"But it wasn't. Grace is safe, and I promise I will do everything I can not to upset her, but I need to speak to her now."
Josie stared back at her. "You were always so strong. I admired that for a long time. But then you changed into someone else."
"Look, I don't want to cut you off, Josie, but time is important right now. And I'm not here to talk about the past. We need to find Hayley, and we need Grace's help to do that."
"I'll get her. But be careful, Bree. I may not have ever stood up for myself, but I will stand up for Grace."
"The last thing I would want to do is hurt your child."
As Josie left the living room, Bree let out a breath of relief, but her calm was short-lived as Nathan returned to the room.
He'd always been tall, six foot one or two, but he had a much stronger presence now, or maybe she was just very aware of his angry wariness. His eyes were shooting sparks at her, and she didn't know if the emotion was coming from the past or from right now.
But she couldn't find the words to ask. There was too much to say and too little time.
Thankfully, Josie came back into the room with a little girl wearing leggings and a big pink sweater, her long, dark-brown hair loose around her shoulders.
Grace was the spitting image of Josie as a little girl. "She looks just like you," she murmured, the words slipping out before she could stop them. She wanted to keep this professional, not personal, but already she'd stumbled.
Grace blinked and looked at her mom. "She knew you when you were my age, Mommy?"
"Yes," Josie said. "Bree is a—friend—from a long time ago. And like I said, she has a couple of questions to ask you."
"Why don't we all sit down?" Bree suggested, taking a seat on the couch.
Grace and Josie sat down on the sofa facing her, while Nathan took up a protective position by the entryway, his arms folded across his chest.
"I heard you're a really good ballet dancer," she said to Grace, giving the little girl a warm smile. "I always wanted to take ballet, but I never had the chance."
"I'm not as good as Hayley," Grace said solemnly. "Do you know where she is?"
"No. But I'm looking for her. You told the police that you saw Hayley leave through the stage door with someone."
Grace nodded and looked at her mom.
"Just tell her what you remember." Josie put her arm around Grace's shoulder.
"You went to the bathroom with Hayley," Bree encouraged. "What happened after that?"
"Hayley was taking too long. She was really nervous. The bathroom smelled bad, so I left. I went over to our group. Our teacher, Miss Delancey, told us to stay close, because it was almost our turn. When it was time to go on, Hayley wasn't there. I was at the back of the line, so I went to find her, and I saw her going through the door. I thought she decided not to dance. She was scared about forgetting the steps. Then Miss Delancey called me, and I went on the stage. I didn't know someone took her until after our dance."
Grace was a smart, articulate girl. Now, if she could just get her to remember a few more details. "You said the person was wearing a puffy black coat and a blue beanie, is that right?"
Grace nodded.
"You couldn't see their hair?"
The little girl shook her head.
"Do you remember if there were any words on their clothes? Like for a sports team or something?"
"I didn't see any."
"And you couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman?"
"I think it was a man, because he was so tall, but I don't know for sure."
"Do you remember what kind of shoes he was wearing? Tennis shoes? Boots? Work shoes?"
Grace thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know."
"Was he holding Hayley's hand?"
"No, he had his arm around her. Is Hayley going to be all right?"
"I hope so. You're doing really good, Grace. You're being very helpful."
"Hayley is scared of the dark. Do you think she's in the dark?" Grace asked, fear in her eyes.
Bree could hear the terror in the little girl's voice, and she wanted to reassure her, but she also didn't want to lie to her. "Is there anything else you remember, Grace? Did you see a car through the open stage door?"
"There were lights outside. They were bright. I think they came from a car."
"Was Hayley yelling or kicking her feet or trying to pull away from the person?"
Grace's mouth turned down in a frown, and then she slowly shook her head. "She wasn't doing anything."
Was that because Hayley knew the person who had come into the backstage area of a school concert? Was the kidnapper someone who was familiar to people at the school so that they wouldn't be questioned?
The police were already looking into the janitorial staff and everyone else at the school, but it wouldn't hurt to keep what Grace had just told her in mind. "Did Hayley ever talk about anyone bothering her? Was she mad or upset with anyone?"
"She said her dad was mad at her for not cleaning up her room, and she might not be able to go to the park with me this weekend."
"Anyone else?"
"Carter told her she was clumsy, and she was going to fall during our show," Grace added. "I told him not to be mean and that Hayley wasn't going to fall."
"Who is Carter?"
"He's a boy in our class. He always says rude things."
She didn't think this Carter had anything to do with Hayley's disappearance, but the more Grace talked, the more she might remember.
"I want Hayley to come home," Grace said, her bottom lip starting to waver.
"I think that's enough," Josie interrupted, obviously disturbed by her daughter's distress.
"You did good, Grace," she told the little girl.
Grace sniffed. "I should have run after Hayley. I should have saved her."
"No. That wouldn't have helped. And you're doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing now. You're telling us what you remember."
"Why don't you go upstairs and finish watching your show?" Josie said. "I'll bring up lunch in a few minutes."
Grace slid off the couch, then paused, something odd in her eyes as she looked back at them. "There was something shiny on the man's hand. The hand that was on Hayley's back. Like Daddy's big ring."
"Your daddy's wedding ring?" she probed.
"No, the baseball ring."
"My husband has a ring from the Chicago Cubs when they won the World Series," Josie put in.
"Really? What does he do for the Cubs?"
"He doesn't work directly for the team. He's a real-estate developer, and he has been working with the organization to buy up some of the properties adjacent to the ballfield for additional expansion of outfield seating. You know how small Wrigley Field is, how close the apartment buildings are."
"Part of its charm," she muttered.
"At any rate, since the team hadn't won a world series since 1908, they gave out 1908 rings to staff and employees," Josie continued. "Basically, anyone who had anything to do with the team got one. They're not as nice as what the players got, of course."
Was there defensiveness in Josie's voice? Had Josie just picked up on the fact that her daughter had identified the kidnapper as having a ring similar to the one her father wore?
"Was your husband with you at the concert last night?" she asked.
"No, he had to work late. Are we done here?"
She could see that Josie was finished talking, and she'd probably gotten all she could from Grace. "That's all for now."
"Go on upstairs, honey," Josie told Grace.
Grace paused by her uncle on her way out of the room. "Do you want to watch a movie with me, Uncle Nathan?"
"I'll be up in a bit," he told her, giving her a smile.
As Bree saw Nathan's lips curve up in kindness and affection, she was reminded of a much younger Nathan—the kid who'd once been her friend, who'd given her the last bite of a shared candy bar, who'd dreamed with her about a better life, a pretty house by the sea.
But that kid had disappeared long before she'd left Chicago.
Josie stood up. "I need to get Grace her lunch."
"Thanks for letting me speak with her," she said, getting to her feet.
"I really hope you can find Hayley. She's a sweet little girl who doesn't deserve this," Josie said.