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“Gene!”
Amanda waved him to come join her.
Shaking his thoughts aside, he sped up and met her and the family.
“This is Dr. Rowland,” Amanda quickly introduced him to the parents looking at them suspiciously.
Gene guessed she’d introduced him with the doctor title to gain some trust. He’d be cautious, too, if two strangers showed up out of nowhere in the middle of a wooded park.
“Hi. How are you doing?” he greeted them with a smile.
“Like I said earlier, I’m Amanda. I own the bookstore cafe in town called Sanctuary.” She established they were normal people. “We’re looking for a girl who might be missing. She was last seen a couple of miles from here. We were hoping someone might’ve seen her.”
“There were a few people on the beach,” the dad said. “The park is pretty quiet right now. That’s why we chose to come this time of year.”
“Where did y’all travel from?” Gene asked in a conversational tone.
“Missouri,” the dad answered.
Amanda took out her phone and pulled up the sketch.
“Does this girl look familiar at all?”
The dad squinted at the small picture on the phone. Gene wondered if they should’ve taken print copies to hand out.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said, then called his wife back. “Cary, have you seen this girl?”
Cary, who was minding her two children, told them to behave before coming closer. She took a few seconds more with the picture, but she shook her head.
“Yeah, no.”
“She’s about fourteen or fifteen, about five-five, blonde hair, brown eyes.”
Amanda added details, maybe hoping they’d make the girl more real.
“Most of the kids we’ve seen around in this park are about our children’s age or younger,” Cary said, shrugging. “Sorry. Who is she?”
Amanda sighed. “We’re not sure, but I think she might need help. She might be hiding, so she probably wouldn’t be out on the beach.”
“Mama, who are they?” The couple’s older child asked.
The girl seemed to be four or five years old.
“They’re just looking for their friend, honey,” Cary asked.
“Can I pet your dog?” the little girl asked.
Loki was sitting quietly by Amanda’s leg, but always alert. His eyes brightened when the girl looked at him.
“He’s friendly. Yes, you may pet him if it’s okay with your parents. His name is Loki,” Amanda said.
Gene smiled as the children ran their little fingers into Loki’s soft fur. The dog loved the attention.
Gene returned his attention to the parents and said, “Thank you for your time. If you see the girl, would you mind calling us?”
“Yeah, sure.” The dad took the paper with Amanda’s number. “You think she’s hiding in these woods?”
“We don’t really know,” Gene said honestly. “We’re trying every avenue.”
