Then the juice box.
Crackers.
Spelling worksheet.
Two crayons.
A little plastic dinosaur Jordan had forgotten was inside.
Finally, the officer pulled out the folded drawing.
Jordan stepped closer.
“That’s for my mom.”
Holloway unfolded it automatically.
It showed three stick figures standing beneath a badly drawn orange tree.
One tall man.
One woman in a blue suit.
One very small boy holding a basketball.
Across the top, in uneven letters, Jordan had written:
MY FAMLEE
Morris looked at it.
Something in his expression shifted.
“Grant.”
Holloway looked over.
“He’s seven.”
Holloway glanced toward Jordan.
“I know.”
Morris looked at the things scattered beside the bench.
“Then what exactly are we doing?”
Jordan heard that.
His throat tightened.
“Can I have my dinosaur back?”
Morris immediately picked it up.
“Yeah.”
He handed it to him.
Jordan held the dinosaur against his chest.
Across the path, Eleanor Walsh had walked closer.
She could now see everything.
The tiny basketball shoes.
The spelling page.
The crackers.
The plastic dinosaur.
The drawing.
For the first time, Eleanor saw the child instead of the story she had created around him.
Her stomach turned.
Jordan looked toward the parking entrance again.
“Can I call my dad?”
Holloway nodded.
“Go ahead.”
Jordan pulled the phone from the backpack.
His hands were shaking enough that he pressed the wrong button twice.
Morris noticed.
“Want help?”
Jordan shook his head.
“I know how.”
He found his father’s name.
The call connected immediately.
Marcus Ellis answered.
“Hey, champ. We’re almost there.”
Jordan’s voice cracked.
“Dad?”
Marcus went silent.
“What happened?”
“There’s police.”
The tone on the other end changed completely.
“Are they with you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Are you safe?”
Jordan looked at Holloway.
Then Morris.
“I think.”
Marcus’s voice became extremely calm.
“Your mom and I are three minutes away.”
Jordan swallowed.
“They took my stuff out.”
“What stuff?”
“My backpack.”
Marcus closed his eyes inside the SUV.
Vanessa looked toward him from the passenger seat.
“What?”
He put the call on speaker.
“Jordan, listen to me.”
“Okay.”
“Do not run anywhere.”
“I won’t.”
“Keep your hands where they can see them.”
Jordan looked down at his tiny hands.
“Okay.”
“And we are coming right now.”
Jordan whispered, “Hurry.”
Vanessa’s face changed.
Marcus accelerated only enough to stay within traffic laws.