She could feel it the moment she heard her mother’s voice on the phone.
“Nora?” Teresa asked.
“What’s wrong, Mom?”
“I’m at the school, to get Sophie, as always. They say she’s not here.”
“What?” Nora answered.
“They say she was picked up already. Nice man in a Cadillac Escalade, the lady says. Says Sophie clearly knew the man and was excited he was picking her up.”
“Where are you now, Mom?”
“Standing in front of the school.”
“The school lady there?”
“Yeah.”
“Put her on.”
“Hell-ooh,” came the woman’s voice.
“Who is this?” Nora asked.
“Amelia Longwell, Ms. Carleton. It’s good to speak with you.”
“No, it’s not,” Nora said sharply. “You let my child get in a vehicle with someone who is not an authorized guardian. How the fuck did that happen?”
The line was silent before Ms. Longwell cleared her throat and answered in her loud headmistress voice, “Well, Ms. Carleton, and I would ask you to please use civil language, the vehicle was near the front of the line, the man very clearly said he was here to pick up Sophie, and she obviously knew him and trusted him as if he were family. I realize I should have verified that his name was on the list but—”
“Oh, you got his name?”
“I did not, regrettably,” she answered.
Nora was almost shouting now. “Oh my fucking God. You need to go back inside and pull the video of the pickup. You just gave my child to a stranger.”
“Well surely not a stranger, Ms. Carleton. As I said—”
Nora was actually shouting now. “Go! Go! I’m calling the police! Go!”
Teresa’s voice returned. “You okay? Seems like it must have been Rob. Strange, but not bad, right?”
“I don’t know, Mom. We’ve been trying all day to find him. I hope it’s nothing, but maybe bad.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“I need you to go home and check to see if Rob dropped Sophie off or maybe he’s there with her. Call me and let me know and then please stay close to the phone in case they call or show up. I’m gonna get the cops and Benny.”
“Okay, I’ll call if she’s there. She’s gonna be okay, Nora. I’ll hold down the fort for when she gets home. I love you.”
Nora hung up and called Benny, who answered on the first ring. She quickly told him what had happened.
“Son of a bitch,” he said. “I’m standing at his place. He still ain’t here and no sign of him or the car. Why the fuck would he take Sophie?”
“Don’t know, but I have a bad feeling, Benny.”
“Okay, lemme grab hold of Demi Kofatos. Maybe Westport PD has some license plate readers or road cameras we can get a hit off. Talk soon.”
He hung up.