Chapter 13 - A Child Is Not Evidence
At school the following morning, June's teacher called before the first bell. A man wearing a visitor badge had arrived with a printed form claiming authority to transport June to a private evaluation. The school secretary recognized the name Wren Harbor and checked the restricted pickup list.
June was safe. The man left when the secretary refused to release her.
I arrived ten minutes later, breathing so hard I barely managed a thank-you. June sat in the principal's office drawing butterflies. She looked up and smiled when she saw me. I had to stop myself from crushing her in a hug.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"Because I wanted to see you. And because the school did exactly the right thing."
The principal had preserved the visitor log and camera footage. Rebecca passed them to police. The transport company listed on the form was linked to Leonard Price. The facility had previously confirmed June was not authorized for admission, making the attempt even more alarming.
On our way home June asked whether she had been bad at school.
"No," I told her. "Sometimes grown-ups make terrible choices. That doesn't turn them into your choices."
She looked out the window. "Celia said nobody wants a kid who misses her dead mom all the time."
I pulled into a parking lot because my hands had begun shaking. I turned around in my seat.
"Listen carefully. Missing your mom is not something to fix. I miss her too. We love her. That's why it hurts."
June nodded, then reached across the console and squeezed my fingers.
May you like
When we got home, a package sat on the porch. No return address. Inside was the pink birthday envelope Celia had stolen from the blue bird box.
Across the flap, in red marker, someone had written: LAST WARNING.
