Deputy Reed entered behind her.
“Mrs. Carter,” she began, “we’ve verified the radio communications from Route 24.”
“Alright.”
“Mr. Lawson called dispatch at 3:11 p.m. to report an unauthorized adult approaching the bus.”
I glanced toward Ellie.
She had tucked both knees onto her chair.
Mrs. Shaw continued speaking.
“The individual identified himself as Ellie’s uncle and claimed there was an urgent family situation.”
“What kind of situation?”
Mrs. Shaw paused briefly.
Then she looked straight at me.
“He told Mr. Lawson that you’d suffered a serious !njury.”
Ellie began crying once more.
And suddenly, I understood why she’d appeared so distressed when she spotted me waiting at the stop.
For several minutes, an unfamiliar person had been suggesting to my daughter that something terrible might have happened to her mother.
I held her hand firmly.
“Sweetheart, I’m right here.”
She nodded quietly.
But Mrs. Shaw had more to explain.
