Chapter 3 Her Remains

Silence followed. Then Donald spoke, his voice lazy and wounded. "That's some baseless accusation. I took her right home. You can't blame me if she runs off to play."

Before I could answer, Claire snatched the phone away. "That's enough! He said he sent her home, and that's it. He has no reason to lie! I bet you hid Tina away to get back at us! And you called the cops? That's embarrassing."

I hung up. That woman was beyond saving.

The police arrived ten minutes later, and I went with them to the station's control room. They pulled footage that dated back to two and a half hours ago. Donald was holding Tina's hand as they came out of the kindergarten.

Tina carried her pink bag, trotting beside him as she tried to keep up. She was looking up, talking to him. The footage had no sound, but my daughter was smiling sweetly. Something invisible stabbed through my heart.

The screen changed. Now it showed the trail by the riverbank. Donald led Tina into a grove where the surveillance cameras could not reach. All the camera captured was a vague shadow slipping out of frame.

Fifteen minutes later, Donald came out alone. His hands were empty. He stood by the road and lit a cigarette, then he flagged down a cab.

I was almost pressed against the screen. My eyes strained desperately, trying to see what had happened inside that grove. But there was nothing. They saw no one falling into the water or struggling.

Donald had left a four-year-old by the river.

I stayed in the control room for four hours. Every second was torture. It felt as if my soul was being slowly torn apart. The mud on my clothes had already dried, clinging stiffly to my skin.

My chest grew colder and colder until I began to shiver. As night quickly dawned upon the city, the detective squad's leader came in.

Someone was talking to him through the walkie-talkie, and he did not look happy at all. Then he glanced at me, and something flickered in his eyes. Something I recognized at pity.

"Mr. Lawson, we've got anglers calling from Goldilocks River. Six miles downstream. They found a girl who matches your daughter's description among the reeds."

Silence fell upon the control room. Not a sound came from anyone, but my ears rang so loudly that I could barely think.

I stood up, despite my legs feeling numb, then I fell to the ground, but I scrambled to get up again. "Take me there," I said raspily. "Take me… to my daughter."

The police car drove straight to the river, sirens wailing through the night.

Night had fallen. The reed marsh had been cordoned off, and flashing lights swept across the riverbank. A group of forensic doctors were crouched around a white cloth.

My legs carried me over, but my mind barely registered the movement. Every step was hard, like my legs were filled with lead. Every step felt like it was taking a toll on my soul.

The forensic doctors saw me, and they sighed, but they pulled the cloth off a little.

Underneath the cloth was yellow attire. Fall attire. The same one I helped Tina change into that morning, except the yellow was now a murky, grayish-brown from being soaked in mud water.

Tina had a petite face, but it was now pale and swollen. Her lips were purple, and her forehead was creased in a perpetual frown. She must have been terrified in the water. I went down on my knees. Then I reached out with trembling hands and gently held hers.

It was cold, so cold that my heart seemed to stop. Black soil was lodged inside her fingernails, and reeds wrapped themselves around her fingertips. She must have been so scared.

But when she needed someone most, no one came for her.