Her Silent Cry (Detective Josie Quinn Book 6)(9)

Chitwood said, “Call WYEP, get them to send a crew out here. Set up a mobile station in this area. We’ll search through the night and take volunteers in the morning if she isn’t found tonight.”





Six





Within an hour, a large tent had been erected at the entrance to the playground with folding tables and chairs inside to be used by Denton PD as a mobile command post. Someone had brought coffee and pastries, although no one touched them. Noah sat at one of the tables with a department-issue laptop, uploading the footage and photos that the officers had taken from the other parents at the playground that day. Gretchen and Chitwood sat facing Lucy’s parents. Josie peeked outside to where a news crew waited to interview someone from Denton PD. Members of the sheriff’s office and state police troopers milled around, ready to embark on more searches. Josie knew they would work through the night, in teams, until Lucy was found. She heard Colin’s voice in her head once more: what if she’s not found?

Shaking it off, she turned back to her team. “WYEP is here. Gretchen, you want to give them a statement?”

Gretchen stood but Chitwood placed a hand on her forearm. “I want Quinn to do it,” he said.

Josie said, “I’m not the lead on this one, Chief. I just happened to be here on my day off when Lucy disappeared.”

Chitwood raised a brow. “I know that, Quinn. I want you out there as the face of the department.”

“Sir,” Gretchen protested.

“Listen, Palmer,” he replied. “You don’t have the—” he broke off when he noticed the Ross parents were staring at him. Clearing his throat, he went on. “Quinn is a local celebrity, and she’s great on camera. That’s all. I think if we put her in the press and keep you here working the case, we’ll get better results.”

Josie knew the real reason he didn’t want Gretchen in front of cameras on a high-profile case was because seven months earlier, Gretchen had been embroiled in a scandal that had nearly cost her her career. She’d only been let back on the force because of Josie’s machinations and when she returned, she’d been forced to spend time on the desk. For once, Josie understood Chitwood’s reasoning. He was putting the case first. Still, Josie felt uncomfortable. She looked pointedly at Gretchen, but she just smiled and said, “I always hated doing press.”

Relieved, Josie turned to Colin and Amy. “It would be great if you could join me out there. I know you’re upset but if you could say a few words, it might help.”

Colin squeezed his wife’s shoulder. “I think it’s best if Amy talks.”

“No,” Amy said. “I—I can’t.”

Colin frowned at her. “Amy, you’re her mother. People connect to mothers. All you have to do is go out there and ask people to come help in the search. That’s it.”

Her eyes were wide with something beyond nervousness. More like terror, Josie thought. Amy clasped her hands together and held them to her chest. “I can’t be on TV,” she muttered. “I can’t be on TV.” Her gaze traveled back to Josie. “Please, just find my little girl. Please.”

Chitwood, Gretchen and Colin all started speaking at once, but Josie held up a hand to silence them. Some people were not equipped to speak in front of cameras at their best, let alone at their very worst and most frightened. “It’s okay,” Josie said.

“Quinn,” Chitwood began.

“No,” Josie said. “Mrs. Ross is right. The only face people should see on television tonight is Lucy’s.”

“We’ll give them the photo we were using earlier,” Gretchen said.

“Mettner,” Josie called out and from somewhere in the rear of the tent, he appeared. “Yeah, boss.”

“Just Josie is fine,” she said. “Mett, call Lamay and have him bring over a podium, then can you take that photo of Lucy and run it over to Staples, see if they can blow it up for us? That’s what we want people to see.”

“You got it,” Mettner said, jogging out of the tent.

Josie felt a clammy hand squeeze her own. She looked down to see Amy’s pale face staring up at her, more tears streaming silently down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she whispered.

One of the sheriff’s deputies poked his head into the tent. “K-9 unit is two hours out.”

“Two hours?” Gretchen said. “They can’t get here any faster?”

He shook his head. “Sorry, ma’am. They were already out on a case when you called up.”

Josie looked to one of the tables where a large brown bag sat, containing one of Lucy’s dirty shirts that Amy had taken from her hamper to give the dogs her scent. She looked back at the parents. “It’s okay,” she told them. “We’ll have teams out there searching continuously before the K-9 unit gets here.”

The press conference went off without a hitch, the blown-up photo of Lucy smiling while sitting on the carousel horse striking in its size, color, and because of the vibrant smile of the young girl. The WYEP producer promised it would be their top story. Afterward, Gretchen urged Amy and Colin to go home and get some sleep.

“I can’t,” Amy said. “Lucy’s still out there somewhere. I can’t sleep. I can’t sleep until she’s home with me.”