Tracking Justice. Shirlee McCoy

words took her by surprise. She’d thought him to be a little arrogant, a lot bossy. Not the kind of guy who would admit that he’d been wrong. Not the kind who she would have expected to give other people credit.

      Then again, she’d never been the best judge of character. She certainly hadn’t been when it came to Rick.

      “Things always work out the way they’re supposed to.” Her mother used to say that to Eva. It had taken a lot of years for her to believe it.

      “True, and this time, they worked out the way that we both wanted them to.” He smiled, and it transformed his face, made him approachable in the easy charming way that would have appealed to her if she ever allowed any man to do that.

      “Momma? Where are you?” Brady called, his voice muffled and distant.

      Her heart jerked, the need to go to him so strong that she took a step deeper into the cave, peered into its shadowy depths.

      “I’m right here, buddy. Are you still with Justice?”

      “Yes, but it’s dark, and I’m cold. I want to go home.”

      “Just keep walking, then. You’ll be out of there before you know it,” she called, hoping the words would comfort him.

      “Use this. Brady might be able to see the light once he gets closer.” Austin handed her his headlamp, and she shone it into the cave. The light bounced off gray walls and brown floors. She wanted it to bounce off Brady’s pale blond hair and freckled face.

      She watched the narrow opening, her head pounding in time with her frantic heart. Finally, something moved in the darkness, a shifting of shadows that drew closer and closer, until the shadows had color and shape and form and Brady was in her arms. Clutching him close, she felt him shivering, his skin cold to the touch.

      “You’re freezing.” Eva took off her coat and wrapped him in it, alarmed at his paleness. Scratches and dried blood scored his cheek and arms, and his feet were so caked with mud that she could barely see his toes. His pajama bottoms were torn at both knees, the skin peeking from beneath the fabric raw and bleeding.

      “That’s because I was cold all night. I was shaking I was so cold.”

      “Let’s warm you up, okay?” She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back and trying to will some of her warmth into his cold little body.

      “How are you doing, sport?” Austin wrapped the blanket around both of them, then crouched close, Justice panting contentedly near his feet.

      “Okay. Are you the police?” Brady’s eyes were wide, his teeth chattering, his lips so pale they faded into his skin.

      “Yes. I’m Detective Austin Black. You already met my partner, Justice.”

      “He’s a cool dog. I always wanted a dog, but Momma says that we’re too busy to have one.”

      “It’s not fair to have a dog if you don’t have time,” Austin responded diplomatically as he tucked the edges of the blanket around Brady’s head.

      “If I had a dog, those bad men would have stayed away from me.”

      “What bad men?” Austin pulled a juice box from his pack, popped a straw into it and handed it to Brady.

      “They’re not nice. They beat mean old Mr. McNeal and they took Rio.”

      “You saw the man who did that?” Eva asked, taking the untouched juice box from his hand and looking into his face. His lip trembled, his eyes swimming with tears.

      “Yes,” he whispered, looking away, obviously ashamed of something.

      “How? You can’t see Captain McNeal’s house from Mrs. Daphne’s.”

      “I walked Fluffy. Mrs. Daphne said that I could, because I was bored and I didn’t want to watch stupid old TV anymore,” he wailed.

      Despite herself, Eva couldn’t be upset. She couldn’t even bring herself to remind him of the rule that he’d broken. Not yet. That would come when he was warm and clean and safe again.

      “We’ll talk about that later.”

      “How many men did you see, Brady?”

      “Two. The man with the brown hair and the man with the red hair. The man with the red hair is meanest. He hit me right here, because I started crying when he brought me to the woods.” Brady touched his cheek, tears spilling down his face. “He hit Mr. McNeal, too. With a brick. I even saw him do it. Then he pushed Rio right into a van and saw me.”

      “It’s okay, buddy.” Eva pressed his head to her shoulder.

      “What happened next, sport?” Austin asked gently.

      “The man with the red hair yelled for the other man to get me. Me and Fluffy ran really fast, though, and he didn’t catch us.”

      “Why didn’t you tell me about this, Brady? We could have called the police and made sure you were safe.” Eva brushed Brady’s hair from his forehead and looked into his denim-blue eyes. Rick’s eyes, but so much softer and sweeter than his had been.

      “Because you told me not ever to go walking by myself, and I didn’t want to get into trouble.” He started crying in earnest, his face scrunched up and so full of misery that Eva’s heart broke.

      “It’s okay.” She patted his back, and met Austin’s eyes, anxious to get her shivering, sobbing son out of the cave and to safety. “How long until the rescue team arrives?”

      “Ten or fifteen minutes. It might be best if we bring him out into the sun while we wait. He’s hypothermic, and the sooner we get him warmed up, the better.” He hooked Justice to his lead. “Ready to get out of here, Brady?”

      “Yes.” Brady didn’t even lift his head. Exhausted, bruised and terrified, but he was alive. That was all that mattered.

      Thank You, God.

      Thank You, thank You, thank You.

      Dawn peeked through the thick trees and dappled the ground with yellow-gold light as they walked out of the cave. Eva hadn’t noticed the beauty of the forest while they were searching for Brady. Now she couldn’t stop noticing. The tall pines stretching toward the blue sky. The red-brown earth beneath their feet. The soft sound of birds greeting the day.

      Justice growled deep in his throat, the fur on his scruff standing on end, his nose pointed toward the rise above the cave.

      “Go back into the cave,” Austin shouted.

      She didn’t ask why. Didn’t stop to think about who might be coming. She ran, feet slipping on slick ground, Brady in her arms, all the beauty of the morning fading into cold, stark terror.