Her Silent Cry

Seventy

It was pitch black on the mountain road going north out of Denton. It took Josie three passes to find the mouth of the hiking trail that would lead them to the Overlook. Once she located it, she pulled over and got out. Down the long winding road was an unbroken line of headlights as far as the eye could see. On short notice, they’d managed to round up over seventy people to help search for Lucy. Members of the Denton PD had come in on their night off. The sheriff’s office had sent several deputies, the state police had sent troopers, and the FBI agents who had already been working the case were amassed there as well. They fanned out along the shoulder of the road, covering a half mile on either side of the hiking trail.

Flashlights bobbed in the darkness as Josie gave the signal for all of them to step into the woods. The temperature had dropped. Josie felt a slight palpitation at the thought of Lucy out there alone in the cold and the dark. There wasn’t even any ambient light in this area of the city.

“You okay, boss?” Gretchen asked as the two of them picked through the underbrush side by side. Chitwood was a half mile south of them, and Oaks was a half mile north. Mettner was with Oaks.

“I’ll be okay when we find Lucy,” Josie said.

As they waded deeper into the forest, they could hear the sounds of branches snapping, leaves crunching beneath feet, dogs panting and running ahead, and a chorus of voices calling out Lucy’s name. The Overlook was a mile into the wooded area. Josie knew there was nothing resembling civilization for several miles in every other direction. She tried not to panic, thinking of the vast area they had to cover. Her hope was that Gideon had left Lucy at the Overlook and that she had either stayed there or simply hadn’t gotten very far in whatever direction she had taken.

Their flashlights illuminated the bottom of the Overlook as it came into view. They kept calling Lucy’s name, but no response came. They searched around the bottom of the massive rock but found no signs of Lucy. Josie said, “I’m going to climb to the top.”

Gretchen shone her light upward. “That’s pretty far up, boss. In the dark.”

“I have to,” Josie said. “What if she’s up there?”

But she wasn’t. Josie reached the top in a few moments, breathless and trying to stay in the center of the rock’s surface so she didn’t fall off. On her knees, she shone the light around the top of the Overlook. After two sweeps, her light caught something unusual. She crawled over and saw two small flat rocks wedged up against one another making an upside down V, like a little arch. Beneath it was a small mass of leaves. Molded into a chrysalis.

“Lucy,” Josie whispered.

She scrambled back down to the ground, excitement propelling her. “She was here,” she told Gretchen. “She was here. She left a cocoon up there.”

“Maybe she’s nearby,” Gretchen said. “Which direction do you think she would go?”

Josie panned her flashlight around them, seeing nothing but tree trunks. Somewhere nearby an owl hooted. She thought about Lucy. “Her mom said she has a terrible sense of direction.”

“I remember,” Gretchen said.

“But she was completely obsessed with bugs.”

Gretchen laughed. “Not sure that helps us here.”

“She liked butterflies and ladybugs best.”

“Again, boss, not sure that is helpful in this particular scenario.”

“If you’re at the top of the Overlook, which way does the sun come up? Which way is east?”

Gretchen pulled out her phone. The screen lit up as she punched something in. “I’ve got a compass app. Not sure it will work out here—oh wait, here it is—east.” She turned and pointed away from the bottom of the Overlook. “That way.”

“Then she would have gone the other way,” Josie said.

“West?”

“Yes, when ladybugs hunker down for winter, they find light-colored homes and they like to land and burrow into the west-facing walls because the late afternoon sun warms them. Lucy knew that. She told her mom that if she ever got lost, she would fly home like a ladybug. She would go west.”

“But the Ross home isn’t west of here, it’s south.”

“And Lucy Ross is seven,” Josie said with a laugh. “The logic isn’t precise. She would have spent the night here. The sun would have come up over there and she would have known that the sun comes up in the East. She would have flown home to the west-facing wall of her home.”

Gretchen put her flashlight under her chin, illuminating her face. “At the risk of sounding like Chitwood, are you serious?”

Josie put her flashlight under her own chin and grinned. “We’ll get one of the dogs, and see if they can capture her scent from the Overlook. Betcha the dog heads west.”

Josie made a few calls. Luke was closest to them, with Blue. Ten minutes later, he and the dog had thrashed their way through the woods to the Overlook. Blue greeted Josie with a long, wet tongue on her hand. “Hey boy,” she whispered.

They waited with bated breath while Blue tried to pick up Lucy’s scent at the base of the Overlook. Finally, the dog found something, racing off into the darkness.

West.

They dove into the thick trees after him, calling out Lucy’s name with more urgency. Josie’s feet began to ache. She didn’t know how long they’d been out looking, but it felt like an eternity. Then came Blue’s low bark. Josie and Gretchen froze, sweeping their flashlights around to locate him. The dog barked again. And again.

“This way,” Josie said.

They raced toward the sound, Josie flying fast and sure-footed over the forest floor, just like she had in childhood, running through Denton’s woods with Ray. Gretchen labored behind her. A flashlight beam came into view. It was pointed toward Blue, who sat at the base of a tree.

Luke said, “He found something. Blue, quiet.”

The dog stopped barking, and all three of them listened. Josie stepped past the tree, her flashlight searching out any sign of Lucy. “I don’t see anything,” she said.

Gretchen said, “Shh. Listen.”

From close by came the faint sound of whimpering. Josie spun in a circle. The sound came again. “It’s above us,” Josie said. She turned her flashlight upward into the trees. “She climbed the tree. Lucy!”

A sharp intake of breath sounded from over their heads. Then more quiet whimpering. All three of them shined their lights above until finally, amid a mass of branches, a small, sneakered foot came into view. Josie’s heart stopped for two counts and then thundered back to life at double time. “Lucy,” she called. “It’s the police. We’re here to take you home.”

Nothing. Josie wished she could see the girl’s face. “Lucy, please. We’re here to take you to your mom and dad. We’re not going to hurt you.”

“Where’s Natalie?” came a small voice.

“She had to go away,” Josie said. “But she wanted me to take you back to your parents.”

“You’re lying,” Lucy said. “All grown-ups lie.”

“Not me,” Josie said. “I just want to take you home.”

“Did he hurt her? Gideon? He’s a bad man. He acts like he is good, but he’s not.”

Josie said, “I know, Lucy. I’m sorry. I met Gideon today. I didn’t like him at all.”

Her voice was so small, Josie had to strain to hear it: “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” Josie said. “He didn’t hurt me. He’s in jail now. He can’t hurt anyone ever again.”

“But he made Natalie go away, didn’t he?”

“I’m sorry, Lucy, but yes, he did.”

She didn’t say anything after that, but Josie heard soft sobs and the creak of a branch. “Lucy,” she called. “Please come down and let us bring you home.”

Still she wouldn’t come down. More of the searchers—alerted by phone by Gretchen—began to arrive. Josie tried again, “Lucy, your mom and dad miss you so much. We’d really like to take you to see them.”

“My dad probably isn’t even home,” she said.

“Yes, he is,” Josie said. “He has been home since you were taken. Looking for you. Just like your mom. They love you so much and want to have you home with them.”

“You don’t really know my mom and dad.”

“Yes, I do,” Josie said. “I was there that day you went on the carousel. Do you remember me? I had a little boy with me, Harris. He was coming down the slide and you were going up?”

Josie shined her flashlight onto her own face. A few seconds passed. Josie thought she saw a lock of blonde hair in the branches. Lucy said, “You don’t look like you.”

Josie touched her cheek. The black eyes. “I fell,” she said. “On my face. But I’m okay. Do you remember me?”

No answer.

“Your mom wants you to come home because you have to release your butterflies soon. The ones in your butterfly garden. The butterflies are going to emerge at any moment. They may have already.”

“You saw it? You were in my room?”

“Yes,” Josie said. “Your mom showed me your room so I would know more things about you. To help me find you. She also showed me the bear your dad gave you—the one he leaves you messages on.” She didn’t mention that Gideon had tainted it. If it was up to Josie, Lucy would never hear his voice again.

“I talked to your teacher, too,” Josie went on. “I saw the chrysalis in your desk, and the one you left at your mom’s friend’s house, the one in the hunting cabin, and the one on the Overlook. Did you leave them so we would find you?”

“I just like making them,” Lucy said. “It makes me think of stuff that’s not bad. That man put a lot of bad things in my head.”

“I know he did,” Josie said. “But like I told you, he’s in jail now. He’s never getting out. It’s time to go home and see your mom and dad.” Josie walked over to the base of the tree and reached a hand up. “Can you come over to me?”

Her arm ached with the effort of holding it aloft but finally, the branches above them fluttered and rustled and a moment later, a small, cold hand fit itself into Josie’s. Gretchen was at her side and took her flashlight as Lucy fell into her arms. The girl curled herself against Josie’s body, wrapping her thin legs around Josie’s waist and her arms tightly around Josie’s neck. She nestled her head into Josie’s chest. Josie’s abdomen ached with each step, but she didn’t dare try to disentangle the girl from her. Luke, Gretchen and several other searchers lit the way as Josie carried her out of the woods and to a waiting ambulance.