“Okay.” Cameron still clung to Marty, but he didn’t seem like he was going to fly apart at any second. “Is Dexter going to come over?” Cameron asked in a whisper.
“I think so, later,” Marty told him.
“Can I take Dexter to school with me? If the bad man comes, he can bite him and chase him away,” Cameron proposed.
“But he has to go to work with Officer Grant. It’s his job, and they’re partners. If he goes to school with you, then Dexter can keep you safe, but he can’t keep everyone else safe too.”
“Oh.” Cameron thought. “He doesn’t need to keep Billy safe, because he’s mean. Maybe the bad man could take him away.”
Marty frowned. “Do you really want him to take Billy and hurt him?”
“No,” Cameron said. “They should send him to nice camp where they would teach him to be nice to people and stop trying to beat them up.” He sounded so reasonable.
“Are you going to be okay?” Donald asked Cameron.
He nodded and rested his head on Marty’s shoulder.
“I think we’re going to be okay.” Marty had no doubt that it was going to be a difficult couple of days. Cameron was not going to want to go to sleep, and getting him to go to school was going to be a challenge. But they all needed to get back to as close to normal as possible. And the school year was ending soon.
“All right.” Donald stood up. “I can recommend a few therapists if you need them.”
“We probably will. Once this is over, there will be a great deal to talk about, and I think Cameron is going to need someone to help him navigate what is certain to be a difficult road aheadfor him.” There were going to be hard paths for all of them before all this was through. Marty was sure of that.
“I’ll send over some names and recommendations for you.” Donald went to the door, and Marty followed with Cameron still in his arms. Donald said good-bye and let himself out.
“Do you want to play with your Legos?” Marty asked. Cameron got down and ran upstairs as fast as he could go. He returned with the bag and dumped everything out on the floor before sitting down to play.
“I should make us some dinner,” Marty said, but Cameron shook his head and sat right near his legs.
“You stay,” he commanded and went back to playing.
“I can’t be here forever. You are going to get hungry, and we’re going to need dinner. What do you want me to make? Are you hungry for something?”
“My tummy wants macaponi and cheese,” he declared.
“Okay. Then I need to make it for you.” He pointed. “I’m just going to be in there. I’ll be able to see you and you’ll be safe. I promise.” He went into the kitchen and watched Cameron play as he started dinner, noticing that he kept looking up to make sure that Marty was still there. He wanted to swear under his breath. Cameron had been just starting to come out of his shell, and now it was like they were starting all over from scratch.
“DEXTER!” CAMERONshouted when Marty let him and Grant inside. He ran over and hugged the dog around the neck. “I love you.”
Grant got Dexter out of his harness, and Cameron returned to the living room with Dexter right behind him. “He’s been asking about Dexter since he got home. He thinks that Dexter is his hero, and the dog makes him feel safe.”
“How is he doing after his ordeal?” Grant asked.
“All right, I guess. I’m a nervous wreck,” Marty admitted. “I think about not being able to find him, and I just start to shake. I never want to go through that again.” He closed his eyes, and Grant held him tightly, strong arms closing around him.
“Well, I think we might have caught a break thanks to Cameron. The cameras did indeed pick up someone in the trees, and we got a clearer picture this time. We can now see that they are wearing some sort of mask pieces, and we have the FBI involved. They have people who think they can remove the makeup stuff and get us what they think the kidnapper looks like. They have the video footage as well as our other images, and they are working on it now. I’ve been in touch with them, and they are going to message me as soon as they have something.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ve also spent time with a number of lists that I’ve been cross-checking.”
“Did you get anything from the historical society visitors ” Marty asked, tugging Grant into the living room. “I made dinner for Cameron. He wanted macaroni and cheese. But I can make you a salad with meat and stuff or a sandwich, unless you’d rather order a pizza.”
“Pizza!” Cameron cried, like that was his vote.
“You just ate,” Marty said.
He looked at him like he was crazy. “Pizza.” Then he began to do this butt-wiggle dance. Okay, so maybe the magic thing to get any kid over a frightening event was pizza. That was good to know. He placed an order and sat next to Grant while Cameron went back to playing with the pile of Legos on the floor, with Dexter spread out next to him around the mess.
“Sorry… I’m listening.” He felt kind of dumb that he had asked a billion questions and not given Grant a chance to answer.
“I went through all the lists and found a few names in common, though that led me absolutely nowhere. Two ofthe names are the librarians at the high school. Both are grandmothers in their fifties. A third name was a volunteer at the school until he went to college. He’s still at Penn in Philadelphia and has been in every one of his classes for weeks. A fourth name I’m still running down, but I honestly doubt anything is going to come of it because, according to the driver’s license info I have, he’s five foot four. No way is he the person in the woods, who is most definitely as tall as Cameron described. I sort of feel like I’m back to square one and have to hope that something else comes through.”
