Free Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

stroking her hair and crying with her.
    "He's gone, Leah. Sam's gone. What do I do?"
    Leah had no answer.
    Whenever Sadie grew quiet, another thought would hit her. Wave after wave of memories and anguish assaulted her, until she was lost, floundering…breathless.
    "I…can't do…this," she sobbed. "He has Sam. Oh God. Why did he take my baby?"
    "I don't know, honey," Leah wept. "But we'll get him back."
    After a long silence, Sadie lifted her head and gazed into her friend's eyes. "What did Philip and I do to deserve this? Are we being punished? Am I ?"
    "Sadie, you didn't do anything wrong," Leah said, her voice trembling with emotion. "It's not your fault. Neither of you are being punished."
    Sadie didn't believe her.
    Leah drove her to a walk-in clinic where a doctor assured Sadie that her ribs were bruised, but thankfully not broken. He gave her a prescription for Tylenol 3's, scheduled an x-ray— just to be safe, he said—at the Gray Nun's Hospital for the next day, and told her to be more careful when going down the stairs.
    Afterward, she made Leah go home. "There's nothing more you can do right now," she told her. "And I have to take care of a few things."
    "If you need anything, Sadie—anything at all—call me."
    "All I need is Sam."
     
    The afternoon was spent downtown at the police station. Philip met her there, half an hour late. When he apologized to Jay, the detective flicked him a steely look that made Sadie feel better. Then they were led to a crowded, windowless office with stacks of folders piled on one side of a beat up desk.
    Sadie eyed the folders. Somewhere in there is one on Sam.
    "We need to know if either of you noticed anything strange the past few days," Jay said, pulling out his notebook. "So we'd like to question you together first. Is that okay?"
    "Whatever it takes," Sadie said. "I just want my son back."
    A muscle jumped in Philip's jaw. "Same here."
    Jay turned to Sadie. "Have you noticed any strangers hanging around your house? Or had any visitors?"
    She shook her head slowly. "No one except Leah. And the clown. Oh, and a KFC delivery guy."
    "And what about at Sam's school? See anyone there?"
    "No. Just his teacher."
    "Where else did you and Sam go this week?" Jay prodded.
    She wracked her brain, trying to remember all the little things she and Sam had done together. Mostly, she had played with him in the house, since it was so cold outside. Except the day she took him to the park.
    She told Jay.
    "Did you see anyone there who didn't seem to fit?" he asked.
    She shook her head. "It was mostly parents, mothers. Oh, and there was one fath—" She looked up and gasped. "There was a man in a car. I thought he was one of the fathers."
    "Can you describe him?"
    She winced. "I don't know. He was sitting in his car and he had a hat and sunglasses on. I didn't get a clear look at him. I think he was in his mid-thirties, early forties." She wasn't exactly lying.
    "Did you get a look at the car?"
    "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. It was dark—gray or black. Four doors. That's all I remember." Before Jay could ask, she said, "And I never saw the license plate."
    "Do you know the make or model?"
    "Sadie can't tell a sedan from a sports car," Philip said dryly.
    She sent him a look that made his mouth snap shut.
    Jay jotted down a few notes. "What about the birthday party?"
    "Just friends of Sam's, no strangers," she said.
    "Let's get some background info," Jay said, turning to a fresh page in his notebook.
    Within minutes, he had a blow-by-blow of their whole life—routines, friends and every person who had stepped into their house. He admitted that the clown was the strongest lead, since they had found the shoe in Sam's room. They were also checking into the delivery guy.
    Sadie and Philip were separated for about half an hour and questioned individually. Then they were free to go.
    She grabbed Jay's arm as they walked out of his office. "How long do you think before we get Sam back?"
    The