Free Missing Child by Patricia MacDonald Page A

I want to tell you something. You are a very brave boy, and a strong boy and I want you to stay brave, and try not to be afraid. We’re going to find you. I promise you. Daddy and I are going to . . . bring you home. You just keep remembering that. We love you more than anything, and don’t you forget that. If you can hear me.
    ‘As for the person who took Geordie . . .’ Her voice trailed off, and she averted her eyes. Sam bent down to her.
    ‘Are you OK?’ he whispered.
    Caitlin nodded and continued: ‘I assume there is something terribly wrong with you, to take an innocent little boy like that from his family. To take him from his school. All I can ask of you, from the bottom of my heart, is that you don’t hurt Geordie, and that you let him go so he can come home. He’s only six years . . . old.’
    Her last words came out in little more than a squeak, like in her dream, when she was trying, in vain, to call out to Geordie. She let go of the microphone and sat back, drained by the effort. Noah put his arm around her, and pulled her to him.
    A voice from the crowd called out, ‘Caitlin, you were the last one to see the boy alive . . .’
    The camera caught the startled look on her face.
    Sam Mathis shook his head at Caitlin. Then he turned back to the audience of reporters. ‘No questions. We can’t take questions. But we do appreciate your efforts to get his parents’ plea out to the public, in the hope of finding this child, and possibly saving his life.’
    Caitlin stared straight ahead into the glare of the lights, while she and Noah gripped one another’s hands. Was he hurt? Or hungry? Was he frightened? She tried to imagine Geordie looking into her eyes on the television screen.
    Don’t be afraid, she thought. I love you. We’ll find you. Try not to be afraid.

SEVEN
    E xtra personnel were put on the police department phones, and three officers took turns manning the phones at the Eckhart home. For the first twenty-four hours, the results from the televised plea seemed promising. Many tips came in, and all were checked out. Some were soon discounted. One woman who called the hotline claimed that she had heard whimpering cries in her building coming from the super’s locked workroom in the basement. The police went to the building and ordered the super to unlock the door. The super, it seemed, was concealing a litter of newborn pups in a building which allowed no pets. Another caller was a woman who said that her son claimed to have talked to Geordie at school on Monday morning. When two officers arrived to question the boy, his story became vague and more disjointed, until the boy admitted that it must have been the week before. A male caller with a slurred voice suggested that Mr Needleman was to blame, and that everybody knew it at the school. Mr Needleman broke out in hives, but insisted that he would not be intimidated.
    One lead was promising. A caller said that he saw a man and a boy walking away from the school that morning. This seemed to confirm what the teacher’s aide had witnessed. According to this man, who worked for a cable TV company, he was sitting in his truck when he saw them walk by. The cable guy was pretty certain that the man whom he saw was not wearing an Eagles cap, or any other kind of hat. The boy was crying and protesting. The cable TV man assumed it was a father and son. This morning, Sam was questioning the man himself. He promised to let the Eckharts know if this lead seemed to offer a direction to the investigation.
    The morning passed with agonizing slowness. Caitlin was alone in the house. Noah’s secretary, Lois, had called, apologizing for the fact that Noah was urgently needed in the office. An out-of-town client was only going to be in for a couple of hours and insisted on seeing his attorney. Noah was reluctant, but Caitlin told him to go, smiling bravely and telling him to take his time. But as she watched his car disappear down the driveway, Caitlin