Journey to Murder (An Alex Warren Novel)
Page 18
“You’ve got it, Mom!” Amy ran to find Monica and the two went into the house.
Kyle, Jolene and Ray stood apart from the others as they conferred about the situation. Ray walked up the steps and onto the back porch as everyone drew near.
“Folks, little Maria is missing. If you have any children with you today, we need you to ask your children when and where they saw Maria last. Same question for all you adults and teens. If you saw Maria at any time over the past hour or two, we need to know when and where.”
Murmuring started among the crowd. “Hey! Folks, please keep quiet for just a moment. Once we’ve identified when and where Maria was last seen, we need to do a grid search around the house. Jolene, Kyle, Alex and I will each take a side of the house. We need every adult to space themselves out around the house and start walking away, looking anywhere a child could hide or fall or climb. Make sure your own kids are safe, and once we know Maria is not in the house, we’ll get all the kids inside to keep them from becoming lost. We only have a couple of hours of daylight left, so let’s get moving, people. If anyone has seen Maria, we need that info right now. Come see me immediately.”
Parents ran to check on their children and get them together in one place, asking about Maria’s whereabouts. Several of the children had seen Maria playing in the wading pool, but she had wandered toward the house and no one saw where she went after that.
After Pete had flown Alex back to Ohio in search of Monica, she knew she owed him a huge debt of gratitude. Alex wanted to do everything she could to help them find their youngest child. Alex just hoped this wasn’t karma getting back at her again, not with little helpless Maria.