Bear sat across from the girl while Mason stood near the door. Cole and Doc remained outside for a few minutes, checking the parking lot and keeping an eye on the street.
The rest of the riders had gathered near the motorcycles, their earlier conversation forgotten.
Bear folded the note and placed it beside the photograph.
“Lily, I need to ask you some questions. You don't have to answer anything that makes you uncomfortable. All right?”
She nodded.
“What's your mother's name?”
“Sarah Bennett.”
“Where is she?”
Lily looked down at the plate.
“I don't know.”
Bear leaned forward.
“When did you last see her?”
“Last night.”
“Did you leave home with her this morning?”
“No.”
“Did she tell you where she was going?”
Lily shook her head.
Bear kept his voice calm.
“Did she tell you to come here?”
“She told me to find you if she didn't come back.”
The room seemed to grow smaller.
“What exactly did she say?”
Lily thought for a moment.
“She said, 'If I'm not there when you wake up, go to the diner on Broad Street. Look for the man everybody calls Bear. Show him the pictures. Don't give the pictures to anybody else.'”
Bear glanced at Mason.
“Did she tell you how to get here?”
“She drew a map.”
Lily reached into her backpack and pulled out a folded sheet of paper.
It contained a simple drawing of several streets, a school, a bus stop, and the diner. A thick blue line marked the route.
Bear studied it.
The route was nearly two miles long.
“Did you walk all the way here?”
“Yes.”
“With your walker?”
Lily nodded.
Bear looked at the metal braces on her legs.
“Did anybody help you?”
She shook her head.
“Did you stop anywhere?”
“At the pharmacy.”
“Why?”
“To rest.”
The answer was so ordinary that it hurt.
An eight-year-old child had walked nearly two miles in leg braces because her mother had disappeared and told her to find a stranger.
She had stopped at a pharmacy to rest, then continued.
She had approached twelve intimidating bikers because she believed one of them might be able to protect her.
Bear glanced toward the window.
Traffic moved steadily past the diner.
The world outside had continued as though nothing unusual had happened.
He turned back to Lily.
“Did your mother say what might happen if she didn't come back?”
Lily hesitated.
“She said some people were looking for Dad.”
Bear felt his shoulders tighten.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you see them?”
She nodded slowly.
“There's a black car.”
Mason moved away from the door.
“What kind of black car?”
“I don't know. A big one. Like a car that carries lots of people.”
“An SUV?” Bear asked.
Lily nodded.
“Maybe.”
“How long have you been seeing it?”
“For a while.”
“Days? Weeks?”
“Since before my birthday.”
Bear did the calculation.
Lily had turned eight several months earlier.
If her memory was accurate, somebody might have been watching her family for months.
“Did the car come to your house?”
“Sometimes.”
“Did anybody get out?”
She nodded.
“One man.”
“Did he speak to your mother?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Lily looked at the door, making sure no one was standing there.
Then she leaned toward Bear.
“He told her that Daddy was supposed to stay dead.”
Bear felt a cold shiver move down his spine.
Mason swore softly.
Bear remained still.
“Did your mother answer him?”
“She said Daddy wasn't dead.”
“And what did the man do?”
“He smiled.”
Lily's eyes filled with tears again.
“Mom said I should go inside.”
Bear reached across the table, keeping his hand open where she could see it.
Lily took it.
“Did he hurt her?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you see him touch her?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Bear nodded slowly.
“Okay. You've done very well telling me all of this.”
Lily looked at the pancakes.
“Am I going to have to go home?”
“Not until we know it's safe.”
“Will you take me?”
“If you want me to.”
She nodded.
Then she asked a question that made Bear's heart ache.
“Do you think my daddy will come back?”
Bear looked at the photograph again.
He could not promise her that Michael would appear at the door. He could not promise that the story she had been told was true. He could not promise that the people searching for her father would simply disappear.
But he could promise to keep looking.
“I think we're going to find out what happened,” he said. “And until we do, you won't have to face it alone.”
Lily considered that.
Then she picked up her fork and ate a small piece of pancake.
It was the first time since arriving that she seemed able to think about anything other than fear.
Bear watched her for a moment, then stepped into the hallway with Mason.
The door closed behind them.
Mason lowered his voice.
“We need to call the police.”
“We will.”
“Now.”
“First, we need to make sure Lily isn't handed over to the first person who claims to be her guardian.”
Mason looked at him.
“Bear, she's a missing-child situation now.”
“I know.”
“Then we call the police.”
Bear nodded.
“But we call someone we trust. Someone who will verify everything before moving her.”
Mason took out his phone.
“I know a detective who works family protection cases. I'll call him.”
“Good. Tell him a child may be in danger, her mother is missing, and there may be a vehicle following the family. Don't give him every detail until we know how much of this is connected to Michael.”
Mason looked toward the closed door.
“You think this is bigger than a family dispute?”
Bear unfolded the note.
PLEASE FIND GRANT CALLAHAN.
He stared at his name.
“Yes,” he said. “I do.”
Mason went outside to make the call.
Bear returned to the room.
Lily had eaten two more bites of pancake. Her stuffed rabbit sat beside the plate, one bent ear resting against the glass of water.
Bear sat down again.
“Would you mind showing me the other photograph?”
Lily reached into the backpack and removed it.
“This one is new.”
Bear accepted it.