wasn’t enough to go on.
“Jake, I need you to show me where.”
“Rob!”
He looked up to see the fury on his wife’s face. “Robyn, hun, I have to see—”
“Don’t you dare.”
“Robyn, please.” He stood from the squad car. “I don’t know where the kids saw what they did. I need him to show me.”
“Like hell you do! He’s already seen enough.”
“Robyn...”
“No, Rob. I’m taking him home.”
“I’ll show you,” one of the other kids said. It was a taller boy. He wasn’t sure of the name, but he thought he was Samantha’s son.
Rob looked at him. He didn’t want to subject any of the kids to it again. “It’s Joel, right?”
The boy nodded. Rob looked at his wife. He didn’t want to take any of them up there, but he would feel more comfortable if it was Jake. Taking someone else’s kid up there felt irresponsible.
But someone needed to show him. If it weren’t so dark, he’d be able to take them as a group, but it was pitch black, neither the moon nor the stars visible. All he’d have was the long barrel flashlight in the squad car.
Robyn looked away from him, holding in her own shame. Did she know he needed at least one of these kids to go back up there?
She had to understand that, didn’t she?
“Okay, Joel. You think you can help me find the spot?” The kid nodded, his eyes wide as he smiled enthusiastically. Rob returned the nod and reached into the car, pulling out the flashlight.
A van pulled up, its headlights trapping Rob, making him feel like a deer. The doors flung open.
“Joel!”
“John!”
A dark shape rushed by him, another one hurrying through the headlight’s illumination. Two women ran toward the group of kids.
John was quick to go to his mom, giving her a brief hug. Joel was more reluctant, playing it cool, as his mom looked over his body, asking if he was okay.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We were just looking for Bobby when we found a dead body.”
It didn’t matter now much Joel tried to play it cool. Once he said that, his mom gasped and pulled him into her arms again. He fought it, his mother ignoring his protests. Embarrassed, his face was nearly as red as the lights flashing over them.
“Oh, my god. Well, it will be okay. We’ll get you home. I’ll call Dr. Sherman in the morning and make an appointment.”
Joel rolled his eyes. “I don’t need therapy.”
“Yes, you do.”
“It might be a good idea,” Robyn said. “Ms.... I’m sorry. I don't know your name.”
“Ms. Jordon,” Samantha said, glancing over her shoulder at Robyn before turning back to Joel. She wasn’t going to let him out of her sight until she was sure there wasn’t a scratch on him.
“Ms. Jordon, would you be willing to share your therapist’s number? It might be a good idea for all of them, and it would be nice to be able to give out the information when the rest of the parents arrive.”
“I guess I could.”
“I’m about to take Deputy Alletto up to show him the body,” Joel said, the enthusiasm bubbling out from the boy.
“What?!”
Rob walked up, wanting to justify what he knew was a mistake. “Joel offer-”
“Deputy, if you think I am letting you expose my child to any more atrocities, you had better start looking for a new town with new children to terrorize.”
“You are not taking our children back up there,” the other woman said, pulling her son closer.
“Miss, I need to see where they found the body.”
“Well, you go right ahead. I’m sure they’ve told you whatever you needed to know, Deputy. You go right on up there, but you won’t be taking any of our children. What kind of monster would do that?”
Joel’s face fell. “Ma-”
“Don’t. I don’t care, Joel. Did he do anything? Make you say anything you didn’t want to say?”
She crouched down, looking Joel in the eyes. The eagerness
he had earlier was gone. The kid looked disappointed. She acted like he wanted to take the kid up there. If just telling him where they had found the body would help, he would never have asked. None of these people seemed to understand that. Over the last twenty-four hours, the search party had been all over these woods and slag pile, and no one had found anything until these kids came across this grate. They obviously knew of an area nobody else did. How was he supposed to find it on his own?
“Ma’am...”
The roaring engine of a truck cut him off as it sped past the minivan and came to a screeching stop, barely missing them. The truck was raised high in the air, so Rob could see through the large gap underneath as the driver hopped down from the other side.
Unconsciously, Rob pulled Jake behind him, then looked at Robyn, who watched a man walk around the truck, the headlights making his shadow stretch into the woods. He could see she had the same apprehension he did. Rob wondered if she had met him before.
Why is she so afraid of him? She’s sleeping with him. She’s allowing him to noodle her while you’re away at work.
No, there was no way that was possible, but the images kept flexing themselves. Rob had already recognized the truck, remembering cans being thrown at him as he walked past it. It had made an impression, the large Confederate flag waving in the faint wind, the duel chrome exhaust pipes rising up behind the cab. He had seen the man drink enough earlier to constitute Rob giving him a DUI right there. Even though the thought was tempting, he wanted as little conflict as possible at the moment.
Mr. Bloom, Emily’s father, stalked toward him, anger in his eyes. “Where the hell is my daughter?”
Stepping away from his family, Rob walked to meet him. The man was a monster, so he was not about to let him get any closer to his wife and child. Rob didn’t want to touch him, but he put his arm around his shoulders to lead him away from everybody. Mr. Bloom wasn’t having it, pulling out of Rob’s grip.
“I said where’s my daughter?” he growled.
Rob held up his hands, hoping to pacify the man. “I don’t know.”
“What the hell do you mean you don’t know? You found these little assholes. My daughter ain’t good enough for you to look for? You find these little shits out fuckin’ in the woods, but can’t find mine?”
“Don’t you dare!” Samantha had her hands over Joel’s ears.
Rob glanced at her and looked at the rest of the kids, then turned back to the angry parent.
“I haven’t found her yet. I’m about to go see what the kids didfind.”
The man’s eyes hardened as he looked at the group of kids again, then turned to look back at Rob. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
Rob didn’t register the blow until he felt the cold steel of the squad car, the front of his uniform constricting around his neck. The man had grabbed the front of his shirt and was twisting, forcing him back onto his car.
“Get...off...me...,” Rob strangled out.
He saw a pair of arms around the man’s neck, knowing it was probably Robyn trying to pull him off. The man wasn’t strong, but he was big, his girth heavy as it forced Rob down. There was no moving him. That beer gut just kept pushing, and he could smell alcohol and the junk food from the gas station on the man’s breath.
“Let him go!” Robyn screamed.
When the man released him, Rob gasped for air, coughing. His knees went weak and he slipped to the ground, stars fading out of his vision.
“I’m…going…up…there,” he whispered, speaking around the shards of glass in his throat.
The man paced, his hands clenching and unclenching. Rob watched him, wondering when he would come back for round two. He wasn’t going to let the man get in the first hit again. He had just caught Rob off guard.
He squared himself up, standing a little straighter than he had before. Rob had to deal with many drunks in town. Some of them stood a head taller, but he had never let any of them intimidate him. He had too many years on the Chicago PD. Too many drug dealers, pimps, and random scum he had to take down for any of these assholes in town to come close to taking him. This man had just gotten lucky. Next time, Rob planned to have him on the ground in cuffs.
The man looked Rob up and down, seeming to take stock of him. What Rob initially took for a snarl had been chewing tobacco. Mr. Bloom spat out a brown glob of it near Rob’s boot.
“Where the fuck’s my daughter?”
“I don’t know.”
Jake came up to stand behind his father. Rob took a chance to take his eyes off Bloom, sure the moment he showed any sign of distraction, the man would pounce on him. He reached out and put his arm in front of his son.
“I see your own little pissant is here. Was he with her? He do something to her, asking you all to cover it up?” No one answered as they continued to watch him cautiously. The man was feral. Who knew where he would focus next. “Who gives a shit about some white trash’s kid, right?”
Bloom took a step forward. Rob forced himself to stand a little straighter. He could smell the sour mint from the man’s chew as he looked deep into those eyes. They were sore and red, but the pupils had a yellow tint. Rob guessed he was on meth.
“Or are you some kind of sick bastard. You put her away somewhere? You want her tight little ass?”
Rob didn’t turn away. He forced himself to stay calm, keeping tight control over his breathing while concentrating on counting his heartbeats. Rob didn’t have to look down to see the clenched fists at the man’s sides. As soon as Rob showed any weakness, that fist would come toward him.
“Where…is…my…daughter?” Bloom pushed his chest out and stepped forward, forcing Rob to step back. He felt the warmth of his son behind him. He never took his eyes away as he brought his leg back as a brace, not allowing the man to push him any farther.
“I’ll find her,” Rob said. The reins on his self-control had started ebbing away. He had the urge to push the man away or, better yet, just slam his fist into that large jaw. He wanted it to shatter. He wanted to hear the man scream in pain. He wanted to beat him down and put him in his place.
Do you really want that?
It wasn’t him, but there was another part of him, some caged animal buried inside, that screamed to attack.
“I can take you up there,” Jake said from behind him.
Bloom finally blinked, as though coming out of a trance, and looked down at the little boy tucked behind his father.
“My daughter up there?”
Rob turned and looked at his son, who shook his head.
“Are you sure?”
“I didn’t see her, but we didn’t look too hard. We pretty much ran.”
They ran because they had seen a hand. There was still a chance the whole body wasn’t there. They had done what all ten-year-olds would have. They ran away, screaming. Rob knew some kids would have poked it with a stick. He was proud his son didn’t do that. They must have done something right in raising him.
Another set of headlights washed over them, more red and blue lights dancing around the area. Bloom looked over quickly. Rob followed his gaze to see another squad car had arrived.
Finally.
Rob took notice to the kids and adults standing around, their eyes wide, the adults having a protective arm around their child. All of them watched Rob and Bloom as if it were some kind of freak show, not sure how to react.
He should have been watching the man in front of him. Caught off guard again, he felt a blow to the chest. He tried to step back to keep himself from falling, but Jake was too close. The boy tried to move, but wasn’t fast enough, getting slammed between the squad car and his dad.
When Rob steadied himself, he looked and saw Jake on his hands and knees, crawling away, sniffling. That was it. Rob quickly stood, his fist balled as he swung, wide and hard. It wasn’t a move to take down a perp. This was pure fury put into a hammer blow of a punch. It took Bloom completely by surprise, the man staggering back.
It didn’t stun him for long, though. When he hit his truck, he used that little bounce to propel himself back at Rob.
Rob was ready. When the punch came, he grabbed the man’s wrist, spun him, used the momentum behind the punch, and smashed him down on the hood of the car. Bloom cried out in frustration. Seconds later, the cry of anger turned into pain as Rob pulled the man’s arm tighter behind his back. There was an audible pop,Bloom’s screams growing louder.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Rob didn’t care if this man has a missing kid anymore. He had lost that pity when Rob’s son had gotten in the middle of it. “You have the right to an attorney.” Rob whipped out the cuffs from his belt and handcuffed the man’s wrist, making sure to give his injured arm another tug. “If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.” He clicked the last cuff into place, then shoved the man against the hood of the car before he released his weight and stepped back.
“Hey, Deputy. Trouble?” A woman stepped from behind her squad car.
“Just a parent getting rough. Maybe a night locked up will help clear his head.”
She nodded as she stepped over to them. She was short, her head barely coming up to his chest. She reached out and took the man, pulling him up hard.
“I’ll put him in the squad. These the missing kids?”
“Yeah.”
“And they found a body in the woods?”
“Yeah. My son was just about to show me where.”
“Okay.”
“We’ll make it quick.I’ll make sure to leave markers for forensicsto find their way.”
She nodded, narrowing her eyes. “Just don’t contaminate anything. Step carefully, then come back out in your own footprints.”
“Yes,ma’am. I know.”
She cocked her head. She may think he was being an asshole, buthe really didn’t care. He was ready to get this night over with. If they found something up there, maybe it would lead them to the rest of the missing. Then he could go home and get some sleep. It would never again be good sleep, but maybe the nightmares would be quiet for a while.