volunteer list for tonight. Do you need it?”
“Yes,” Ramirez said. “And pull security footage from the back lot for the past two weeks.”
Then he faced me. “We’re going to bring Chloe in quietly and ask her a few questions with you present. No panic. Just facts.”
“She’s ten,” I said, my voice unsteady.
“I know,” he replied. “But she may be the only one who can identify him.”
A knock interrupted us. A staff member leaned in, pale. “Officer, there’s a man in the hallway asking for Chloe Bennett’s mother. He says he’s family—and he seems urgent.”
My skin prickled.
“What does he look like?” Ramirez asked.
“Tall. Brown jacket. He’s wearing a red-and-black braided bracelet.”
Everything inside me went cold.
Ramirez moved instantly. “Lock the door,” he instructed. Then to me: “Stay behind me.”
The lock clicked. He spoke into his radio calmly but urgently, describing the suspect and ordering staff not to approach alone.
Moments later, footsteps pounded in the hallway. A shout. A scuffle. Then a heavy thud.
Ramirez glanced through the narrow window. “They’ve got him.”
Relief didn’t come yet. Not until Chloe was with me.
Soon she was brought into the room. The moment she saw my face, her smile disappeared.
“Mom?” she asked quietly.
I knelt and hugged her tightly. “You’re not in trouble. We just need to ask you something.”
Ramirez showed her the photo. She squinted, then nodded. “That’s Mr. Dan.”
