Chapter 24 - The Cabin Beyond the Pine Trees
The police established a temporary command area near the fairground's administration building.
I sat at a folding table with Jason beside me, my hands wrapped around a paper cup of water I couldn't drink.
Detective Miller had arrived.
He reviewed the recorded call and asked me to repeat Brenda's exact words.
"If you want the little girl back, you're going to give me what Harold left behind," I said.
Miller wrote carefully.
"Did she specify an amount?"
"No."
"Did she mention a location?"
"No."
"Did she make any direct statement about harming Sophia?"
"Not in those words."
He nodded.
"We'll work with what we have."
I looked at him.
"Detective, I know you have procedures. But she's four years old."
His expression softened.
"I understand, Mrs. Briggs. We're treating this urgently."
Jason sat hunched over, staring at the floor.
His hands trembled.
"I should've stayed beside her," he whispered.
I turned toward him.
"Jason, Brenda is responsible for taking Sophia."
"But I was on the phone."
"And I turned toward Martha. We can spend the rest of our lives blaming ourselves, or we can help bring Sophia home."
He looked up.
I squeezed his hand.
"She needs us thinking clearly."
He nodded.
Then my phone vibrated again.
A message from Rachel.
How did the fair go? Did Sophia like the ponies?
I stared at it.
Rachel didn't know.
I called her immediately.
When she answered, I didn't waste time.
"Rachel, Brenda took Sophia from the fair."
There was silence.
Then a sharp gasp.
"What?"
"The police are searching for her."
"No. No, no, no."
Rachel began sobbing.
I forced myself to speak calmly.
"Rachel, listen carefully. We need everything you know about Pine Hollow Lodge."
Her breathing changed.
"The cabin?"
"Yes."
"Mom made a reservation there."
"I remember."
"She talked about the old service road behind the property. She said it was a beautiful place to disappear."
My stomach twisted.
"Did she say when she planned to go?"
Rachel hesitated.
"Lauren, I need to come there."
"Tell the police what you know first. I'll put Detective Miller on."
Within an hour, Rachel arrived at the command area with her attorney and the original reservation receipt.
She looked frantic.
Her hair was uncombed, and she wore mismatched shoes.
The moment she saw Jason, she ran toward him.
"Where's our daughter?"
Jason stood.
For a second, I thought he might blame her.
Instead, he caught her shoulders.
"We're going to find her."
Rachel began crying against his chest.
Watching them, I felt a painful mixture of hope and despair.
They had once destroyed each other over pride and money.
Now the only thing that mattered was their little girl.
Detective Miller approached with a map.
"We've confirmed that the sedan left the fairground area heading north. We're coordinating with agencies along the route."
Rachel pointed to a road near Pine Hollow Lake.
"My mother used to vacation here when I was a child."
The detective examined the map.
"Do you know the property?"
"Not the exact cabin. But there was an old rental house beyond the main lodge."
She traced a narrow road.
"This road isn't always shown on regular maps. It goes behind the lake."
Miller asked several questions.
Then he stepped away to communicate with the officers handling the search.
I wanted to grab the map and drive north myself.
But I knew that wouldn't help Sophia.
A frightened adult taking reckless action could make an already dangerous situation worse.
So I waited.
It was the hardest thing I'd ever done.
At seven-fifteen that evening, the sun began sinking behind the fairground buildings.
Martha brought coffee and sandwiches.
Nobody ate.
Jason paced.
Rachel sat with her hands clasped so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
I stared at the photograph of Sophia on my phone.
Her bright smile.
Her missing front tooth.
The yellow sundress she'd insisted on wearing.
I wondered whether she was crying.
Whether she was hungry.
Whether Brenda had remembered that Sophia needed her asthma-free but sensitive stomach considered during long car rides, or that she hated sleeping without a night-light.
Then Rachel suddenly stood.
"Oh my God."
We turned.
"What?" Jason asked.
She pressed a hand against her mouth.
"The rabbit."
I frowned.
"What rabbit?"
"The stuffed rabbit in Mom's storage unit. It wasn't just any toy."
Rachel's eyes widened.
"It was Sophia's favorite baby toy. The one she lost when we moved."
I remembered it.
A faded white rabbit with one floppy ear.
Sophia had cried for days when she couldn't find it.
"Why would Brenda have it?" I asked.
Rachel shook her head.
"Because she was preparing to make Sophia feel comfortable somewhere else."
The realization silenced everyone.
Brenda hadn't merely improvised a kidnapping.
She had been planning how to make a little girl adapt to being taken away.
At eight o'clock, Detective Miller returned.
His expression had changed.
"We found the sedan."
My heart stopped.
"Where?"
"Near Pine Hollow Lake."
Jason grabbed the edge of the table.
"Was Sophia inside?"
Miller shook his head.
"The vehicle was empty."
Rachel covered her mouth.
I forced the next question past my lips.
"Did you find any sign of her?"
The detective nodded.
"There was a child's shoe on the rear floor."
I closed my eyes.
Pink butterflies.
I knew it before he showed me the photograph.
Sophia's sneaker.
For one terrible moment, I couldn't breathe.
Then Miller continued.
"Officers are checking the nearby properties. We have reason to believe Brenda may be close."
Jason stepped forward.
"Let me help."
Miller looked at him.
"You can help by answering questions and remaining available. Please don't approach any property yourself."
Jason swallowed hard.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
I was proud of him for listening.
Even in terror, he was learning that responsibility sometimes meant refusing the impulse to charge blindly into danger.
At nine-thirty, another call came.
An officer had located a recently occupied cabin near the north shore.
Its lights were on.
A woman matching Brenda's description had been seen carrying grocery bags inside earlier that evening.
The police were approaching carefully.
I stared at Detective Miller.
"Is Sophia there?"
"We don't know yet."
My throat burned.
"Please."
He nodded.
"We're doing everything we can."
Then, just before ten, my phone buzzed with a new message.
This one contained a photograph.
Sophia sat on a narrow bed holding the old white rabbit.
Her face was tear-streaked.
But she was alive.
Underneath, Brenda had written:
"One final chance. Bring the money, or you'll never see her again."
I showed the message to Miller.
He studied it.
Then he looked directly into my eyes.
"Mrs. Briggs, don't respond or travel anywhere unless we direct you to. We'll use this."
I nodded.
May you like
And as the police continued their operation near Pine Hollow Lake, I whispered a prayer to the husband I had lost.
"Harold, wherever you are, please watch over our little girl."
