“Mama?”

“Oh, baby, where are you?” Ellie asked Danielle.

“I’m here,” she said. “I’m at Arnie’s house.”

“Are you all right?”

“I think so,” she said. “He said we could have supper when he comes back.”

“Danny, are you alone? You and Trevor?”

“Uh-huh. The phone’s been ringing and ringing, but he said don’t answer the phone and if it was him, playing a trick, maybe we wouldn’t get supper.”

“All right, sweetheart, I want you to listen to me. You’re not supposed to be left alone, so a police officer is coming to check on you. Ask who’s at the door and if he says it’s the police, you can let him in. Just so he can be sure everything is okay.”

“We can’t, Mama,” she said.

“Of course you can, honey. It’s okay.”

“No, Mama, the door is locked!”

“It’s okay for you to unlock it for the police, honey. In fact, I’ll stay on the phone with you until they get there.”

Over her shoulder, Ellie noticed that Jo had taken up the pacing. Nick came into the apartment, a look of concern on his face. There were pounding footfalls on the stairs and Noah appeared in the doorway.

“But, Mama, we can’t reach the lock!” Danielle said.

Ellie sighed. “Pull a chair over, Danny. It’s okay. But wait until the police—”

“Mama! It’s locked on the outside!”

Ellie was speechless. She had to shake herself. “Danielle, Mommy’s coming right now. It will take me a while, but I’m coming right now. I love you.”

“Mommy,” she said. “I’m being afraid.”

“And I’m coming right now. Jo Ellen is here and she’s going to talk to you while I’m on my way. You just stay on the phone with Jo and everything is going to be okay.”

“Bye,” she said. “Bye, Mommy.”

Ellie took a breath and, with her hand over the mouthpiece so Danielle wouldn’t hear her, she looked at Jo, Nick and Noah. Her voice was softer than usual; deadly soft. “He locked them in,” she said. “The door is locked on the outside. They can’t get out. They’re trapped.” Then she handed off the phone to Jo, grabbed her purse, lunged out of the upstairs apartment and fled down the stairs. Noah was on her heels, moving fast to keep up with her.

When she hit the bottom, Noah caught her. “Whoa,” he said. “Want me to drive?”

She wrenched free and literally dove for the car, throwing herself behind the wheel, digging frantically in her purse for keys. The passenger door opened and Noah jumped inside as she started the ignition. “I grew up on these mountain roads. Buckle up and hang on!”

Deputy Stan Pierce pulled up to the address he’d been given and, as he walked to the front door, he scowled. He couldn’t make it out from the curb, but as he got closer he could see that right inside the screen door, bolting the door closed from the outside, was a padlock. A padlock. Like an ordinary lock a firefighter could just release wasn’t enough? Like a dead bolt with a key they could turn on the inside wouldn’t do the trick? He opened the screen, pulled on the lock and felt a groan escape. He knocked on the door.

A very small voice asked, “Who’s there, please?”

“I’m a police officer. Are your parents at home?”

“No. Just me and Trevor. Arnie went on an errand.”

“All right, I’m going to get this door open. It’s going to make a noise, but don’t be worried. It’ll just take a minute.”

Pierce went back to his car, opened the trunk and pulled out a crowbar. He radioed his dispatcher that he’d need a social worker from Child Welfare Services, but in the meantime he was going to open the house and look around inside. Rather than trying to cut the lock, he pried the whole contraption off the door and frame. Screws fell to the ground; the padlock bounced on the walk and into the bushes.

He pushed the door open gently. The house was dark inside because the blinds and curtains were drawn. In the light from the open doorway he could see two young children sitting on the sofa in a sparsely furnished living room. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Deputy Pierce from the sheriff’s department.” He got closer and crouched to get to their level, sitting on the heel of his boot. “How long have you been by yourselves?”

The little girl shrugged. “Since right after school. Arnie’s the principal of our school.”

“Ah,” Stan said. “You call your dad Arnie?”

“He’s not our dad,” the girl said, slipping an arm around her brother, pulling him close to her. “He was our stepdad for a little while.”

“I see. Do you know where I can find him now?”

She shook her head.

“What’s your name, honey?” Pierce asked.

“Danielle,” she said, tightening her arm protectively around her brother. “This is Trevor.”

“Nice to meet you. Do you mind if I look around a little bit?”

Again, she just shook her head.

So Stan did a quick inventory. Most situations like this were real easy to figure out. If the house was filthy, the kids thin and hungry and the food in short supply, it was a no-brainer. This was a little weird. The house was immaculate, even the kids’ beds were made up. It was dark; all the blinds were closed, very little food in the fridge…Absolutely no clutter. With two little kids? No clutter? He checked the back door—another padlock. The locks…This was just plain scary.

He went into the kitchen to call his sergeant and explain the situation. “The kids seem to be okay, but I have a real bad feeling. The scene is too controlled, the blinds all closed, the doors locked from the outside and it’s creepy clean—no toys or anything lying around. The kids are weird, just sitting on the couch like they were told to stay put. They’re clean, but scared. My kids? If we were out of the house for a couple of hours, they’d have the place torn apart. You know? I want to bring ’em in, get CWS involved. Something about this is too off. Well, the locks—right there we’re looking at some serious endangerment. Neglect and endanger—” He stopped and listened. “Okay, I’m bringing them in.”

He went back to the front room. He crouched again. “Kids, I want you to go find a couple of things to take on a possible overnight. A toothbrush. Pajamas. Clean clothes to put on in the morning. Anything special like a teddy bear or blanket or pillow you can’t be away from. Maybe a book or toy that’s special. Can you do that? Do you need my help? I have kids—I could help.”

Silent, Danielle shook her head. She got up from the couch very stoically, and pulled her brother along behind her. They went to their bedroom and Stan just stood up and sighed. They’d done this before. Packed their own bags.

While the kids were in their rooms, a car pulled up out front. Stan went to the doorway and was standing there when a big man got out of his dark SUV and came to the door. “What’s going on? Where are my kids?”

“They’re packing up a bag, Mr….?”

“Arnold Gunterson. Packing a bag for what?”

“I’m taking them to the police department, sir. We have a big problem with the locks on the outside of the doors, trapping the children inside, unsupervised.” Stan shook his head. “You can meet us at the sheriff’s department and talk to the social worker from Child Welfare Services. I’m not going to cite you right now, but—”

“This is my house, my kids—what business is this of yours?” he asked hotly.

“It’s neglect and endangerment, Mr. Gunterson. You can’t leave minor children alone in a building, locked in and trapped.”

“They weren’t trapped,” he growled. “I had to make sure they didn’t open the door for anyone dangerous!”

Deputy Pierce lifted an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Would that include firefighters and paramedics? Mr. Gunterson?”

“Okay, fine—not a good idea. That won’t happen again.”

“We’re going to the sheriff’s department substation. I’ll have to write up a report,” Pierce said. “You can meet us there. Give you time to make up your story.” Pierce stepped aside so he could escort the kids to his patrol car.

It was impossible to ignore—both kids backed up when they spotted Gunterson.

“Okay, look, Deputy,” Arnie said. “I apologize. I can see where you’re coming from here, that wasn’t such a good idea. I give you my word, I’ll be much more careful. We’ve been through a lot, the kids and me, and I just wanted to be sure they were safe from their crazy mother. That’s all. I—”

“You can explain all this at the station, Mr. Gunterson,” Stan said. “I’ll take the kids in the squad car and you can meet us there.” Stan put a big hand on Danielle’s shoulder and urged the kids around their stepdad.

“This is a mistake,” Arnie said. “Let them be, you’re scaring them. You want a report? I’ll bring them!”

“I don’t think so, sir,” Pierce said, urging the kids toward his vehicle.

A silver PT Cruiser rushed up to the house, screeched to a stop and a woman jumped out of the driver’s side. Both kids immediately shot across the lawn to her, yelling, “Mama!” She fell to her knees and caught them, holding them. A man got out of the same car and came around the front to approach Stan, his hand out.

“Reverend Noah Kincaid, Officer. Are the kids all right?”

“They seem to be okay, but as I was explaining to the gentleman here, I’m taking them to the station. I’d like them to sit down with someone, talk about what went on here, and while they’re doing that I’ll write up a report. You call it in? Kids left unsupervised?”

“I believe it was a friend of their mother’s,” he said. “Do they have to go with you?” Noah asked.

“I’m afraid so,” Stan said, knowing he had some kind of big-time domestic situation on his hands. The husband and wife calling the cops on each other, the reverend showing up for ballast. If it weren’t for the weird house and the locks and the nervousness of the kids, he might assume the wife was playing out some vengeance on the husband. “That Mrs. Gunterson, there?” Stan asked.

“No, sir,” Noah answered. “She’s Ellie Baldwin. The kids are Danielle and Trevor Baldwin. Miss Baldwin hasn’t been married to Mr. Gunterson for about a year. They were only married a couple of months. It’s a long story.”

Stan snorted. It always was. “Well, there will be plenty of time. Let’s gather up these kids. You can all come to the station while we figure out what’s next.” Then, under his breath, he said, “My sergeant’s gonna be thrilled….”

“I’ll follow you, Officer,” Arnie said. “I’m sure we can straighten this out without too much confusion.” And with that, the big man strode stoically and confidently to his SUV.

Fourteen

Thank God for Noah, Ellie thought. She was angry enough to kill, but on the way to the sheriff’s substation, he talked her off the ledge. He emphasized that she had to stay calm and try her hardest not to act out. “Arnold will be cool. He’ll do what he can to appear to be the sane, stable one, to smooth things over—he’s obviously good at it. Don’t let yourself get sucked in.”

And of course, that was exactly what happened. While Ellie and Arnie were separated from the kids, Arnie finagled a moment alone with the sergeant in charge. After hearing what Arnie had to say to the locals at Jack’s, Ellie could only imagine. And he’d been in there a long time. “I guess that whole ex parte thing doesn’t apply to sheriff’s deputies,” Ellie muttered.