Page 100 of The Vanished

SIXTY-EIGHT

DS Coyle stood outside, and her smile was radiant. “We got him. Max is safe.”

“And the man who took him?” Quinn asked.

The smile slid off the detective’s face, and she suddenly looked uncertain. “Detained. Quinn, we’d like you to come down to the station, if you don’t mind.”

“To collect Max?”

“We’d like to ask you a few questions before you can take Max home.”

“What about?”

DS Coyle smiled apologetically. “Let’s talk at the station, shall we?”

“We’ll all go,” Gabe said as he joined Quinn at the door.

“There’s really no need,” the policewoman replied. “I’ll take Quinn to the station and bring her and Max back as soon as we’re finished. It shouldn’t take long.”

Quinn turned and looked up at Gabe. “The children have been through enough these past few days. There’s no need to drag them to the police station.”

Gabe nodded. “We’ll be right here, waiting for you.”

Quinn grabbed her bag and followed DS Coyle to the car. “Was Max upset when you got to him?” she asked as the policewoman maneuvered the car down the narrow lane.

“He was subdued, but he seemed all right. He told us quite the story, so we wanted to verify a few things before we released him to you.”

That sounded ominous. “Are you sure he’s all right?” Quinn asked. “Does he need to be checked out by a doctor?”

“We’ve arranged for him to meet with a child psychologist. She should be with him now.”

“Should I not be present?”

“DI Alice Sherman, who’s been put in charge of this case, has requested that an appropriate adult be present during the interview. Don’t worry, Mrs. Asif is a trained social worker and a very kind woman who has small children of her own.”

Quinn nodded. She knew the law required an appropriate adult to be present for any interview involving a child under eighteen or a vulnerable adult, to safeguard their rights during questioning. Max wasn’t being questioned by the police, but he still required someone to be with him during his talk with the psychologist. Mrs. Asif was likely the better choice; Quinn doubted she could keep her composure. Even so, she wished she had been consulted, as Max’s guardian. But it seemed DI Sherman was following protocol, which was all she could ask for in this situation.

Max wasn’t prone to telling wild stories, but he had endured so much that he was undoubtedly internalizing far more than he could express. He was too young to articulate what he was feeling or make sense of it all. Quinn could barely process her own emotions in the wake of Logan’s disappearance and Max’s abduction. If Max managed to open up to the psychologist, perhaps she could help him sort through the past few days and offer Quinn guidance on how to talk to him about what had happened.

When they entered the station, Quinn was met by DI Sherman. She smiled at Quinn warmly and gestured towards an interview room.

“Max is still with the child psychologist, and I would like to speak to you.”

“Is he all right?” Quinn asked, her anxiety spiking once again.

“He’s absolutely fine.”

“He must be hungry.”

“He’s had breakfast.”

“Has he?”

DI Sherman nodded. “Bacon butty and milk.”

“Here at the station?”

“No, with the man he was with,” the detective replied. “He said he enjoyed the butty, but he doesn’t care for milk and would have preferred orange juice.”