Page 26 of Leo
Officer Douglas led me to his car where we sat in the back.He ran through a list of questions, mostly about places Edward liked and things he enjoyed.Then the scary parts: Did he know how to swim?Did he like to climb?Was he interested in things like boats, trains, cars?“His teacher and your friend Mrs.Meyers have indicated that Edward’s autistic.Does he have any special interests that he might want to pursue?”
“Bugs.Beetles, mostly.Lizards.”I shook my head.“He hates going in the water, though.He’s scared of it.Doesn’t like loud noises and he knows not to go near the road without one of his grown-ups…” I closed my eyes.“He can’t have gone far, can he?He’s so little.”
Officer Douglas made sympathetic noises and urged me to sit tight, leaving me in the car while he went and talked to the other cops.Naomi slid into the backseat next to me a moment or maybe a year later, holding his backpack in her lap.“He left it on the pavement where they line up,” she said, her voice tissue-thin and shaking.“He took his earphones, and it looks like he took a notebook too.”
Gingerly, I peered inside, nodding confirmation when I saw what was there.“That blue one he’s always drawing in.He had it when he packed up his bag this morning before school.”
Naomi zipped the bag closed then scooted closer to me.“Officer Douglas suggested you go back to the house and wait, in case he comes home on his own.”
“No.No, I have to help find him.I’m not going to just sit on my ass at home like I’ve got all the free time in the world.”
“Leo, listen to me,” Naomi whispered.“Let me take you home.Mike, Ambrose, Leslie, they’ll be with everyone searching for him.He knows them, okay?He’s not afraid of them so he’ll come to them if he’s scared.”My sharp gasp at the wordscaredwas echoed in Naomi’s sob.“Let’s go.And let’s wait, okay?”
* * *
The driveto my house was too long and not fast enough.When Naomi pulled into the drive, I was out of the car before it’d even stopped moving, tripping to my porch and nearly tearing the door off the hinges as I wrenched it unlocked and open, shouting for Edward as I raced room to room.
I knew he wouldn’t be there—the door was still locked, and the lights weren’t on—but I’d harbored a shred of hope.Naomi headed for the kitchen where she made a pot of tea in silence, moving with almost robotic stiffness as I joined her.We drank the entire pot without speaking, neither of us bothering with sugar despite the tannic sharpness of the brew.After a bit, she got up and turned on the lights in the living room and my bedroom, making all of the downstairs windows bright.“It’s getting dark,” she muttered, then winced.“Leo—”
“Not yet,” I whispered.“Not yet, okay?”
Another hour passed with a call from Mike updating us on the search.He wasn’t in the school itself, or on the grounds.They couldn’t determine which footprints were his since so many kids trampled the area every day, and so many wore similar shoes.Ambrose called to let me know he’d left a message with Bethany to join the search when she was done with her after school club.I let Naomi handle the calls—I was afraid if I tried to speak, the only sound that would come out would be a scream.
Another hour slipped by, and Naomi made a halfhearted attempt at food, setting a box of crackers and a container of hummus between us, but neither of us made a move to touch it.
“It’ll be dark soon,” I whispered as the clock ticked over to five.“He hates the dark.”
Naomi made a soft, pained sound.
I closed my eyes and rested my head against the table, unable to untangle a single thought from another.I wanted Ambrose there and I hated myself for that, for wanting his comfort when I should only be thinking of Edward.It made me feel selfish, negligent.
“Stop it,” Naomi murmured.“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it.You’re not a bad father.You did nothing wrong.He’s fine.I know it.”
I shook my head.“He’s not fine till he’s here, with me.Us.”
A rapid knock fell on the front door.Naomi and I both froze.“No one’s called,” she said.
“No.”
“I’ll get it.”
“No… No, let me.”
She trailed me to the door, both of us standing sill and quiet for a long moment, scared to open it.Another knock fell then Bethany’s voice came through the thick wood.“Hey, can you open up?He really needs to pee, and my feet are killing me.”
CHAPTER10
AMBROSE
Mike drovelike a bat out of hell.He’d barely been introduced before starting out on the grim, terrifying search for Edward, and before I knew it, I was sitting in the back of his car with his daughter, holding on to the oh-shit handle for dear life as he careened from Gaynor Village to Willis Heights, where Leo lived.We definitely ran over a few curbs, and I was pretty sure the guys at the auto shop were going to be getting some business from Mike soon because those rims were not made for off-road driving.
As soon as Leo’s laughing, crying, half-shouted call of “He’s here!Bethany brought him!He’s here!”had come through, the news spread like wildfire.Mike had taken it, gaspingwhat, seriously?and making him repeat it on speaker.The officers in charge had taken off, Mike, Leslie, and I following quickly.I tried calling Bethany again, but it went straight to voicemail, as did every other attempt I made until Mike’s driving was too terrifying not to use both hands to hang tight.Finally, we swung to a halt in front of Leo’s house, two cop cars out front and a smattering of neighbors who suddenly justhadto do yard work after seven at night.Mike and Leslie tumbled out of the car first, me hot on their heels.
The front door was open, one of the officers talking to Naomi who shouted for Mike, the pair of them clinging together like magnets, shifting only to let Leslie in their circle when she reached their sides.I eased past and followed the sound of Leo’s low voice, still shaky but stronger than it had been earlier.I found him in the kitchen with Officer Douglas, a tired, pale and sticky-looking Edward, and Bethany, sitting quietly in a chair that had been pulled away from the table and tucked into the corner, putting distance between her and everyone else.
“Sir,” Officer Douglas said sharply, seeing me practically run into the kitchen.“I need to ask you to stand outside.This is—”
“He’s my brother,” Bethany said.“My guardian.I’m a minor.”
