Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6)(16)

“This is my friend, Mettner,” Noah said. “He gave me a ride home.”

Home. Noah referred to Josie’s house as home. She felt a warm little squeeze in her heart. Standing, she splashed her face with water, brushed her teeth without looking in the mirror and went downstairs. She could tell by the look on both Mettner and Noah’s faces that she looked bad.

Mettner said, “Geez, she hit you hard, huh?”

Josie touched her nose and cheekbones. Both were tender. “It’s okay. Any news?”

Both of their faces fell. “No,” Noah said. “Nothing. We had people searching all night, and the volunteer search starts in an hour. People are already gathering at the park. Looks like it’s going to be a great turnout.”

Harris ran in and hugged Josie’s leg. “JoJo, I watch TV?”

“Sure,” Josie said, stroking his hair. “Make sure it’s okay with Mommy, okay?”

He ran off. Josie said, “I have to get over there and relieve Gretchen.” She remembered the thought that had sparked in her sleepy mind just a few hours ago. “I need to look at the photos and video again, too.”

“I’ll meet you over there,” Mettner said.





On her way to the park, Josie called Trinity, who had called three times while Josie slept. “It’s about time,” Trinity answered, not even bothering with pleasantries.

“I’m sorry,” Josie said. “I’ve been working. Do you even sleep?”

“Don’t worry about my sleeping habits. Tell me about this missing girl. You know I don’t like getting my information from the local correspondent at WYEP.”

Josie gave her a rundown, concluding, “I don’t know that there’s a story here, Trin, but if you want to help, the parents used to live in New York City. That’s where they lived before their daughter was born. Maybe you could track down some of their old friends. Colin Ross’s parents still live there. You could talk to them maybe. See what kind of people we’re dealing with.”

“You think one of the parents had something to do with this?” Trinity asked.

“I don’t know,” Josie answered. “But if either one of them has anything nefarious in their past, I know you’ll find it and that you’ll find it faster than the FBI.”

Trinity laughed. “You’re damn right I will. I’ll be in touch.”

Josie hung up as the city park came into view. The playground area was packed with people, the line of citizens ready to help search for Lucy extending all the way outside the entrance and down the sidewalk. Josie felt encouraged by how many people were willing to get up early and donate their time to help a little girl. They stared at her as she walked past the line and into the playground toward the tent. It took her a moment to realize it was because of her black eyes. She picked up the pace and slipped into the tent. Mettner had beat her there. He sat in front of the laptop and beckoned her over. “Here’s the footage and photos. Take a look. I’m going to tell Gretchen she can go home and help get this search organized out there.”

Josie started scrolling through the photos. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for. The idea that Misty’s words had sparked was still a shadow in her mind. It hadn’t entirely solidified. Gretchen appeared beside her. “Hey, oh wow. You look—” She broke off.

Josie smiled, the movement hurting her face. “I know. It’s fine. What’s going on? Anything? I haven’t seen either Amy or Colin.”

“They’re out with the search party. Mettner and the uniforms are organizing them now. I’ve got no news. Hummel got a bunch of random prints from the inside of the carousel column. None of them came up in AFIS. I talked to all the parents who were here yesterday and on the carousel when Lucy disappeared. None of them remember the door in the column opening. None of their children remember the door opening.”

“They didn’t remember seeing Lucy either,” Josie pointed out. “But we know she was there.”

“True,” Gretchen conceded.

Josie stood. “Well, we’ll just keep looking. Why don’t you go home and get some sleep.”

Gretchen didn’t argue. Josie took over command. She itched to get out and search the woods even though a part of her was convinced that Lucy was not there. Those woods had been searched several times already—all through the night—and no sign of the girl had been found. But she had to stay at the command post to coordinate all the various teams of law enforcement and civilians there to help. She stood at the front of the tent as the morning’s massive search got underway. They’d start at the park and then work their way outward, searching the yards of residences in a one-mile radius as well as the college campus. If that didn’t turn anything up, they’d expand the radius.

She saw Amy and Colin walking together deeper into the city park. Both looked exhausted and pale. Amy wore jeans and had pulled a black sweater tight around her torso. Her sandy locks were thrown back in a messy ponytail. Colin wore a bright blue windbreaker and his thick salt-and-pepper hair looked like he hadn’t combed it at all this morning. He pushed both hands through it, in what was obviously a nervous habit. The two walked side by side but didn’t touch.

Josie studied the long line of searchers who stared at the couple as they walked into the trees. The age range was diverse. A number of students from Denton East High School as well as Denton West had shown up. They wore sweatshirts with their high schools’ names and mascots emblazoned on them. There were housewives, young professionals, retirees and what looked like a few college professors. One older man with gray hair and a neatly trimmed gray beard wore a tweed suit complete with a tie. He sipped coffee from a paper cup as his eyes followed the Ross parents’ movements. It was an odd choice of clothing for a search and contrasted with the garb of several volunteers who had shown up in bright orange vests and Mossy Oak ballcaps. Josie suspected they wore their bright colors hoping to draw Lucy’s attention should they find her in the woods.