“Because it’s how it works on every cop show on TV,” Marty said, and then rolled his eyes and smirked. “I’m just guessing, but think about it. He’s taken three boys that we know of, and he’s gotten rid of each one for one reason or another. I bet Mikey tells us pretty much the same thing as the other two. There’s also more pressure on him now, because we are acknowledging that he’s out there. This isn’t an attention seeker or anything. It’s someone who wants something he can’t have.”
Grant nodded. “So what is his next move?”
Marty bit his upper lip. “I hate to even voice what I’m thinking. But if I were as messed up as this guy and things hadn’t worked out… then I would try something different. Someone who can’t fight back and would love him no matter what.”
Grant felt himself pale. “You’re thinking a baby.” God, that was very scary.
“I am. And the best place for that is a day care or the hospital. And given the fact that hospitals have security and cameras, especially in maternity, I’d say a day care. One that isn’t too expensive and may not have all of the bells and whistles of a well-funded one.” He lifted his gaze to Grant’s. “I’ve seen this group of little kids downtown. They have this rope with handles, and all the kids hold onto it. There are only a couple of people watching a dozen kids. This guy would have a field day with them.”
“You think he’d try to take one of those kids?” Grant asked.
“No. But that day care is the kind of place that might have babies as well, and maybe they don’t have cameras or fancysecurity. Maybe they rely on people checking in and out at the desk or signing in using a book.” The look Marty gave him was deadly serious. “Maybe the police should visit the day care centers and let them know what’s going on. If this is a chink in the armor for children, then it needs to be plugged now. I’d also make sure all the schools, public and private, know what is going on. They need to be seeing kids to the buses and making sure that none of them wander off.”
“Yes.” Grant made notes and sent a message to the chief, who not only agreed but said that he would put officers on it to have every school and day care visited. “The chief likes your suggestions.” He wished he had thought of it, but maybe he was too close to this particular situation. “And I do too.”
“Hey. It’s like the foster care issue. Sometimes we are so close that we don’t see past the trees.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’m supposed to be able to.”
“Maybe. But I’m not saying I’m right, just that we need to be cautious. Parents need to know what’s going on and how they can protect their children.”
“I know. I also keep wondering how we can trap this guy, but I can’t figure anything out. He picks children he is able to get alone, and once he does, he takes them and they’re gone. It’s like he only needs a few minutes.”
“But he doesn’t. He’s planning these. That’s where the note came from. This guy is scoping out his locations and watching the kids. I know it.”
“Yeah, he is. We’ve gone through the recordings at the school, and he’s appeared a few times around the periphery, but we can’t get a really good image of him. At least we think it’s this guy. There are shrubs at the one end of the playground, and he sticks to those shadows. But I highly doubt that he’s going to come back here, any more than he’ll show up at the other school. He knows we’ll be watching for him.”
“What about inside the school? He had to get inside to put the boy in the tank.”
“Yeah, that’s just it. We wouldn’t have known he was even there if one of the doors to the room hadn’t opened when he used the door to the mechanical room. The change in pressure caused the door to open, and that’s what we caught on the camera. We were really lucky to have seen that change, because we were able to get here in time.”
“So the rest of the cameras in the school showed nothing?”
“Exactly.” Grant gasped. “I need to figure out who would know that there were no cameras in the mechanical room. I mean, there are cameras in all the halls and outside the gym. So going anywhere in the building would be on camera. So would going in and out of any other door. But not this one.” He began making notes to himself on his phone.
“Hey.” Marty said gently. “I’m going to make you something to eat, and then the three of us are going to watch a movie before I put Cameron to bed.”
“Then maybe you and I can go to bed?” Grant asked. “I know it’s been difficult for us to have some time alone. Every time we try, something interrupts us. And I have to go to the station early tomorrow, but tonight I think it’s time for a little quiet time.”
Cameron raced inside. “Come see,” he cried, and the two of them followed him out back. Cameron climbed to the top of the structure and hung upside down by his legs. He was laughing, and Marty hurried over to catch him and bring him to the ground.
“Do you want to help me make dinner?”
“Pizza?” Cameron asked.
“Sure. Go on inside and wash your hands before we start.” His voice was level, but as soon as Cameron hurried inside, Marty fell into Grant’s arms. “He scared me half to death. All I could see was him falling.”
Which made Marty a real parent, but Grant wondered how he fit into this picture. Yes, Marty was part of his life for now, but was that because of Cameron, the case, or them? He wished he knew whether the picture he kept seeing in his mind was real, or if it was just going to fade away, like most of his relationships.
Chapter 11
“ARE THEREstars tonight?” Cameron asked, a bit out of the blue. He had his knees on the chair looking out the back window, trying to see upward through the tree at the edge of the yard.
“I don’t know. Let’s go take a look,” Marty said, taking Cameron’s hand. Dexter followed them out, but Grant was still in the living room. He’d dozed off in the recliner, and Marty didn’t want to disturb him. Grant was working so many hours, and Marty knew he hadn’t slept well the past few nights, so if he was resting, he wasn’t going to wake him.
“It’s getting dark,” Cameron said, and Marty turned off all the backyard lights. With the shadows of the houses nearby and the trees, the yard had very little light.
“Good. Come on.” Marty lay down on his back on the grass and Cameron did the same, both of them looking up at the sky. Indeed there were stars, just a few to begin with, but as the evening drew to night, more and more began to show. It wasn’t the complete carpet of stars that they’d see if they were out of town and the world around them completely dark. Then, millions of them would blanket the sky, but it was enough, he hoped. “What do you want to see?”
