Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6)(53)

The lines of Colin’s face deepened in confusion. “What? What are you talking about?”

Amy made a tsk sound at her husband. “You really don’t pay attention at all, do you? You really don’t know what a chrysalis is?”

He glowered at his wife. “Why the hell would I know what that is? What’s this got to do with our daughter?”

Amy’s voice rose to a shout. Her hands squeezed the unicorn’s head. “It’s a cocoon, Colin. You know, the kind that caterpillars make before they turn into butterflies. You remember that your daughter is obsessed with butterflies, don’t you? Or is that too much for you to hold in your head while you’re traipsing all over the globe overcharging sick people for cancer medication?”

Colin stepped back as though he’d been slapped. Even Josie was momentarily stunned. Amy’s comments were spiteful, and delivered with more force than Josie had ever seen from her previously.

Before Colin could snap back at his wife, Josie took out her phone and swiped to the photo one of Oaks’s crime scene techs had forwarded her. “It’s a cocoon. We believe that Lucy tore a piece of paper from a manuscript on Wendy’s desk and used it to make this.” She held the phone out and both parents moved closer to look at it.

Amy gasped. “She’s alive. Oh my God, our baby is alive.” She took one hand from the stuffed unicorn and clamped it over Colin’s forearm.

“How do you know Lucy made this?” Colin asked. “How do you even know what it is? What if Wendy tore a piece of paper, crumpled it up and tossed it onto the floor?”

“That is Lucy’s!” Amy said firmly.

Josie said, “I found the same thing in her desk at school. I believe that Lucy made this.”

“To let us know she’s still alive?” Amy asked hopefully.

“Maybe.”

“Jesus,” Colin said, beginning to pace. “This is a nightmare.”

Amy turned toward him. “How can you say that? Our daughter is alive. She’s alive! We have a chance to get her back safely.”

Colin stopped moving and gestured toward Josie’s phone. “How long ago did you find that? A few hours? He could have killed her by now.”

“No!” Amy shrieked. “Don’t say that.”

Colin’s eyes glistened with tears. “You need to prepare yourself, Ame. The person who has her—he’s a killer. He killed Jaclyn and Wendy like it was nothing to him. What’s to stop him from killing Lucy?”

“Us,” Josie interjected.

Both parents froze and turned their heads toward her. Josie went on, “The most recent information we have indicates that Lucy is still alive. We are operating as though she is and we’re going to do everything we can to find her as quickly as possible. The best thing that you two can do for Lucy is stay calm and answer any questions we have for you.”

Colin rolled his eyes, drawing a glare from his wife. “Questions and more questions. What now?”

Ignoring his barbs, Josie asked, “Do either of you know a man named Bryce Graham?”

“No,” Colin said. “Never heard of him.”

“Who is he?” Amy asked.

“A local psychologist. He was at the search the other day at the park. He offered his services to many of the volunteers. Free of charge. We were just wondering if you knew him personally.”

“No,” Amy and Colin said in unison. Then Amy asked, “You think he took Lucy?”

“No, not even close,” Josie said. “He just stood out to us when we were reviewing all the search footage because he was wearing a suit.”

“There has to be more to it than that,” Colin said. “Or you wouldn’t be asking us about him.”

“Evidently he has no alibi for the time Lucy was taken.”

Amy gasped. “But… a psychologist? What would he want with Lucy?”

Josie held up a hand. “I didn’t say he’s a suspect. I just said he has no alibi. We have no reason to believe he had any involvement in Lucy’s abduction. In fact, we’re looking at someone else right now.” She took out her phone again and pulled up the photos of the man who had impersonated John Bausch at Lucy’s school. She handed her phone to Amy, who held it while Colin looked over her shoulder. “There are three more photos,” Josie told them. “Swipe to the left. Tell me if you recognize the man in the photos.”

Amy and Colin looked at each photo carefully. Colin’s face remained blank. Horizontal lines creased Amy’s forehead. “I don’t know him. Who is he?” she asked.

“You’ve never seen him?”

Amy handed the phone back. “No. I don’t think so. I mean I can’t see his face, only his profile, but he doesn’t look familiar.” She turned to her husband. “Do you recognize him?”

Colin shook his head. “I’ve never seen the guy before.”

“Who is he?” Amy asked. “Do you think he’s the person who took Lucy?”

“The man in the photos visited Lucy’s school,” Josie explained. “He gave a presentation on bugs.”

“Oh,” Amy said. “The bug expert. I remember Lucy talking about him. He brought a butterfly, of course, and a bunch of other insects. She loved the stick bug.”