Not One of Us(64)

“We’ll need to do a full-body scan and question him when he gets inside,” a cop said.

I nodded, not hopeful that their questions could ever be answered. Still, I asked what we all wanted to know.

“Where’ve you been, Zach?”

“All done,” he answered, walking toward the house. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

“What does that mean?” a cop asked.

“It’s his standard answer when he’s finished talking,” I explained over my shoulder where he scurried behind us. “Or when he doesn’t want to be bothered anymore.”

“Keep trying,” he urged.

I stepped up next to Zach, keeping in stride with his pace. Thank goodness he wasn’t limping or crying or indicating that he hurt anywhere. “Zach, where have you been?” I asked again.

“Mimi knows,” he mumbled. “All done.”

The cop stepped in front of us, blocking our path. “Who’s this Mimi?” he asked suspiciously.

“Our grandmother. She’s home. But she doesn’t know where he’s been either,” I said quickly. “Mimi knows is one of Zach’s pet expressions to any question he can’t answer. Like all done when he wants to be left alone or get shoes when he wants to go outside. It’s like a code.”

His brows furrowed together, as though he wasn’t buying my explanation. I sighed. Poor Mimi might be getting the third degree when we got home. I understood that police had to be suspicious and cynical by nature, but for the first time I worried about the consequences of Zach’s mysterious disappearance. Would the cops think we had something to do with it? Or that we were negligent, incapable caregivers?

The worry that we were indeed negligent only fueled my paranoia.

A thirtysomething woman in jeans and a Keep Calm and Do Yoga T-shirt sidled up to us. I recognized her as a neighbor from a block away. “You think he went outside to play and just wandered off?” she asked.

“No.” I directed my answer to the cop, noting his name was Dempsey. I needed to impress upon him that this was no accident. I couldn’t dismiss the threatening messages I’d received. It was too much of a coincidence to think he’d wandered away for so long for the first time in his life right at the time I faced an unknown menace. “Officer, I believe he was abducted.”

Zach walked around the guy, careful not to accidentally brush against him. “Home,” Zach said, tugging my hand impatiently. He led all of us into the house, where Tegan awaited with a broad smile.

“I just checked,” Tegan said. “Your grandmother’s still asleep. She’ll be so relieved when she wakes up. Do you want me to get her?”

“No. Let her sleep.”

As though not noticing the entourage of people crowded around him, Zach headed down the hallway.

“We’ll need to do that body search before we go,” the officer reminded me.

“I want Deputy Blackwell to do it, if she’s willing. Zach’s met her a few times. She won’t be a complete stranger.”

Tegan nodded. “Sure. Let’s go ahead and get this over with.”

Mimi stumbled out of her bedroom, blocking our way to Zach. “What’s going on?” she asked, hands on her hips, glaring at the noisy crowd in the den. “What are all these people doing in my house?”

She didn’t act surprised Zach had returned; the memory of his disappearance had apparently dissolved during her nap.

The cop raised an eyebrow at me. He must think we were the craziest family ever. But after today’s crisis, I didn’t care what anyone thought as long as Mimi and Zach were safe.

“Listen up, everyone,” the officer called over his shoulder. “Everyone head on home or back to your jobs. Thanks for your help.”

“Thank you,” I added. “We’re so grateful.”

“I’ll stay until I’m sure Zach doesn’t require medical attention,” the officer said.

“Medical attention?” Mimi asked. “He’s perfectly fine. Who are you?”

“Officer Dempsey, ma’am.”

I intervened. “Why don’t you go in the kitchen and make a cup of coffee, Mimi? I’ll explain everything in a minute.”

Mimi shook her finger at the cop. “I want you out of here, young man.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled as I walked past him.

Tegan snickered as we walked into the bathroom. I had the feeling she didn’t particularly care for the cop.

We quickly assessed that Zach had no marks on him. Zach dressed, and a scrap of paper fell out of his jeans pocket and landed on the floor. “What’s this?” I asked, picking it up. Zach ignored me and left the bathroom.

Large typed block letters delivered a succinct message.

I warned you. Next time he won’t come back.

The words hit me like a sucker punch. I dropped to my knees on the hard tiled floor. My lips numbed, and blood drained so fast from my face that the tiny bathroom walls began to spin and close in on me. The faded wallpaper of poppies swirled like a psychedelic field of blue and pink. A rabbit trap that threatened to suck me into its vortex.

“Jori? Sit down.” Tegan’s face swam into my vision. She grasped my shoulders and guided my body so that my back leaned against the wall. “Put your head between your knees and take deep breaths.”