Chapter 24 - THREE HOURS LATER
For three hours, officers searched houses, alleys, and nearby roads. Daniel repeated Eli’s screams in his mind until the words lost shape.
Hannah’s car remained behind Diane’s garage. Her phone lay on the kitchen counter. Diane’s vehicle was gone.
Mrs. Calder called police after hearing a child in her side yard. An officer told her to stay inside until the search team arrived.
Daniel reached her house first after hearing the address over a radio.
He burst through the door.
Eli was curled against the living-room wall, shaking violently and clutching his astronaut backpack.
Daniel’s face collapsed.
“Eli!”
He dropped to his knees and pulled the child into his arms.
Eli clung desperately to him.
“Oh my God… what happened?”
The child could not answer. His breaths came too fast. Daniel counted slowly until Eli’s body loosened enough to breathe against his chest.
Then fear searched for somewhere to become anger.
Daniel turned toward Mrs. Calder.
“What did you do to him?!”
Ruth recoiled.
She grabbed her tablet from the table and held it toward him.
“I didn’t do this. Look!”
May you like
Daniel froze.
Still holding Eli with one arm, he took the tablet with the other.
