Sandy Norris took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Her right hand moved lightly over the large brown envelope on the table in front of her. Little by little, her breathing slowed.
Sitting across the table from Sandy, Detective Sam Kennedy leaned forward, watching her closely.
All at once, Sandy slumped forward. Her hand continued to make a circular motion over the envelope. Only the movement of her hand told Sam that she was still awake.
The small room they were in was rectangular, small, and bare. Just one thing broke up the monotony of the décor—a large mirror on the far wall. Behind the one-way mirror stood a man in a dark suit. He, too, gazed fixedly at the curly-haired young woman.
Suddenly, she gasped. “I'm in the country,” she said. A slight frown drew her eyebrows together, and she tilted her head to one side. “I'm in the foothills, not on a main highway. I see a dirt road leading into this place. Dry grass. A fence is falling down, and there's a barn with big holes in the roof. No one's been in this place for a long time.”
Her hand began to move faster, and her breathing speeded up. “I'm going into the barn.”
Then she paused again, frowning. Her face crumpled and tears began to trickle out from under her lashes. “I'm so scared,” Sandy said in a strange, high voice. She sounded like a frightened child. “Oh, please help me. I'm so scared and there's a—” Sandy gasped, then cried out, “A snake! I see it. It's—”
Sam Kennedy's lips drew back over his gritted teeth.
Sandy huddled down in the chair. “It's too dark in here … I'm scared,” she whimpered in the childish voice. “I'm so tired. Mommy? Where are you? Daddy, why did you leave me here alone? Mommy? Daddy? Help me!”
“Good work, Sandy,” Sam growled. “Now tell me where you are?”
Sandy groaned and straightened up in her chair. A moment later she opened her eyes. She blinked, shook her head, and then gazed at Sam. “I need a map.”
He pulled a map from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. Sandy unfolded it, spreading it between them on the table. Again she closed her eyes. And again her hand moved lightly over the surface. Then her finger pointed directly to a spot on the map.
She opened her eyes as Sam leaned over the table. Taking a closer look at the map, he said, “Hmmm. Carson Meadows. Seems to me there used to be a ranch there about 50 years ago. Now—“
“You'd better hurry,” Sandy said softly. “I think the little girl is in or near a building—but there are snakes there. She's scared.”
“I'll get right on it,” Sam called over his shoulder as he bolted out of the room. With a sigh of relief, Sandy leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She looked worn out.
A moment later, Sam returned. He handed Sandy a glass of water. “How do you feel?” he asked.
Sandy opened one eye, grinned, and reached out for the glass. “I feel like someone just dropped me off a ten-story building,” she said.
“Huh! If you fell off a building, you wouldn't feel a thing,” Sam said with a twinkle in his eye. “You'd be giving harp lessons to the angels.”
Sandy laughed. “Thanks for the support, Sam. You've always been my cheering section.”
Sam grinned, but then grew serious.
“I contacted the search party and told them what you'd come up with. They said they'd get right on it.”
“How long has that child been missing?” Sandy asked.
Sam's red face got a bit redder. As a seasoned detective with the Missing Persons Division, he'd hunted for many missing children. Sandy knew that he never stopped worrying that a lost child might not be found alive.
“Just a few hours,” Sam said. “She was on a hiking trip with her family. Apparently, the little girl wandered off after lunch.”
“How old is she?” Sandy asked.
“Six,” Sam said quietly. He glanced over at the wall clock. “It'll be dark in another 15 minutes or so,” he said. “We'd better not lose any time. The temperature has dropped below freezing the last couple of nights.”
Sandy shivered. Then all of a sudden, she was again overwhelmed by the child's feelings. She felt wave after wave of fear, loneliness, and—Sandy struggled to identify the last powerful emotion.
Anger! The child was angry because her father had left her alone on the hillside! The little girl hadn't accidentally wandered away from her family. She'd been deliberately left behind. Sam wasn't telling Sandy the truth!