“Kerry?” Gretchen McCaleb hurried into the tree stand. She waswild-eyed, dressed in a ski jacket with a beanie pulled over unusually messy hair. “Have you seen Austin?”
“Not today,” Kerry said. “Isn’t he with his dad?”
“No. I promised to take him Christmas shopping. We got down to the lobby and I realized I’d left my phone in the apartment. I told him to wait right there in the lobby for me, but when I got downstairs, he was gone! I went back upstairs, thinking maybe he got tired of waiting, but he wasn’t there. I’ve been all over the building, knocked on everybody’s door, but nobody’s seen him. Patrick is on his way over here now.”
Gretchen’s voice was brittle with anxiety. “I can’t find my baby. I don’t know what to do.” She glanced around the stand. “Could he have gone someplace with your brother?”
“Maybe. I just got back here myself,” Kerry said. “Murphy is out making deliveries. Maybe Austin went with him.”
“Any word?” Patrick called as he double-parked his car at the curb. His face was etched with worry. “Has anyone seen him? Did you call the police?”
“I was just about to,” Gretchen said. She reached for her phone, but Patrick put out a hand to stop her. “Look.”
He pointed down the street. Heinz walked haltingly toward them, one hand on his cane, the other clasped firmly around Austin’s arm. “Thank God,” Patrick said softly.
Gretchen took off running, followed by Patrick. She fell to her knees in front of the boy, hugging him tightly to her chest. “Austin! Oh, Austin.”
Heinz released the child’s hand and now stood a few awkward inches away.
Gretchen looked up at the old man. “How could you do that? How could you take my boy? Do you know how frightened we’ve been?”
“Gretch!” Patrick said sharply.
“No, Mom!” Austin cried. “Don’t yell at Mr. Heinz. Don’t be mad at him. It’s not his fault.” He struggled to escape his mother’s grasp.
“Austin?” Patrick said sternly. “What happened? Where did you go?”
“I found Murphy’s bike! The one the bad guys stole,” Austin said. “I was waiting in the lobby, like Mom said, but then I saw him ride by the building on it. So I followed him. And I saw where he was hiding it.”
“What’s this about my bike?” Murphy asked as he joined the group.
“I found your bike!” Austin said proudly. “The bad guys took it.”
Patrick looked up at Heinz. “Is this true?”
“Two blocks away,” Heinz said. “On Hudson Street. I don’t usually walk that way, but today, I needed my glasses repaired at a shop there. I was coming out when I saw our little friend here, peeking out from behind a telephone pole.”
“The bad guy hid the bike under the stoop!” Austin said. “There’s a little gate, and he put it there and locked it up. But I know right where it is now!”
“It does look like Murphy’s bicycle. And the trailer is there too,” Heinz said. He turned his head and coughed into a handkerchief.
“Who did you see with the bike? Which bad guy?” Murphy asked. “Do you mean one of those dudes selling Christmas trees over there?” He pointed toward the Brody brothers’ hut.
“I, uh, I’m not sure. He had on a hoodie. Like the color army guys wear. And sunglasses. But I knew it was Murphy’s bike because of the sign on the back. Tolliver Tree Farm. Right?”
Gretchen was still kneeling. She grasped her son’s jacket by the collar. Tears streamed down her face. “Austin. You can’t ever, ever do anything like that again. Little boys can’t just wander around the streets of the city. There are some really bad people out there…”
“I’m almost six and a half! And I wasn’t wandering,” Austin said indignantly. “I was on the street where Dad and me get our hair cut. I was going to come home, as soon as I figured out how to get Murphy’sbike back. And then Mr. Heinz saw me. And he’s one of the good guys, right?”
“Okay, well, you’re back safely now, and that’s the most important thing,” Patrick said. “And yes. Mr. Heinz is definitely a good guy. But your mom’s right. You can never, ever do that again. If your mom or I tell you to stay someplace, you stay right there. No matter what. Right?”
“Yes, sir.” Austin stared down at the toe of his boot. “But what about the bike?”
Murphy stared across the street. “Guess I’ll go have a little chat with those two bozos to straighten out a few things. But first, I’m gonna get my bolt cutters out of the truck and reclaim my property.”
“I’ll go with you,” Patrick said. “As wingman.”
“I can show you where the bike and trailer are hidden,” Heinz said quietly.
