“Not without telling me first, you’re not. Come on, let’s go find your father before he literally does call in the rest of the FBI.”
Tula stood firm. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“Listen, bad things can happen to kids who go off without their grown-ups. You have to stay with me, at least until your father comes back.”
Tula tilted her head with interest. “Is that what happened to you? How you got those marks on your arm?”
Ellery regretted wearing the T-shirt that showed off her scars. She was trying not to hide them as much, trying not to care. Wearing her violent history on her body gave the rest of the world license to look and ask questions she’d rather not answer. She sure as hell didn’t want to be having this conversation with a seven-year-old.
“There you are!” Reed appeared, tall and lanky, no sweat visible on him. The man defied the laws of physics. He held a paper sack of food and a cardboard tray of drinks.
“Daddy!” Tula ran up and hugged him. “Ellery and I played hide-and-seek.”
“You did? That’s wonderful.” Reed grinned and looked so pleased that Ellery pursed her lips and said nothing. Her terror was just starting to fade, evaporating off her like the sheen of perspiration that had covered her body during the frantic search. She had for the first time a taste of what her mother must have felt when Ellery disappeared, and the acid at the back of her throat said this parenting gig was not for her.
Reed set up a picnic for them on a spare patch of grass and Bump eagerly dragged Ellery toward the scent of more food. She took a careful seat some distance from the father-daughter duo, tuning out their chatter as she tried to calm her frazzled nerves enough to choke down a taco. “Ellery?” Reed furrowed his brow at her. “Are you okay?”
She opened her mouth, not sure of what might come out, but before she could say anything, a woman came running past them, screeching at top volume. “Help! She’s gone! Someone, please help me!”
Reed leaped up like some superhero and dashed after her. Ellery saw him catch up to her, show off his FBI credentials, and begin walking her back to where she and Tula sat with the lunch. “If that lady lost her daughter, my daddy’ll find her,” Tula said to Ellery. “He can find anyone.”
“I know he can.” The entire city of Chicago had turned out to look for Ellery, but Reed was the one who found her, three days gone and half-dead on the floor of Coben’s closet.
“Her name is Chloe. Chloe Lockhart,” the woman was saying. Her face was streaked with tears and her chin wobbled as she spoke. “I’m her nanny—my name is Margery—but she calls me ‘Mimi’ just like my grandbabies do. Oh, I don’t know how I’m supposed to tell her parents about this.”
Ellery rose to join Reed.
“Where and when did you last see Chloe?” he asked Margery.
“Almost an hour ago, way over on that side of the Common,” she replied, pointing. “She wanted to buy a pretzel and it was just a few trucks down from where I was sitting on the bench. I said I’d go with her, but she begged me to let her go alone and I didn’t want to give up our spot. She said she’s not a baby, and I didn’t see the harm so I said okay. Why, why, why didn’t I just go with her?”
“Probably she’s just wandered off to watch the acrobats or listen to the band,” Reed said. “But we can organize a search.”
“No, I don’t think so. I think something’s happened to her.” Margery waved her cell phone at him. “I’ve been calling and texting, and she hasn’t answered. That girl’s phone lives in her left hand like it was born attached. Plus, she knows better than to ignore me.”
“Some areas are awful loud right now,” Ellery said, her own voice raised over the din. “She may not hear the phone. What is Chloe wearing today?”
Margery sniffed. “Here, I can show you.” She called up a picture of a blond girl wearing jean shorts with silver stars studded on them, a pale pink T-shirt, and Teva sandals. A beaded bracelet encircled her left wrist. “Please, I’ll do anything. Just help me find her.”
Reed looked to Ellery. “Will you stay with Tula while I make some calls?”