For the next hour, I called Neill’s colleagues in the English department at the university. They all seemed surprised he hadn’t come to work without phoning anyone or notifying his students and his department chair, but no one knew where he was. One or two mentioned they had noticed that Neill seemed rather anxious lately, but couldn’t shed any light on the reason. After I got off the phone, I wandered through the house aimlessly, jumping at every sound and looking through the curtains every time I walked past them, seeing no one. I had never felt so helpless. Waiting for news from the police was agonizing.
When they finally called, I snatched up the phone breathlessly. “Dr. Dobbins, this is Detective West. I think we’ve got a hit on them.”
“Where?” I demanded.
“We think they’ve been spotted on video surveillance at the airport.”
“Which airport?”
“Albany, New York.”
“You think you saw them? Can’t you tell for sure?”
“No, ma’am. Your ex-husband’s head was down most of the time, and Ellie was dressed like a boy.”
“But she has long hair. Couldn’t you see that in the video?”
“The child had short hair, ma’am.”
“Are you telling me she’s had her hair cut since this morning?”
“Yes, ma’am. That is a possibility.”
I closed my eyes, the silence lingering across the telephone line. I’d heard of things like this happening, but always on television. Never to me.
“Dr. Dobbins? You still there?”
“Yes, Detective. Sorry. I’m just trying to wrap my head around this.”
“Can you come down to the station? Airport security in Albany has copied the video and sent it over. I’d like you to have a look at it and tell me if you recognize them.”
“I’ll be right there. Are there police at the airport to arrest Neill?”
“We don’t know if he’s still there, ma’am. We’re continuing to piece together the videos.”
I drove to the police station in a daze of confusion and disbelief. Detective West was waiting for me when I hurried inside the station. He led me to a darkened room with video equipment set up. I waited while he pushed some buttons on a machine in the back of the room. A screen against the wall flickered, and pictures began moving in front of me. People, lots of people, all moving in different directions. Much like the video surveillance at Ellie’s school, this screen was divided into four sections. Each section was apparently footage from a different camera.
“Watch that lower left screen,” Detective West said. The video slowed. People moved across the screen, slow and jerky. A few seconds passed, and I watched each person intently. Suddenly there was a tall man and a little boy walking hand-in-hand, a big backpack on the boy’s shoulders. “Right there,” the detective said tersely. I could hear him tapping buttons, and the video slowed.
The man kept his head down, as if he was trying to avoid being spotted on a security camera. The boy with him looked all around, though. At one point he looked directly up at the camera.
I gasped. It was Ellie.
“Stop,” I ordered Detective West. The video halted immediately on the frame of the child looking at the camera.
“You see it, too?”
“That’s Ellie. I recognize her even with that haircut. Why do you think he cut her hair?”
“So we wouldn’t recognize them right away on security cameras.”
“Where are they going?”
“We haven’t determined that yet,” he answered grimly. “We have to figure out their path through the airport using video from the security cameras, and then we’ll know where they went.”
“Can’t we just call the airport and ask someone to look up their names?”
“We’ve started that process with airport security and the TSA, but getting that information requires special clearance and time. It’s quicker to watch the cameras.”
“But what if it’s too late? What if they’ve already gotten on a plane and left?” I could hear the panic rising in my voice.
“Let’s take this one step at a time. First we have to figure out where they went at the airport.”
“How long will it take?” My voice was high and thin.
“We don’t know. Why don’t you wait out in the lobby, and I’ll come for you as soon as I know something.” I nodded, unable to say anything.
I sat in the lobby, my breathing shallow and irregular. The desk sergeant took pity on me and offered to get me a cup of coffee. I declined, figuring I would throw up if I put anything in my stomach. It wasn’t long before Detective West appeared again. I jumped up at the sight of him.
“Come on back, Dr. Dobbins,” he said.
I followed him to his cubicle and sat down across from him yet again. “What have you found?” I asked eagerly.
“The man and child we see on the video are indeed Neill and Ellie,” he confirmed. My heart sank. Until that point, I had held out some hope that we were wrong, that the two figures were really a father and son jetting off somewhere. But now I knew for sure.
“Where did they go?” I managed.
“Looks like they went to the Bahamas. A small airport with limited video surveillance capabilities, to be exact.”
“Why would they go there?”
“I would guess they’re trying to shake the authorities. If that’s what Neill is doing, he’s done his homework. But they landed half an hour ago, so we’ve got the Bahamian authorities looking around the airport for them. The security footage isn’t available to us yet.”
“So what do we do now? Should I go there?” I started to stand, expecting him to tell me to get on the first plane to the Bahamas.
“I would wait. We need to figure out where they went once they got off that plane.”
“Do you think they flew somewhere else?” I asked, sitting down on the edge of the seat. My leg jiggled up and down rapidly, almost of its own volition.
“We can’t rule that out. They seem to be staying just one step ahead of us.”
I sat back. He picked up his phone and punched a string of numbers. After a moment of waiting, he spoke. “It’s West. Yeah. Got anything for me?” He nodded. “Uh-huh.” Another silence while he listened. “Okay. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “The TSA is in contact with the authorities in the Bahamas. Why don’t you go home and wait there? This could take a while.”
My shoulders slumped. I wanted everything to happen quickly. I couldn’t stand waiting another minute. But I did as Detective West suggested and went home, where I managed to clean up the stack of documents that I had removed from the safe.
It was nearing dinnertime, though I didn’t feel at all hungry. When Dottie came over and insisted that I join her family for dinner, I didn’t want to go. But she wouldn’t take no for answer, so to make her happy, I went back to her house with her. Her husband and kids were there. They clearly didn’t know what to say to me. Her husband hugged me at the door and then didn’t say much after that. The kids just stared at me. I felt sorry for them. Any other time they would have been talkative and full of energy, but I seemed to have put a damper on dinner. When my phone rang and I took the call in the kitchen, I’m sure they were relieved. I could hear them whispering and Dottie’s “Shhhh!”
It was Detective West. He was calling to tell me that Neill had again disguised Ellie as soon as they deplaned in the Bahamas. Their layover was very brief and they had again eluded the authorities. They were now on a plane bound for Edinburgh.
I was exasperated. “How could security let this happen?” I demanded. “How could they let Neill and Ellie slip by them? How many fathers with five-year-old sons could have been arriving in the Bahamas this afternoon?” I knew my voice sounded thin and angry, but I didn’t care.
He evaded my questions. “All the authorities are doing everything possible. They’ll get him in Edinburgh. The flight is long enough that airport personnel will have time to organize themselves and be waiting for him when he arrives.”
“I should have known Neill would go there,” I said.
“He did his homework if he wanted to elude police and airport security, but he’s not going to give anyone the slip again,” Detective West said.
I breathed a small sigh of relief.
It would be over soon.