Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6)(5)

She broke off as a sob rocked her body. “Oh God, my baby. You have to find her. We have to find her!”

Josie’s voice was firm and clear. “Mrs. Ross, look at me.”

Amy’s eyes wandered all around the playground area before landing on Josie’s face.

Josie said, “We’re doing everything we can to find her right now. Tell me, does Lucy have any medical conditions we should be aware of?”

Amy’s eyes drifted once more to the cluster of parents and children in the center of the play area standing before two Denton officers who were busy taking down information. Then her gaze traveled outward to the wooded areas on the periphery of the playground where several other officers threaded through the trees, searching for Lucy and calling out her name.

“Mrs. Ross?” Gretchen prompted.

“No, no medical conditions. She’s very healthy.” She looked at them again. “This is not like her. You don’t understand. She wouldn’t run off.”

“Did you see her leave the carousel?” Josie asked.

Amy shook her head. “No. I was trying to get down off that stupid horse. I got tangled in the strap. She got down before me and she ran off. I lost sight of her in the crowd.”

“So you didn’t see her go to the exit?”

“No, no. I didn’t see her after she got down off her horse and ran off. I looked and looked—oh my God.”

“How often do you come to the park?” Gretchen asked.

“A few times a week. I mean, usually she comes with the nanny.”

“What is the nanny’s name?” Gretchen went on. “Where is she now?”

“Jaclyn. Jaclyn Underwood,” Amy said. “She’s away. Her family is from Colorado. She went home to visit for the weekend.”

“Where in Denton does she live?” Gretchen asked.

She rattled off an address in Denton, close to the college campus. “She’s a student at Denton University. She picks Lucy up from school and spends a few hours with her before dinner. Listen, is this really important? I want to go look for Lucy.”

“Of course,” Gretchen said. “I’ll be here coordinating the investigation.” A business card appeared in Gretchen’s hand, and she gave it to Amy. “My cell phone number is on there.”

Clutching it in her fist, Amy ran off. Josie watched as she followed the perimeter of the play area before disappearing into one of the wooded areas, following behind several of their officers.

Harris stirred, his blue eyes opening, then sighed and turned his head. Josie felt a patch of sweat where his face had rested. She patted his back and looked to Gretchen.

Gretchen tapped her pen against her notepad. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” Josie said.

“You don’t think she wandered off?”

Josie shook her head. She had nothing to base this feeling on, no evidence that anything nefarious had happened to Lucy Ross, so she didn’t bother trying to explain herself.

Gretchen sighed and pointed at the carousel. “Let’s start at the beginning.”





Four





The teenager in charge of the carousel sat in his tiny ticket booth at the entrance to the ride, his face peeking out the small window, watching the commotion with wide, frightened eyes. He stepped out as Josie and Gretchen approached.

“What’s your name?” Gretchen asked him.

He held a bright red ballcap in his hands. His fingers worked the bill into a U shape. Dark hair hung over his eyes. He gave a quick flick of his head to his left, shaking the locks out of his face. “Logan,” he said.

Gretchen introduced herself and Josie. “How old are you, Logan?”

He shifted from foot to foot. “Eighteen.”

So they could speak to him without having to contact a parent or guardian. Before either of them could pose another question, he asked, “Did you—did you find her yet?”

“No, not yet,” Josie said.

“You want me to keep the ride closed?”

“Yes,” Gretchen said. “Until we know what we’re dealing with here.”

“Logan,” Josie said as she pulled her phone out, holding Harris against her with one arm while awkwardly using her other hand to enter her password and pull up the photo of Lucy Ross she’d had Amy text her. She turned the screen toward him. “Do you remember seeing this girl on the carousel?”

He studied the photo. “I guess. I mean, a ton of kids get on this ride during the day. It’s hard to remember them all.”

Josie asked, “What time did you get here today?”

“Like, noon.”

Josie checked the time on her phone. It was almost four-thirty in the afternoon. Gretchen asked, “And how long are you supposed to keep the carousel open?”

“Till six.”

“How long have you been working here?” Josie asked.

“Like, three weeks.”

Josie showed him Lucy’s photo again. “Do you remember seeing this girl or not?”

His fingers curled the bill of the hat again. “Yeah, she had on a colorful backpack, like, a bug or something.”

Josie looked at Gretchen. “That’s right. She had one on. It was small and looked like a stuffed butterfly, but it was a backpack.”