People saw ghosts where they wanted to see them.
He pushed the thought aside.
“Where is your mom now?”
Avery looked toward the open garage.
Then back at him.
Her voice became barely audible.
“Under Founders Hall.”
Reese frowned.
“What do you mean under it?”
Avery’s fingers closed tightly around the paper.
“The room downstairs.”
Bear took one careful step closer.
“Is she alone?”
Avery shook her head.
“Who’s with her?”
“I don’t know his name.”
Reese asked, “Can your mom leave?”
Avery’s face went pale.
She looked at Bear.
And the next words removed every doubt that this was some frightened child misunderstanding an argument between adults.
“The door locks from the outside.”
Bear did not move for several seconds.
Then he turned toward Reese.
“Call emergency services. Tell them we have a missing woman who may be held against her will beneath Founders Hall. Tell them to send medical assistance, too.”
Reese was already reaching for her phone.
Avery flinched at the words.
Bear noticed immediately.
“Hey,” he said, lowering himself beside her again. “Listen to me, Avery. You did the right thing coming here. Nobody is going to make you go back to that building alone.”
“But they know everyone,” Avery whispered.
“Who does?”
“The people in the building.”
She swallowed hard.
“They know the police. They know the mayor. They know everybody who comes to our house. Mommy said they would tell people she was crazy.”
Bear felt anger rise in his chest, hot and immediate. He forced it down. The last thing Avery needed was another grown man losing control in front of her.
“Then we make sure people hear the truth,” he said.
Avery stared at him as if he had promised her something impossible.
Reese finished the call and returned with a first-aid kit. She examined Avery's leg without forcing her to move it, then called for an ambulance to assess a possible injury.
While they waited, Bear asked only one more question.
“Sweetheart, do you remember how long ago your mother was locked downstairs?”
Avery rubbed her eyes.
“The sun was up when they took her. It was still up when Mommy told me to run.”
“Did you see anyone hurt her?”
She nodded.
“A man pushed her. She fell against a table. Then he took her bag.”
“Did he see you?”
Avery's face crumpled.
“He saw me looking.”
Bear said nothing for a moment.
“What happened next?”
“He said little girls who talked too much made their mothers disappear.”
Reese closed her eyes briefly.
Bear rose and walked toward the workbench. He gripped its edge until his knuckles whitened.
Then he took out his phone and called an old friend, Deputy Sheriff Daniel Mercer.
Daniel answered on the second ring.
“Bear, I'm working the festival. What's up?”
“I need you to listen carefully. A seven-year-old girl just came into my garage. Her mother is supposedly locked in a room beneath Founders Hall. The girl says somebody assaulted her mother and threatened her.”
The pause on the other end was short but noticeable.
“Who is the mother?”
“Claire Reed.”
Another pause.
“Bear, you need to be careful with this. Founders Hall is hosting the opening ceremony. The mayor's already there. The sheriff is with him.”
“I didn't ask who's at the ceremony. I asked you to listen.”
“I'm listening.”
“Then get somebody independent to check that building. Don't send anyone who might tip off the people involved.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“You understand what you're asking me to do?”
“I'm asking you to make sure a child doesn't have to spend another minute wondering whether her mother is alive.”