“Not all strangers are bad, you know,” Misty said.
“He knows that,” Josie scoffed. “I talked to him about strangers.”
“I know. I know you also talked to him about sex offenders and bad secrets and bad touch/good touch. I know you talked to him about abductions, and I also know that you showed him how to get into the trunk of a car to disable and knock out a taillight so he can slip his hand out and signal someone.”
“That was cool!” Harris exclaimed. “Can we do that again?”
“No,” Misty said.
“It’s always good to practice,” Josie said at the same time.
“Josie,” Misty scolded again.
Josie opened her mouth to apologize but then clamped it shut. She wouldn’t apologize for overreacting because she wasn’t sorry. When Harris was a baby, he’d been abducted. They’d been lucky to get him back alive. He had nearly died. Between that and all the terrible things that Josie saw in her work as a detective, it was hard not to be paranoid.
Two
I was exhausted, even by Monday-morning standards. It had been a long night waiting for her, putting my plan in place, and making sure to leave no trace of myself. I considered staying home and sleeping the day away, but I knew that wasn’t smart. I couldn’t call attention to myself in any way. Just like all the other times, everything had to appear perfectly normal. This time, that meant going on almost no sleep, showing up when and where I was supposed to, and putting a smile on my face. Besides, I wouldn’t really know if my plan had worked until much later. I wouldn’t be there when she took her last breath. I rarely was. I had to be patient.
It would be worth it. I imagined the phone call, visualized exactly how I would react, how I would modulate my voice so that people would think I was both shocked and horrified. This one would make the local news for sure. It might even go national, I thought with glee. Of course, there would be a great outpouring of sympathy for her. Everyone thought she was so perfect, which was exactly why she had to die. I knew it was going to annoy me in the coming weeks having to hear about her shocking death again and again—in the news and pretty much anywhere I went because people were going to call her things like “special” and “amazing,” and her death would be touted as a “tragic loss.” But then the news stories would fade, and I wouldn’t have to hear about her supposed greatness any longer. No one should be so universally adored.
She wasn’t the only person who was special or amazing. With her around, it was like no one else existed. I couldn’t take it anymore. Especially since I knew how she lied. She hid things from everyone. Vile things. Secrets that made her just as contemptible as anyone else. So I did what I did, and now I waited for the news to hit. I checked my phone. No news yet, but my plan was underway. The magnificent wave of grief was about to hit Denton in all of its glory.
It was only a matter of time.
Three
They pulled into the parking lot of Tiny Tykes Gardens Pre-K and Daycare Center. It was an old brick two-story home surrounded by roughly four acres of beautifully kept land. An asphalt parking lot sat in front of the building. To the right, Josie could see a gated playground. To the left was a large garden area with tables, chairs, and a small greenhouse in the center. Just like Misty, Josie had researched the place the moment she heard that Misty was thinking of sending Harris there. She, too, had been impressed by all the different programs they offered, including gardening, raising baby chicks, keeping a small koi pond, and generally learning how the environment worked. Josie hadn’t learned so much about the environment in sixteen years of formal schooling. She knew without having to look that behind the large building were more green areas including a small outdoor theater where the children could perform plays for each other and their parents, and a mini petting zoo that was maintained in conjunction with the Denton City Wildlife Rescue Association so that the children could learn about animals.
Josie also knew that the Tiny Tykes Gardens Pre-K and Daycare Center was in full compliance with their legal obligation to conduct background checks on their employees, so she knew none had criminal records. Also, no known sex offenders lived within ten miles of the place. Still, that did little to quell her uneasiness as Harris hopped out of the Escape and hoisted his green dinosaur backpack onto his shoulders. Josie took one of his hands and Misty took the other. He had a nervous habit, just like his father had, of squeezing her hand in rhythmic fashion when he was feeling anxious. If she hadn’t been holding his hand, she knew he would have been clenching and unclenching his little fist. Ray had done the same as long as she’d known him and now, even though Harris had never met his father, he did it as well.
Josie felt the pulse of his gentle squeezes quicken as they walked up the ramp to the front door of the school together. She mustered a bright smile for him and said, “This is going to be fun.”
He didn’t answer. Inside the double doors, the lobby was brightly colored with decorations that mostly seemed to center around learning the alphabet and counting. A few cardboard cutouts of animals stood along the walls. Parents and their small children crowded into the center of the area. Josie looked around, noting that opposite the front doors were two more sets of doors, each one leading down a separate, well-lit hallway. To their left was a wide set of steps leading to the second floor. To their right was a long, wooden desk, presently empty, and behind that, two more doors.
Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze.
Misty said, “Honey, you’re squeezing my hand.”
Josie compressed and released Harris’s hand back in a similar rhythm, and he smiled up at her. She knelt down and smoothed the straps of his backpack over his shoulders. “This is an adventure, remember? You’re going to meet lots of new people and learn lots of new things.”
Misty knelt as well, still holding his hand in hers. “You’ll get to meet all the animals in the petting zoo. You were looking forward to that, remember?”
Another smile lit his face. “I really want to see the goat.”
There was a commotion around them as a woman emerged from one of the doors behind the desk. She was in her forties, thick around the middle with an ample bosom, and dark brown hair pulled up into a bun on the back of her head. She wore a bright green T-shirt that said: Tiny Tykes Are All Right. She maneuvered through the crowd of parents and children until she was standing between the sets of doors leading down the hallways. She waved her arms like a flagger directing a plane to the gate. “Good morning, everyone,” she called. “Please form two lines. Two lines.”
Josie and Misty flanked Harris as they joined one of the lines. The woman introduced herself as Mrs. D. “My name is Eileen D’Angelo, but it’s easier for the children if everyone just calls me Mrs. D. I’m the director here.” Another woman emerged from the same doors Mrs. D had come from and took a seat behind the desk. Mrs. D pointed to her. “This is Miss K. She’s the school secretary. Anything you need, either Miss K or I will be happy to help.” Miss K looked a bit younger than her boss, but not by much. Josie put her in her early to mid-forties. Blonde hair, graying slightly at the roots, fell to her shoulders. She, too, was slightly overweight. Her T-shirt bore the same slogan as Mrs. D’s, but hers was a pale blue. She gave the crowd a wave and a bright smile.