“The number you’ve dialed is not a working number.” I pulled the phone away and stared at the number. Yes, it was a working number. I had seen Sadie enter it. Why would she give me the wrong number?
Tears pricked my eyelids, and I threw my phone onto the floor. Daddy would be mad if he saw me do it, but I didn’t care.
Sadie only likes your dad, she isn’t really a nice person. Sadie doesn’t want you to ever see us again.
Aunt Sonya was right; Sadie didn’t really like me.
I curled up on my bed. I needed to ask Sadie myself. But how?
“Come on, Callie!” Hunter hollered for me. He was my friend, but today, I didn’t feel like playing. I just wanted to sit at the edge of the school playground.
“I don’t want to.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to Sadie.”
“The deputy?” I nodded. “Call her.”
“I can’t, her phone number isn’t working, and she hasn’t come to my house in a long time.”
“Go see her.”
“How? My daddy won’t just take me.”
“Call an Uber.”
“What’s that?” Hunter knew everything because he had an older sister. So, if he said I should call . . . whatever that thing was, then I would.
“My sister uses them. She calls them on her phone and they come and take her where she wants to go. Sometimes, when my parents are at work, she will call them and we go get ice cream.”
“But I don’t know their number.”
“No, it’s an app.”
“I don’t know how to get an app.”
“Where’s your phone?” I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to him. “Don’t let Miss Ashley see me. Tell me if she is coming.”
“Okay.” I kept an eye on Miss Ashley, but she was busy talking to Mrs. Witherspoon.
“This is an app. I’m using my sister’s information. When you want to go somewhere, you hit this button. Then we tell it where you want to go. Where do you want to go?”
“I want to go find Sadie.”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“Yes.”
“What’s her address?”
I didn’t know her address. I only knew her house because I’d been there. “I don’t know.”
“You could go to the sheriff’s station.”
“Okay. How?”
Hunter typed sheriff’s station into the search bar, and two cars came up.
“A driver can be here at eleven sixteen, and it is twenty dollars and forty-one cents.”
“I only have five dollars on me. My daddy makes me keep money in my backpack.”
“We don’t need real money, it is card money because you pay on the app. You want him to come get you?”
“Yes.”
I watched as Hunter clicked the screen. “The car will be blue, and it will pull up in front. He isn’t far. You better go.”
“I’ll tell Miss Ashley that I have to go to the bathroom. Thank you, Hunter.” He gave me a wide smile. Hunter was already missing his two front teeth, so his smile was a bit goofy, but he’d already been visited by the tooth fairy. See? He knew everything.
“Miss Ashley, may I use the restroom?”
“We only have fifteen more minutes, can you wait until then?”
“No.”
“Okay, hurry up.”
I raced off and went into her classroom to grab my backpack before heading to the front of the school. I stood at the corner of the building, and when I saw a blue car pull up, my phone dinged. I walked over when the driver rolled down his window. I stared at him for a few seconds, he had eyes like Miss Ashley. They were friendly. “Are you Uber?”
“Yes, where are your parents?”
“My daddy is at the hospital, but I’m going to the sheriff’s station.”
“I don’t know, kid. You’re supposed to be eighteen.”
Daddy told me that I wasn’t allowed to fake cry anymore, but I had to . . . this one last time. “I have to go to the sheriff, you can’t leave me. My daddy is at the hospital.” I sobbed and let the tears fall down my face.
“Kid, calm down, where’s your mom?”
“She died.” I cried even harder.
“I need the sheriff. I’m just a little girl. I can’t be left alone. Mister, help me please.”
“Okay, okay, I’m taking you to the cops. Just stop crying. I got paid, and I’m turning you over to the authorities, so no skin off my back.” He turned back to look at me. “Make sure you’re seat belted in, okay?” I nodded.
As soon as we left my school, my heart started racing. I was going to see Sadie. I’d tell her that I wanted her to be my new mom. She loved me . . . I know she did, so she would say yes.
“You okay back there, kid?”
“Yes.” He flipped his hair, and it came loose from his ponytail. “You’re a boy and you have a ponytail.”
“You sound like my mom, she doesn’t like my ponytail either.”
“Ponytails are for girls.”
“Nope, a lot of guys have them. At least where I go to school they do.”
“You’re still in school?”
“Yep. I’m in college, but it’s school.”
He stopped talking, so I peered out the window and wasn’t sure whether we were going the right way or not. I’d been here before, but I was with Daddy. He knew the way, so I didn’t pay attention. When the car slowed, I looked around, and there was a giant star on the front of the building just like the one Sadie’s friend had given me.
“Okay, kid. You’re here. Go inside. Tell them that you need help.”
“Thank you.” I opened the door and slid out just as sirens started to scream. The car drove off, and I stood, staring up at the building as officers ran out of the front doors.
Was that for me? Was I in trouble? What if they arrested me? Panicked, I hid behind a building and waited for everything to go quiet, but it didn’t, the sirens only got louder.
I crouched, wrapped my hands around my legs, and slid down behind a large garbage can that smelled yucky. “Sadie, please find me, Sadie. Sadie, please find me, Sadie.”
“Who’s Sadie?” I jumped at the sound and turned to look up, up, up, at the biggest woman I had ever seen. “Don’t just stand there with your mouth open, I asked you a question, who’s Sadie?”
“She’s gonna be my new mom.”
“Does she know you’re out here? This ain’t no place for no chillins.” Chillins? I didn’t know what a chillin was, but I was afraid to ask. “Girl, what’s your name?” I looked up at the big woman. She wore a dress, but not a dress like I used to wear, this one came to the ground and was bright, and her face looked all pinched, as if she were annoyed.
“What’s on your head?”
“It’s a gele.”
“It’s pretty.”
“Thank you, now why don’t you tell old Coco what your name is?”
“Callie.”
“Well, Miss Callie, why don’t you come inside, and I will see what I can do to help you.” She called me Miss. I liked that. No one called me Miss. So, when she held out her large hand, I took it.
“You’re big.”
Coco let out a laugh that was loud and reminded me of Santa Claus. “That I am.”
I was surprised when we got inside. “You’ve got a store? There are all kinds of things in here. I’ve never been to a store like this before.” She had a large sign, it was all sparkly and had a crown. “Is this your store?”
“This here is Queen’s Gold, I own it.”
“Are you a queen?”
“In my own mind.” I didn’t understand that. “No, child, I just pretend to be a queen. I ain’t nobody. But you . . . how did you get over here?”
“An Uber.”
“Why did you come here?”
“I’m looking for Sadie Lazar. I want her to be my new mom.”
“Where’s your old mom?”
“She’s in heaven
.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, child. Where’s your daddy?”
“He’s at the hospital.”
“Oh, is he sick?”
“No. He works there; he’s a doctor.”
“A doctor? Yea, you in the wrong part of town, Miss Callie. Well, we need to call Sadie or your daddy. Do you have their numbers?”
“Yes, hold on.” I reached for my phone but, no, I didn’t have it. “Oh, no.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I lost my backpack. My phone was in there.”
“Okay, do you know your phone number?”
“Yes, but my daddy is at work.” I didn’t want her calling and talking to Nana. “I was going to Sadie’s work.”
“Where does Sadie work?”
“She’s a deputy, she rides a motorcycle.”
“Ahh. Well, Coco ain’t going to no sheriff’s office since we don’t seem to get along, but I know who we can call.”
“Who?”
“Piper. If Sadie is a sheriff and rides a motorcycle, then she has to be friends with Piper because Piper is good people.”
“I don’t know Piper.”
“Don’t you worry none, she’ll help you find Sadie.” Coco picked up a phone, and while she made her phone call, I looked at all the different things she had for sale. There were necklaces and rings. She had guitars and guns. There were televisions, telephones, and computers. “Piper didn’t answer, but I left her a message. I’m going to keep calling.”
“What kind of store is this?”
“It’s called a pawn shop. People can sell their old stuff to me and then I can sell it to other people.” Coco moved to a chair and patted the one next to her. “Callie, what is your daddy’s name?”
“Ryan.”
“What’s your last name?”
“Montgomery.”
“What hospital does your daddy work at?”
“Florida Hospital.”
“Do you know which Florida hospital? There are several.”
“The big white one.”
She nodded slowly. “Well, then, we are just going to have to sit here and keep calling Piper.”
20
Ryan
“Sadie . . .” That was all I could get out as I ran to my car.
“I know. I just heard the BOLO. I’m on it. Everyone knows what Callie means to me, so when I say that I’m on it, I mean, the whole division is on it.”
“I’ll be at the school in ten minutes.”
“I’m headed to check the 7-11 and a few other spots first. Call me if you hear anything.”
“Will do.” I disconnected and then floored it. I couldn’t believe she did this again. It didn’t make sense. She’d wandered off before because she didn’t want my mom to see that she’d changed for school. Not that it made it better to have a reason, but Callie had been so happy . . . hadn’t she? Had I totally been blind, and she had been miserable? Was this a plea for help? I pressed the base of my palm against my forehead. I needed to focus, think straight.
When I pulled into the school’s parking lot, my heart was lodged in my throat and I could barely freaking breathe. “I’m Ryan Montgomery,” I said as I ran up to the group of officers, who parted for the woman who barreled through.
“Ryan!” My mom was crying as she collapsed against me, and I hugged her as she sobbed.
“Dr. Montgomery?” I turned to see Sadie’s friend standing to my left.
“Harley, right?”
“Yes. I’m so sorry, but we have something.”
“What?” My mom’s hand gripped mine and squeezed as she pulled herself away and focused on Harley.
“It seems that another child in your daughter’s class taught her how to use Uber today.”
“Uber? Does he know where she went?”
“We’re in a precarious position here because he’s six. We can work on what he has openly told his teacher, which was before we arrived. He said that Callie wanted to go find Sadie.”
“Me?” I turned and took Sadie in, not realizing that she had joined us. She looked distraught.
“Yes, he said that she couldn’t call you because the number you gave her was wrong and she hadn’t seen you in a long time.”
“My number was correct, I entered it. And I saw her three days ago.”
“To Callie, three days is forever,” I said, the guilt piling on me. “Wait, why can’t we bring the kid out here and ask him?”
“He’s six. We’re not allowed to without one of his parents as a witness.”
“My daughter is missing, something could have happened to her, and we’re worried about some parent? His teacher is here, you’re here. Fine. What do we do now?”
“We’ve called the boy’s parents, they’re on their way, and the teacher is talking to him, trying to get him to tell her. I have his phone.” Harley waved it. “But it’s locked.”
“This is ridiculous, a child’s life is in danger.” My voice was loud, and I was seconds away from demanding to talk to the kid myself.
“We’ve contacted Uber and are trying to locate the driver. We need to know where he took her, and as soon as we get that information, we will head there.”
“Does anyone have a laptop that I can use? I can log in to my account and look up her phone’s location.”
“Here.” Harley waved for me to follow her. I did along with several others over to her car. She grabbed her laptop and then brought it out to set it on the hood of her car.
Logging in, I found Callie’s number and clicked Find My Phone. “It’s moving.”
Sadie spoke into her radio, “Thirteen twenty-two, in reference to the BOLO. Any available unit near Bumby and Colonial, tracking car with phone of missing child, ten ninety-six, channel Charlie seven.”
Sadie flipped her radio station and began calling out cross streets and directions, movements and when the car appeared to be stopped.
“Confirming, has car currently stopped?”
“Affirmative.”
“License plate, Echo, nine, nine, Lima, Oscar, appears to be only one passenger, male mid-twenties driving. Approaching vehicle.” My heart pounded as I waited for word. It was probably only a minute or two but felt like an eternity. “Confirmed, phone left by minor passenger. He states that he wouldn’t have taken her had she not been going to the sheriff’s station. He also states that she claimed her father was in the hospital, so she was going to the sheriff’s station. The child was crying and hysterical.”
“But she’s not at the sheriff’s station, is she?” Sadie shook her head.
“No, someone would have seen her and would have stopped her. A young child walking around by herself is definitely out of the norm.”
“We know where to move our focus,” Harley stated, then she called in to dispatch using a bunch of numbers. The only things I understood were the names of the downtown cross streets, which made sense to me, since that was where the sheriff’s station was located.
“I’m going to the station.” Harley jumped into her car.
“I’ll be right behind you. Kathryn, why don’t you go home so that someone is at the house in case Callie calls since she doesn’t have her cell on her or if she comes home? Ryan, do you want to come down to the station?”
“Hell yes. I’ll be right behind you.” I turned and gave my mom a hug before turning back to Sadie, I wanted to say something but I couldn’t. I stuttered at her, and right then I was overwhelmed by guilt.
I was fucking up this whole single-parent thing. Callie didn’t see Sadie for three days and she felt abandoned. I worked all the time, there had been many times when I had to stay at the hospital for days and Callie never reacted like this.
21
Sadie
“Hello?” I was shouting, but I didn’t have a choice, since I was on the bike and driving above the speed limit.
“Sadie, Detective McGuire has called in SWAT, they have a lead and are following up on it. I’ll keep you looped in. I’m also still trying
to get through to Piper, but she isn’t answering, see if you can get through and get back to me.”
“I will, thank you, Harley. Has Bridget heard anything?” I mean, since Detective McGuire was her oldest brother, she might have called him for details.
“Not a word, and he isn’t answering her calls either. She says that’s because he knows she’s calling for intel. Hey, Kat’s calling, I’ll let you know if she hears anything.”
“Thanks.” My headset went silent, and I rolled the throttle a little more.
The parking lot of the sheriff’s station was chaos, and for some reason, it was all focused around the pawn shop across the street. The owner had a strong dislike for all things related to law enforcement, and the feeling seemed to be reciprocated amongst the officers. Well, all except Piper. For some reason, Piper saw something in the woman, and the two had total trust.
“What’s going on?” I asked one of the deputies standing outside.
“They found a backpack belonging to the little girl by the dumpsters.”
My heart sank, all of the horrid crime scenes of people trying to hide evidence in a dumpster.
I ran to the front of Queen’s Gold with its wrought-iron bars covering the windows. The moment I yanked open the frosted-glass door, Callie looked up at me. The little girl let go of Piper’s hand and ran to me. It was as if my heart started beating for the first time since I’d heard the call go out. “Let me look at you, are you okay?” I rubbed my hands over her face, needing to assure myself that she was okay, she was safe, and that nothing had happened to her. Her arms tightened around my neck, and she burrowed in deeper.
“No!” I jumped when Callie let out a blood-curdling scream. “Don’t hurt her.” Callie fought to get down and then ran over and wrapped her legs around Coco.
“Can everyone just step the fuck back!” I hollered. “Callie’s father will be here in a second. Until he is, no one does anything.”
“I’m here, I’m here.” Ryan ran in, he’d obviously sped a lot faster than I imagined he would for him to be so close behind me. I had run red lights and averaged twenty to thirty miles per hour over the speed limit. “What’s going on?”
Book'em Sadie (Iron Badges #1) Page 14
