“Behind me?”
She nodded slowly.
“Mr. Lawson recognized his brown jacket.”
Deputy Reed moved his chair slightly nearer.
“According to Mr. Lawson, the individual approached from your right side, just behind where you were standing.”
His words barely registered.
“He was actually there?”
“Yes.”
“How near?”
“Mr. Lawson estimated the individual was just several steps away when he started opening the doors.”
My throat suddenly felt dry.
I remembered approaching the school bus. I remembered reaching toward Ellie with open arms. And I remembered Frank staring beyond me with an unusually stern expression.
Back then, I’d assumed his anger was directed toward me.
“How could I have missed him?”
Deputy Reed didn’t offer an invented explanation.
“Your attention was on your daughter. The individual came from behind you.”
I looked silently toward the wall.
Frank had been seated several feet higher than me, looking through a windshield that offered a perspective I simply couldn’t see.
