He checked the floor around the nightstand. Then he was on his feet, all the weariness and pain washed away by a cleansing surge of hope, on his feet and pulling up his pants and rushing from his room and across the hall and hitting the light switch and finding Cookie Monster on Kimmy’s bed, snug against the side of Kimmy’s neck, held there by her tiny hand.
Then Jake was on his knees, his arm across her hot back, his face against her shoulder.
“Barbara, she’s here. She’s fine.”
“Oh, my God!” For a long time, Barbara said nothing more. Jake listened to her weeping. Finally, she found enough control to ask, “Where is she?”
“Here. At my house.”
“Where did you find her?”
“Right here, I came back to get the car, and—”
“That’s impossible. It’s miles.”
“A little more than three, I guess.”
“Oh, damn you! Why didn’t you look there first!”
“I thought about it, I just…it seemed…it’s so far. I didn’t even think she’d know the way, much less walk that far. I still can hardly believe it. But she’s here.”
“Do you have any idea the hell I’ve been going through?”
“It’s over now. She’s safe.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“She’s asleep.”
“Wake her up, goddamn it!”
“In a while.”
“Now!”
“Calm down. I have to call headquarters and get the search called off. Then I’ll wake her up. She’s probably starving. I’ll get her something to eat and bring her over to you in an hour or so. Have a drink or something. Get hold of yourself. I don’t want you all hysterical when she shows up.”
“Hysterical? Who’s hysterical? I had her dead in a ditch somewhere and all the time she’s off paying a fucking surprise visit to her fucking Daddy!”
“I have to call headquarters,” he repeated. “We’ll be along in a while.” Then he hung up.
When he was done with the second call, he returned to Kimmy’s room. She was still sleeping.
Jake knelt beside her and stroked her head. Her hair was damp. He put a hand on her back. Her skin was very hot through the fabric of her blouse. He felt the rise and fall of her breathing. She snored softly.
Jake tickled the rim of her ear. Without waking up, she rubbed the itch with Cookie Monster’s furry blue head.
He smiled. He had a lump in his throat, but he was better now. Earlier, he’d fallen completely apart. She had slept through all that, fortunately.
Hell, the kid could sleep through almost anything.
With a hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her. “Wake up, honey,” he said. He shook her again. “Hello. Anybody home? Kimmy?”
She moaned and rolled onto her side, her back to Jake.
“Armpit attack,” he said, and wiggled his fingers under her arm.
Twisting away, she buried her face in the pillow.
“Butt attack!”
She reached back and slapped his hand off her rump, then rolled and faced him. “That’s not nice,” she protested.
“So sorry. Want to go to Jack-in-the-Box?”
“Can I have nachos?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
“You don’t have to rush me.”
“If we don’t get out of here fast, Mommy might show up and take you home, and you won’t get the nachos.”
Kimmy sat up. Searching under the pillow, she found Clew. “Is Mommy mad at me?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised. We were both terribly worried about you. What you did was very dangerous.”
“I was very careful.”
“Come on.” He took her hand. She hopped down from the bed, looked back at Cookie Monster as if considering whether to bring him along as well, then let Jake lead her across the room.
“Can I stay here tonight?”
“I don’t think so. Mommy will want you at home.”
“Isn’t this my home, too?”
“Sure it is.”
“Don’t you want me to stay with you?”
“I’d love it. But this wouldn’t be a good night for it. Besides, I’m on a very important case.”
“Somebody toes up?” she asked, and grinned at him.
“That’s right.”
Outside, Jake lifted her into the car and strapped her into the child seat. He hurried to his side of the car, started the engine and turned on the headlights. As he backed out of the driveway, he told Kimmy, “We looked all over town for you. The whole police department was looking for you.”
“Does that mean I’m in trouble?”
“I don’t think we’ll put you in jail this time. First offense. If you ever do it again, though, I’m afraid it’ll be slammer time. Why’d you do it?”
“Mommy wasn’t being nice.”
“Because she wouldn’t let you have ice cream?”
“No, ‘cause she socked me.”
“What do you mean, socked you?”
“Gave me a knuckle sandwich. Right here.” She bumped Clew’s small gray head against her upper arm. “It really hurt. You’re not supposed to hit little girls, you know.”
“So you ran away because she hit you?”
“You never hit me.”
“That’s only because I know you’d pound me if I ever tried.” He smiled at her, but blood was seething through him.
Kimmy never lied.
That bitch had punched her.
Didn’t even have the guts to admit it.
“So you got mad because she hit you, and you decided to pay me a visit? How did you find my house?”
“Oh, I knew where it was.”
“And you walked all the way?”
“Sure. My foots got tired, though.”
“There were a lot of people looking for you. I’m really surprised that none of them found you.”
“Well, you see, I hid. I’m a good hider.”
“What did you do, duck into the bushes every time a car came along?”
“Sometimes there weren’t no bushes. I got behind trees and cars.”
“Very clever,” Jake said.
“Well, you see, I got scared about the man with the cat. He didn’t have a cat, for real, ‘cause it got smooshed, but he wanted to pet Clew and I ran away.”
“What?” Jake asked. My God, he thought, somebody had tried to pick her up.
“Daddy, you should’ve listened the first time. I do not repeat.”
“I was listening,” he assured her. “You said that a man wanted to pet Clew.”
“Only that was just a story. He was going to grab me and take me in his car.”
Jake’s heart pounded. “Did he tell you that?”
“No.”
“Then what makes you think he wanted to grab you?”
“You can’t fool She-Ra.”
“When did this happen?”
“Today.”
“After you left Mommy’s house?”
“Well, of course.”
“He was driving a car?”
“Yes.”
“And he stopped near you while you were on the way to my house?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“I already told you.”
“Press rewind.”
Kimmy made a buzzing sound. “Okay, all done.”
“What did the man say?”
“His cat got smooshed by a car and he felt sad. I don’t think it really did, though. Do you?”
“I don’t know.”
“I wouldn’t let him pet Clew. I ran away.”
“Did he drive after you?”
“Well, you see, I ran to a house.”
“That was very smart. And what did he do?”
“He drove away fast.”
“What did he look like?”
“Are you going to put him in jail?”
“I might.”
“Good.”
“But I need to know what he looks like, or I won’t be able to find him.”