Page 145 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“I don’t know.”

“Did she react?”

“No.”

“Did she look scared?”

Marcus thought about it. “No.”

“What about the driver?” JP asked.

“It was a man. I didn’t really get a good look at him. I was too busy looking at the little girl.”

“What kind of car?” JP asked.

“A yellow Mustang, an older one. It was a ’65 or ’66. I can’t tell the difference. Hard to miss.”

That car again. “When did this happen?”

“Two, maybe three weeks after she was taken.”

“Did you try to follow the car?”

Marcus shook his head. “The light changed. They turned left. I hesitated. Then I told myself I was seeing things.”

“Did you report it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Marcus’ eyes narrowed. “Because I didn’t know if it was her,” he said. “And I wasn’t about to go tell cops I saw something I couldn’t prove. They weren’t listening much by then anyway.”

JP didn’t argue, nor did he point out what most fathers would’ve done. It seemed so wrong, him not reporting it or chasing the car until something broke. JP fought the urge to give him a piece of his mind.

He stood. “I appreciate your time.”

Marcus didn’t get up.

At the door, JP paused. “If it was her,” he said, “she was alive.”

Marcus looked at him but didn’t respond.

JP stepped outside. The street noise came back— cars, voices, someone yelling at a dog.

Back in his truck, JP sat for a moment before writing some notes. The last line read: He didn’t report, didn’t follow.

JP closed the notebook. He understood doubt. He didn’t understand letting it drive away.

Chapter 54

Saturday late afternoon

Sabre sat at the desk in the living room. The day was nearly over, but the work wasn’t.

JP came in the front door and set his notebook on her desk.

Sabre looked up. “Did you find Marcus?”