Page 54 of Missing

I drove as fast as I safely could, praying the entire time I’d get a call telling me Chase had been found.

It wasn’t hard to figure out where Chase’s teachers were because of the crowd gathering near the playground. I parked as close as I could, pried my hands off the steering wheel and ran towards the crowd, flexing my stiff hands along the way.

I stopped at the nearest officer and choked out, “Did you find him yet?” I held my ribs as I sucked air in, willing myself not to hyperventilate and pass out.

“You must be Chase's mom. No ma’am, but we’re still looking.”

I turned when I heard my name.

Angela ran over, her mascara stained her cheeks. “Oh Beth, we’re so sorry. One of the kids fell and scraped his knee. It wasbad, so Shawna had to help me. By the time we finished, Chase was gone.”

Chase was known to wander off. He loved chasing ducks or frogs and even the occasional butterfly. But he rarely went far, and he always came running back to tell me about his adventures. It wasn’t hard to imagine he’d come running back any second, excited to see all the policemen and tell me all about the animal he’d chased.

It took me more than fifteen minutes to get here.Shouldn’t he have come back by now?

Especially since there were cop cars with flashing lights everywhere. Chase was drawn to flashing police lights like a moth to a flame. His obsession with policemen was second only to dinosaurs.

He’s really missing. My stomach dropped as the playground started to spin.

The officer grabbed my elbow to support me. “I assure you, Mrs. Wyatt, we’re doing everything we can to find your son.”

Turning my head left and right, I searched for any sign of Chase. It took every ounce of strength I had to stand still and not run off screaming his name.

The officer put his hand on my shoulder and offered comfort with a gentle squeeze. I reached up and placed my hand on his, grateful for the support.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly, but it did nothing to slow down my racing heart as I looked around again.I can’t just stand here.

“What can I do? Should I call for him?” I asked.

“Yes. We have uniforms looking for him, but he may be scared of getting in trouble. If he hears your voice, he may come out into the open, or call out if he's stuck somewhere.”

Chase had never been afraid of the police.But he might be now, Doug and I talked to him about wandering off four daysago. The park was fairly large for such a small town. There was a baseball diamond at one end and a field for soccer and football at the other. In between was a playground and a gazebo surrounded by grass and benches. There were houses and apartment complexes on three sides.

There were a million and one places Chase could have gone.

The air felt like lead in my lungs.

Chase would have returned by now, if he could.

Which means he can’t.My heart sank.

Where is he?I stepped away from the crowd and yelled. “CHASE!” I yelled until a wave of nausea forced me to stop.

Hoping to suppress it, I put my hand on my stomach.If I can’t get myself under control, I’ll end up vomiting.

Shawna handed me a bottle of water. “Drink this.”

Grateful for the distraction, I took the bottle and brought it to my lips with trembling fingers. In an attempt to not drop it, I squeezed too hard and spilled water down the front of my shirt.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Chase.” I sobbed as the dam broke and tears flowed down my face. Visions of Chase being kidnapped, tortured, beaten, never to be seen again, flashed through my mind as I sank to the ground.

This can’t be happening.

But it was. I had been married to a cop, so I knew this could happen. It could happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

To me, today, in our small, quiet, safe town.

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