Around lunchtime, Mrs. Hale called me screaming.
« Mom, you won’t believe who took me that day. »
Daniel went pale.
Around lunchtime, Mrs. Hale called me screaming.
She said all the children had been outside on the playground, and when they went back inside, Caroline was gone.
She kept swearing she had only looked away for a second.
Nothing felt ordinary again.
There were not many security cameras back then.
When I reached the school, police were already there. They checked the playground, the fence line, the church lot behind the school, and every room twice. There were not many security cameras back then. The ones they had showed children, teachers, doors, and wet blacktop. Nothing useful.
Caroline’s cubby still held her sweater, her rabbit lunchbox, and the red folder she always forgot to bring home.
