“Why? If a child is missing, then why aren’t we all over this?”
He exhaled. “Well, the thing is… we can’t find out anything about this child.”
I frowned. This made no sense. “What do you mean?”
“Supposedly she has a four-year-old girl named Emma. But she has no information to support that the girl even exists. And get this, the woman doesn’t have a driver’s license or any form of ID, so we can’t run a background check.”
“That sounds a little strange.”
“Yes, it does. The child is not registered anywhere, no preschool, the woman doesn’t have a birth certificate, heck, she doesn’t even have a photo of the child on her phone to show us. I had Officer Steele go with her back to her home and look in the neighborhood, but when he talked to the neighbors no one had ever heard or seen the kid. I don’t know how to deal with her. I can’t just dismiss her. But I can’t send out an Amber Alert either because I have no proof she exists or even a photo to send out. She wants me to start a search party, but how can I?”
“But you think she’s lying? You think that she doesn’t have a child?” I asked, puzzled. It all sounded very odd to me.
“I think she might be a little… um… confused, if you know what I mean,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“You think she invented a child and now she can’t find her, so she thinks she is missing?”
He exhaled again. “Like I said. It’s a delicate matter. One that I would like to go away. We’ve got a lot going on here today.”
“And you think me talking to her might help?”
“I don’t know how to deal with her. She keeps claiming that she has a child, and that she has been kidnapped, and no one knows how to help her. You’re a woman, can’t you…?”
He made a noise with his cheeks, like I was a horse that he needed to move forward. It pissed me off. But he was my boss, so I didn’t say anything. I respected Doyle greatly and had worked with him as my Chief for the past three years.
“Talk to her?” I asked. “Woman to woman?”
“Yes, do that. Whatever it takes,” he said. “So, if you do find solid evidence that there really is a child who has gone missing, we have to take her seriously. If not, then we might need to take her to psychiatric emergency to be evaluated. I’m leaning more and more toward that solution.”
“Of course, Chief. I will take a look at it.”
He rose to his feet with a smile. I received a friendly clap on my shoulder. “Great. I knew I could count on you. She’s in the lobby downstairs.”
ELEVENMARISSA
Marissa looked at her fingers. She was tapping them nervously on her leg. The woman behind the counter in the flowery top smiled at her again. It was one of those phony smiles, showing compassion, yet not really meaning anything.
Marissa got up and approached her again. She could tell by her expression that the woman was annoyed by her, and the fact that she was—once again—coming to talk to her, but she did it anyway.
“Any news?” Marissa asked, while biting her nails anxiously.
The woman shook her head. “They will send someone soon.”
“You said that an hour ago,” Marissa said. “My child is gone. Please have someone help me.”
“I assure you we’re doing everything we can, but it’s a busy day,” the woman said.
Marissa nodded. She had said that an hour ago too. An officer entered through the front door and walked past her. Her heart started to beat faster. She never thought she’d go to the police. She didn’t trust them, didn’t believe anyone could help her. But this was Emma, she had to act, she had to get help.
“Please just take your seat, ma’am,” the woman said. “Someone will be with you soon.”
The phone rang and she picked it up, while Marissa went back to sit in the black plastic chair.
“Cocoa Beach police,” she chirped like she had done a thousand times that day while Marissa had been waiting.
They’re not gonna help you.
Marissa tried to calm herself down. The fact was, she had no idea what else to do. How to deal with this.
They won’t believe you.
Marissa exhaled deeply, then decided it was no use. She would be better off trying to find her daughter herself.
She had risen to her feet and walked toward the door, when the elevator dinged behind her, and the doors opened. A woman entered the lobby. She was small, skinny, and looked like she was in the Army with her short buzz cut. She had beautiful amber eyes, a unique blend of yellow and orange, set in a tanned face.
“Marissa Clemens?” she said and looked at her.
Marissa paused. She let go of the door and faced the woman. “T-that’s me.”
“Let’s talk for a minute, shall we?” the woman asked. “We have a small office in the back here where we can sit.”
Marissa nodded. She still felt compelled to run away, but the fact that it was a woman, made her feel more comfortable.
“O-okay.”
“I’m Detective Billie Ann Wilde,” she said and shook Marissa’s hand as they sat down. Billie Ann looked at the papers in front of her. “I understand your daughter is missing?”
“Y-yes, Emma, she’s four years old.”
