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“No, I am staying right here.”
“Go away,” Reese screamed at him. “Get out of my house. I don’t want you here. My baby is gone,” she sobbed brokenly.
When he reached for her again, she kicked out at him, connecting with his leg, keeping him from touching her. Cash sat a few feet away from her, watching. He was aching to hold her close to tell her that it was all going to be alright. They were going to find Mav and bring him home where he belonged.
After a minute, she steadied enough to speak. “Go home, Cash. There is nothing here for you anymore,” Reese said, regaining some of her composure. “I need to find my son, not soothe your wounded ego. Officer Franks, can you please make sure he goes home. I am going to grab a tissue, and then I will be ready to talk to you.”
“No, Beautiful, let me explain.”
Franks grabbed a protesting Cash by the shoulder, forcing him to his feet and out onto the front porch. Only when Cash planted himself on the front step promising not to come back in the house did Franks return to the kitchen.
Reese was seated at the kitchen table with a box of tissues at her elbow. Pappy sat beside her holding her hand.
“The school called,” she explained. “They were on the answering machine when I got home from work. I thought Mav must have skipped to go to work in the garage with Cash. I called there next. Pappy said he wasn’t there. The attendance clerk at the school said he wasn’t there all day. He was in bed this morning when I went to work, and now, he is gone.” Reese buried her face in her hands, trying to contain the sobs threatening her again.
“He rode the bus this morning,” Pappy answered a question Reese hadn’t even heard. “I didn’t see him get on, but I heard it stop. I was trying to fix Cash’s face. I didn’t actually see him get on.”
“Reese, has Mitchell or Reed contacted you again?”
“No.”
“Oliver?”
“No.”
“Is there anywhere else he would have gone? Any friends he hangs out with?”
“He is always at home or with Cash and Pappy at the garage. He doesn’t have many friends. He is kind of a loner like me.”
“Okay, let me make some calls. I will have more questions for you. Can you get me a recent picture of Mav for the Amber Alert?”
Reese went to get a picture while Pappy continued to answer questions. Returning to the kitchen, she found Franks on the phone and another officer in her kitchen. She handed him the photo, and the other man hurried away.
“Okay, the school confirms Mav did get on the bus this morning, but he never made it to his first class. There is one camera in front of the school. The officer you gave the picture to is going to put out the alert and go take a look at the camera to see if there is anything we can use.”
Reese nodded her understanding but couldn’t manage anything else. She still felt like she was outside looking in on a horrible situation.
“Reese, have a seat,” Franks instructed, looking pained. “I contacted my guy at the FBI. They know Mav is missing. The alert is going live in a few minutes, but I have to ask you something.”
“Okay,” she looked at the officer, unsure what to expect.
“Reese, you didn’t stash Mav somewhere, did you?”
“What? No! Why would I stash my son somewhere and then call you to find him? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I have to ask,” Franks said regretfully. “Is there anyone other than your father, Mitchell Craft, and your ex-husband, Reed Carter, that would hold a grudge against you?”
“No.”
“Anyone mad at you right now?”
“No.”
“What about Cash? It sure looked like something was going on there.”
“Cash and I had a fight, but he wouldn’t take Mav. He may be a cheating bastard, but he wouldn’t take my son.”
“You do that to his face?”
