Vanessa looked at him.
“I know, baby.”
Holloway continued.
“We needed to determine who he was and whether he was supposed to be here.”
Marcus’s face hardened.
“You needed to determine whether a seven-year-old child was supposed to be in a public park?”
“We needed to find his guardian.”
“That I understand.”
Marcus pointed toward the open backpack.
“This I do not.”
Holloway glanced down.
“He agreed to let us check it.”
Vanessa became completely still.
“You asked a seven-year-old for consent to search his backpack?”
Holloway’s jaw shifted.
“He said yes.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“He also believes dinosaurs could beat sharks if the fight happened on land.”
Jordan looked up.
“They could.”
Marcus almost smiled despite everything.
Vanessa touched Jordan’s head.
“I know, sweetheart.”
Then she looked back at Holloway.
“My point is that he is seven.”
Morris lowered his eyes.
Holloway said, “We were responding to a report.”
Vanessa nodded.
“That explains why you approached him.”
Her voice stayed controlled.
“It does not explain why you turned a welfare check on a child into a search.”
Morris spoke.
“Mayor Ellis.”
Vanessa turned.
He took a breath.
“She’s right.”
Holloway looked sharply toward him.
Morris continued.
“The call described a child alone near parked vehicles.”
He looked at Jordan.
“Once we found out he was waiting for his parents after basketball, we should have focused on locating you.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
Holloway’s expression tightened.
“We still needed to make sure nothing else was happening.”
Marcus pointed toward Jordan.
“What else did you think a seven-year-old was doing?”
No answer.
Jordan stood between his parents.
His hand found his father’s.
Marcus squeezed it.
Vanessa noticed Eleanor Walsh standing twenty yards away.
The older woman was holding Winston’s leash with both hands.
Her face had lost all color.
Vanessa followed her gaze.
Then looked at the phone in Eleanor’s hand.
“Were you the person who called?”
Eleanor swallowed.
“Yes.”
Marcus turned toward her.
Vanessa stayed where she was.
“What did you see?”
Eleanor looked at Jordan.
“He was walking around the cars.”
Jordan spoke immediately.
“I was looking for my dad.”
Eleanor’s face reddened.
“I didn’t know.”
Vanessa nodded.
“What else?”
“He had the backpack.”
Marcus looked toward the tiny black backpack.
“And?”
Eleanor’s voice became smaller.
“I hadn’t seen him before.”
A yellow leaf fell between them.
Then another.
Jordan looked at Eleanor.
He seemed less angry than confused.
“You called the police because you didn’t know me?”
The question was so simple Eleanor could not hide behind adult language.
She looked down.
“I thought maybe you needed to be checked.”
Jordan looked at his mother.
“Checked for what?”
Vanessa swallowed.
Nobody answered.
Jordan looked back at Eleanor.
“I’m not bad.”