Page 79 of Midnight Creed

Another glare at Taylor.

“Tell me again, how old is Will?”

“He’s only seven,” Taylor spoke up this time and hated that her voice had been reduced to a whisper. How could Dora not remember what he wore? Was she lying about breakfast? Had she even seen him this morning?

“You’re wasting precious time,” Dora told Norwich. “You should be questioning where she took him. Where she’s hiding him. The fact is —”

“No, Mrs. Ramsey, the fact is when a young child goes missing, the early hours are critical. Each hour decreases the likelihood that he will be found. Your insistence that he was taken by his parent will hamstring my efforts to determine if he’s in immediate danger and even the ability to issue an Amber Alert.”

“You don’t need an Amber Alert. For God’s sake, just look in her apartment above that marina.”

“Mrs. Ramsey, are you refusing to cooperate with this investigation?”

Dora crossed her arms over her chest, clearly upset that Norwich wasn’t listening to her. Finally, she said, “I’ll cooperate with Agent Perry’s.”

Another stare-down. Then Norwich shook her head and turned on her heels. “Ms. Donahue, if I can have a word with you outside.”

Taylor followed her out.

The two deputies waited at a vehicle parked behind Taylor’s. She continued to walk silently alongside the sheriff until they were standing at her SUV.

Norwich pulled out a business card and wrote a number on the back, then handed it to Taylor.

“I need you to send me a photograph of Will. Something casual and something recent would be best. It would be tremendously helpful if we knew what he was wearing this morning.”

“The housekeeper usually helps him get dressed. Will told me on Friday that she hadn’t been around for over a week. But I can tell you he doesn’t go anywhere without his red backpack.”

Norwich slipped the notebook out of her pocket and jotted that down.

“Anything special about it? Logos?”

“No. It just always looks too big for him. He is tall for a seven-year-old. He had a growth spurt this summer.”

“How tall?”

She put her flat hand on her chest next to where she estimated the top of his head came. Norwich wrote in the notebook again.

“His hair is a little darker than mine. Short. A crazy cowlick makes it stick up.” She caught herself smiling, remembering just yesterday trying to help him comb it. “Oh, and he has a new pair of sneakers we bought this weekend. He loves them. I’m sure he wore them this morning. They’re Under Armour. Blue with lime green soles.”

“That’s good,” Norwich nodded. “That’ll help a great deal. Does he have a cell phone?”

“Yes, but he’s not answering. Or the battery is low.” She gave Norwich the number. “It’s new to him. I don’t think he’s in the habit of using it or charging it. He hasn’t even added a personal message for voice mail.”

“Did you buy it for him, or is it under his grandmother’s account?”

Taylor felt a sting at the realization, dropped her chin, and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. “His grandmother’s.” She knew getting access to his account would be a challenge without Dora’s help.

“Do you know any of his friends at school? Or in the neighborhood.”

As she said it, Norwich looked around the street, and Taylor’s eyes followed. Linden Estates had huge empty lots in various stages of progress. There was a half dozen finished, sprawled across the wide open space. Well-manicured lawns had palm trees and ferns, but there were no bicycles, trampolines, or red wagons. Nothing to signal a child lived in any of the houses.

“Will told me that he has a couple of friends in the neighborhood across the highway, but he’s not allowed to ride his bike there.”

“He has a bicycle. Do you know where he parks it?”

Taylor felt a twinge of hope. Of course. If Will ran away, he would ride his bicycle.”

“I think the garage.”