“Can you tell me the name of the school?”
“Maple Ridge Elementary. Route twenty-four. The driver’s Frank Lawson.”
The dispatcher wanted to know whether Ellie was injured.
“I don’t know! She was crying!”
“Did the driver tell you where he was taking her?”
“No! He closed those doors right in front of me!”
I walked toward my house before abruptly turning back.
Standing motionless felt impossible.
The dispatcher explained that officers had been alerted and that she was reaching out to the district’s transportation office.
“Ma’am, please remain somewhere safe.”
“Please bring my daughter home.”
“We’re working on that.”
I stared along Briar Street.
The yellow bus was already beyond the curve.
Barely three minutes before, Ellie had smiled toward me from behind that window.
Now her whereabouts were completely unknown to me.
The dispatcher requested a detailed account of what had occurred.
I described every moment.
