Ms. Alvarez zoomed in.
A man was crouching on the other side of the fence.
Noah laughed and answered him.
The man slipped a hand through the fence and passed something small to Noah.
Silence fell over the office.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“He’s one of the workers. He repaired the exterior lights,” said Ms. Alvarez.
“Wait, it’s him,” I said.
Ms. Alvarez blinked. “Who?”
Ms. Alvarez extended her arm to me.
“The truck driver,” I said. “The one who hit them.”
Silence fell over the office.
I dialed 911.
“I’m at Bright Pines preschool,” I said. “A man approached my son. He’s connected to my eldest child’s accident.”
“Show me what you saw.”
Two officers arrived quickly. One of them spoke to Mrs. Alvarez. The other approached me.
“I’m Officer Haines,” he said. “Show me what you saw.”
I showed him the video.
His face hardened. “Stay here. We’re going to locate him.”
I sat down.
“Why are you here?”
A teacher brought Noah into the office. He was holding a small plastic dinosaur.
“Mom?” he asked. “Why are you here?”
I hugged him tightly. “I needed to see you.”
“Noah,” I said. “Who spoke to you?”
He lowered his eyes. “Ethan.”
“Did he tell you his name?”
“No,” I said. “What did this person look like?”
Noah blinked. “It was a man.”
“Did he touch you?” I asked.
“No,” Noah said quickly. “He gave it to me.” He held up the dinosaur. “He said it was from Ethan.”
Officer Haines crouched down. “Did he tell you his name?”
Another officer speaks in a low voice to Haines.
Noah shook his head. “He said he was sorry.”
“For what reason?” I asked.
“For the accident.”
Another officer spoke in a low voice to Haines. He stood up.
“We found it,” he said. “Near the maintenance hangar.”
The man sat down at the table without his cap.
“I want to see him,” I said.
Haines hesitated. “Madam…”
“I need to see him,” I insisted.
He nodded. “Yes, but not alone.”
They took us into a small room. The man was sitting at the table without his cap.
Hearing my name from her lips gave me goosebumps.
He looked up when I entered.
“Ms. Elana,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Hearing my name from her lips gave me goosebumps.
“Don’t talk to the child anymore,” Haines warned.
Noah snuggled up to me. “He’s Ethan’s friend,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard. “Noah, go with Mrs. Alvarez.”
“You told my child to keep secrets.”
Noah clung to me. “But…”
“Go ahead,” I said.
Ms. Alvarez led him outside. The door closed.
I turned to the man. “Why did you speak to my son?”
“I didn’t want to scare him.”
