“Did you notice anyone stepping out of it?”
“No.”
“Did anybody approach from behind you?”
My frustration returned immediately.
“Deputy, respectfully, why are we discussing a pickup? Frank Lawson left with my daughter still inside his bus.”
The deputy gently shut his notebook.
“Mrs. Carter, Mr. Lawson had already reported that vehicle before arriving on your street.”
I stared silently.
“What?”
“He reported an unfamiliar man attempting to collect a student from the bus.”
My fingers tightened slightly around Ellie’s shoulder.
“Which student?”
Deputy Reed briefly looked toward her.
Then he met my eyes.
“Your daughter.”
Chapter 3 — The Stranger I Didn’t Notice
For several moments, the room became completely silent.
I lowered my gaze toward Ellie.
She was peeling at the paper wrapper around her water bottle.
“Ellie?”
She kept looking downward.
“Did somebody try to pick you up?”
She nodded faintly.
“Who was it?”
“I don’t know.”
