Page 38 of Calling a Cease-Fire

“No. We live in the woods.”

Okay. That was something. I began searching the radius area on my map for houses that sat back off the main road, nestled in the woods, making a note of each one.

“Ms. Shelly’s house is green with pink flamingos.”

“Who’s Ms. Shelly?

“She’s the one with the pink flamingos.”

“Is she your neighbor? How do you know she has pink flamingos in her yard?”

“I see them from the car.”

I opened Google Earth, typed in the coordinates for the main road, and began searching for pink flamingos in street view. “What else do you see from the car when you’re driving with Mommy or Daddy?”

“The red sign that makes Mommy stop the car.”

Bingo. A stop sign would be easy to find. “Do you see the red sign first and then Ms. Shelly’s flamingos?”

“Yes, and then we’re home.”

I worked quickly, finding the stop sign and continuing up the main road until I found a green house with pink flamingos. “Help’s coming, Reid. Okay?”

“Okay. Me and puppy are sitting with Mommy.”

Street view would no longer help me, so I scanned back out and followed the next driveway down until it opened to a clearing with a house. An overhead view showed a red tricycle in the driveway next to a white car. I couldn’t tell from this view what color the house was. “Reid, do you have a red bike?” I held my breath, praying he would say yes.

“How did you know it was red?”

I smiled as I entered the address. “Lucky guess. Every brave little boy has a red bike. Didn’t you know?”

“Really?”

“Totally. Okay, I’m sending an ambulance to your house to check on your mommy. When they get there, I’ll need you to let them in. Can you do that?”

“I’m not supposed to open the door to strangers.”

“That’s a really important rule. But this time it’s okay. Because policemen and firefighters are safe strangers.” I looked up just as Charlie gave me a thumbs-up and mouthed ‘found Dad.’ “Daddy will be there soon too.”

“He will?”

“Yup. Because you knew where I could find him.”

I stayed on the phone with Reid as I finished inputting all my notes, asking him questions like what his favorite color was and what he liked to play with. Less than ten minutes later, sirens sounded through the phone and I verified on my screen that the ambulance was pulling up outside.

“Okay, buddy. Need you to let the paramedics in and take them to Mommy.”

“Is Daddy with them?” I looked over at Charlie and he shook his head and held up five fingers.

“No. But he’ll be there in a few minutes. I promise he won’t be mad and it’s safe to let them in first.”

“Okay,” he whispered.

“You’re being so brave, and you can stay on the phone with me until he gets there.”

The click of a lock and the sound of a door opening came through the line. Kyle Williams's voice came next as he greeted Reid and told him how he did a great job. I spent the next five minutes distracting Reid by asking him who his favorite superhero was and what he liked about the Hulk. Just like every other little boy, he liked that the Hulk smashed stuff.

“Daddy!”