"I just can't think of where he's gone! I mean, he never packed a bag and I know a growing boy like him eats lots of food, he couldn't possibly—Why would he do this? I was so sure that we loved each other and we wanted the best for each other..."
Emma checked the clock again and winced. Eight thirty; Mother Ginger had been babbling about her dear son for twenty minutes straight. She pressed her lips and tightened her jaw to keep the irritation from spilling out.
Finally, Mrs. Ginger paused to blow her nose, giving Emma the chance to speak between goose-like honks.
"Mrs. Ginger, your son hasn't even been missing for a whole day yet. He's probably waiting on your front porch even now."
"B-but-but... why would he run off like that? He knows how much it terrifies me, and he is normally so faithful at checking in with me—"
Emma stood up. "I don't know what to say," she said gently. "I can only guess how you must feel; Henry's younger than Paul, and I know I would just about give anything to protect him—"
"SHERIFF!"
The front door slammed open and Mike Tillman stormed in, all red-faced. He balked a little when he saw Mrs. Ginger.
"Should have known you'd be here, foul woman!" He snarled. "What are you trying to do, drum up sympathy so Sheriff Swann don't suspect?"
Emma frowned at his presumptuousness. "Suspect what?"
Tillman pointed at the frail, sniveling woman. "That blasted witch kidnapped my children!"
"I did no such thing!" Mrs. Ginger hollered, clutching at the kerchief she used to dab her eyes.
Emma held up her hands. "Okay, whoa! Simmer down a moment, Mike!" She gestured to the doorway. "Are you sure that's what happened? Because I can tell you for certain that at no point today was Mrs. Ginger here ever alone with your children, or even by herself, since she's been at social events literally all day."
"Then where are they?" Mike bellowed in her face.
Emma stepped back, her hand going for her taser with practiced ease. Nobody was going to make any rash moves, least of all her.
"Mike," she said softly, gaining his eye contact, "it sounds like two separate issues here; Paul is missing too. Just let me finish getting the statement from Mrs. Ginger and you can tell me all about your missing kids." In the back of her mind, Emma ran through the list of town residents most likely to have a need for children. "Let's not do anything we regret—"
"Regret?" Mike remained rigid and red-faced. "I can make you regret ever coming near my children—"
"MIKE!" Emma snapped, but underneath his shouting, she heard the trilling of her phone. Her first instinct was to ignore it in favor of keeping the irate man from attacking the poor woman, but it just kept ringing, and it was a residential number she didn't recognize.
"I did no such thing!" Mrs. Ginger rose up in her own defense. "You listen here! You might think you know so much, but the truth is you are nothing but a hollow-headed—"
"Hollow? I'll give you hollow—"
Mike Tillman remained where he was as long as Emma kept a hand on her taser, so with the other she answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Sheriff! You've gotta help us!"
Emma rolled her eyes as Mike and Mrs. Ginger kept arguing.
"Who is this?"
"Hugh Bayer, the electrician."
Emma filed that name away. "All right, Hugh, what's the—"
"Somebody's at the house! You need to come!"
Mike was still railing, and Mrs. Ginger's adamant proclamations of innocence didn't help anything.
"Where are you right now?"
"We're in Lou's pantry right now. Oh gods! I can still hear him tramping around the front room!"
Emma had to pull away and insert herself between the two visitors. Now they were rehashing a past altercation, but Emma couldn't track two conversations at once. "Wait, who is we? Are there others with you?"
Hugh sounded a bit miffed. "Sheriff Swann, of course there are three! Me, and my brothers Dewey and Lou! Please save us!"
The complaint grated on Emma's nerves. So many people—Henry included—seemed convinced that she was some kind of savior, when Emma knew how frequently she struggled just to survive. How could they expect her to save everyone when she couldn't save herself? Save them from what?
"You sour-faced witch! You probably ate them! I'll kill you!"
"Hugh, don't hang up—" Emma dropped the receiver on the desk and drew her taser as Mike lunged forward and got his hands around Mrs. Ginger's neck.
"Michael Tillman!" she thundered. "Hands in the air and freeze or I'll shoot!"
Mike released the woman and complied.
"Get on your knees and put your hands behind your head," Emma commanded.
Mike still faced the old woman, who merely stared numbly at him.
Emma slipped handcuffs on the man and turned to Mrs. Ginger.
"Are you okay?"
She rubbed her neck and nodded.
"I think you should go home now," Emma suggested. "I'll ask around to find out where Paul might be, and I'll call you as soon as I know anything, all right?"
The old woman nodded and allowed Emma to escort her to the door. After that, she led Mike down to the holding cells.
"Sheriff, please," he begged. "My kids are out there—I don't know what came over me! You don't need to do this..."
"Actually Mike," Emma responded. "I think I do. Just for tonight, okay?" She took off the handcuffs before shutting and locking the cell door behind her.
Mike's pleading reminded her of something else: the phone!
Emma dashed back to her office and picked up the receiver. It hadn't switched to a dial tone, so the call was still active.
"Hugh?" she called. Was that someone breathing on the other end? "Hugh, are you all right?"
"Hello?"
She didn't recognize the voice that responded. One of the brothers, perhaps? "This is Sheriff Swann; Hugh called to report a home invasion and we got interrupted. Are you his brother?"
"Oh," said the voice curtly, "yes I am; the intruder left, we're all fine, thank you, Sheriff."
Emma didn't have time to respond before the man ended the call. She hung the receiver back in its cradle.
"So much for that one," she muttered.