“I missed the bus, and I never got home.” He lowered his gaze to the table, and this time he grew quiet. When he looked up again, his lips were pursed, and Marty doubted they were going to get anything more from him. “Can I go home now?”
“Go get him,” Grant said. Marty hurried down the hall and went into the room. Cameron jumped up and ran to him, hugging him tightly.
“You did so well. I’m so proud of you,” Marty told him as he lifted Cameron into his arms. “You were really brave, and your mommy and daddy are so happy right now.” He held him close.
“Is the mean man gone?” He wasn’t crying, but Cameron held him so tightly.
“Yes. For you, he is gone, and Officer Grant and me are going to get the police to put him in jail.” He rocked slowly. “And you helped Officer Grant a lot.”
He carried him out of the room but stopped in the door.
“I hope this was helpful.” Angel seemed drained.
“You helped a lot. Thank you.” He flashed him a smile and then shook his hand before taking Cameron into the hall to where Grant was waiting for them. He set Cameron down, and he went right to Dexter, hugging him. Marty went into Grant’s arms right there, wanting to go to pieces because of what Cameron had gone through.
“Can we get ice cream now?” Cameron asked.
“Yes. Definitely,” Marty told him. “Officer Grant and Dexter have to go back to work. But you and I are getting ice cream. But Officer Grant is going to come to dinner, and then we can all play Legos. Okay?” He ushered Cameron out of the building, and they headed back toward Carlisle. He knew he would do his very best to make sure that Cameron would be able to leave this behind.
“DID Ido okay?” Cameron asked Grant as soon as Marty let him inside that evening.
“You were great today,” Grant told him, looking quizzically at Marty.
“Go on outside to play for a while,” Marty offered, and Grant let Dexter off his lead, so Cameron hurried outside with the now puppy-like German shepherd. That dog was amazing as far as Marty was concerned. In his harness he was all business, but lethim off his lead with Cameron and he turned into an energetic puppy.
“Cameron has been obsessed with what happened today. I think he’s been trying to put things together. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I’d be happier if he would let it go and move on. But he told me that he should have told Angel that the man sang all the time. Apparently at first Cameron liked him because he sang, but then he wanted to go home and the man wouldn’t let him, and that made Cameron scared. There have been bits and pieces of information coming out for the last few hours.”
Grant sat down and pulled out a notebook, writing down what Marty said. “At least we’re beginning to get a picture of this guy. Bobby gave us less information, but what he did tell us matches what Cameron said. He was tall with a big nose. What I’m going to do is ask Carter to use his computer skills to put together a picture of this guy.”
“You can show it to Cameron, but only if I’m there with him, and maybe Donald. I want him to feel safe, and after we got home, he sat on the sofa next to me for a long time.”
“I agree. But if I can produce an image, I need to know that we’re working off the right one.” Grant said as they headed toward the backyard.
“I know.” He opened the back door to giggles, and the worry in his belly slipped away. Cameron was on top of the play structure with Dexter looking up at him, barking and running around below. Cameron climbed down, and they ran through the yard together.
“His resilience blows me away sometimes,” Marty said as he watched them. “And the fact that Dexter is a godsend. He’s so good with him.”
“He’s the most amazing animal I’ve ever worked with. Our K-9 unit isn’t that big, but our dogs are pretty special. I’veworked with Atlas and his dog Evie, and they are really good. Each of our teams had specialties. Evie is really great at sniffing out contraband. Before Dexter, I worked with a dog named Duke. He was an older dog whose partner was wounded in action. I worked with him for a year. He was great, but in the end he retired with Carl and his wife. It was hard to let him go, but it was the right thing to do. Then I got Dexter, and we just clicked.”
“Mr. Grant, watch me,” Cameron called and then hurried to the top of the play structure before launching himself down the slide headfirst. Marty was out of his chair to try to catch him in a second. He caught him at the end, his heart racing a mile a minute.
“Don’t do that, okay? Only go down the slide feet first.” He tried not to overreact, but the thought of Cameron getting hurt was too damned much.
“But it was fun,” Cameron told him, and Marty set him on his feet. Grant was right behind him.
“You might get hurt, and then Dexter would be sad,” Grant added, and that seemed to get through.
Cameron sighed. “Okay. I promise.” He climbed to the top once more and slid down correctly. “But it’s… boring…,” he said as though the weight of the world were on his shoulders.
“You little scamp. Go on and have fun. But no headfirst down the slide,” Marty said, his hand on his chest as Cameron climbed once more. He returned to his chair.
“I thought you were going to fly over there,” Grant told him. “You were up and out of that chair like a flash. Like a parent.”
“I know. It’s scary sometimes. I worry about him.”
Grant leaned over and kissed him. “It’s because you worry that you’re going to be good at this. You have good instincts, and that’s going to make all the difference.” Marty sighed softly and went in for another kiss. Grant tasted like mint and man, and that was the perfect combination as far as Marty was concerned.
He wanted more, but with Cameron playing just a little way away, he pulled back and closed his eyes. “I think about you all the time,” he confessed.
