Page 42 of Against the Clock

“No, but I could see a puppy, so I stuck my head in and tried to find where it went.It was still crying, so I climbed through and looked for it in the backyard.”

“Then what happened?”

“There was a woman by the street looking for her dog.She said that she was walking it and it got scared and ran away.”

“Do you remember what she looked like?”

She shook her head.

“Did she ask you for anything?”

She nodded.

“What did she say?”

“She said that she needed my help finding her dog and that she would make sure we didn’t go too far from the house so my grandma didn’t get scared if she couldn’t find me.”

I swallowed hard as I tucked that little nugget of information aside.

“Where did you guys go?”

“We stayed on the street, but then she thought she heard the dog crying further ahead, so we went that way looking for it.”

“And then you guys ended up at the subway?”

“Yeah, she thought she saw the dog run down the stairs, so we followed after it.”

I closed my eyes and took a moment to compose myself before talking to her about what had happened.

I felt my mom squeeze my knee reassuringly.

“I did something wrong, didn’t I?”Rosie asked, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

I was at a loss for words, struggling to explain to her the danger that she was in.I didn’t want to traumatize her, but I also knew that she needed to know the truth in order to protect herself.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, but we need to talk about what happened,” Mike said, sitting down beside me.I scooted over to make room for him.

“I know that you wanted to help that woman find her dog because you are such a helpful little girl, but unfortunately, she was using the lost dog as an excuse to get you to leave the house.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Do you remember in school when you guys learned about strangers and how you shouldn’t talk to them or go with someone if you don’t know them?”I asked, finally feeling the strength to have this conversation with her.

She nodded, and her face fell when she realized what she had done.

“I was worried about the puppy.”

“I know, baby.”

“Did she want to kidnap me?”Rosie whispered.

I nodded and felt the tears burn my skin as they trickled down my face.

“What was she going to do with me?”

“I don’t know, my love.But please promise me that you won’t ever go with someone you don’t know, ever again.”

“I promise, Mama.”She jumped up from the couch and landed on my lap with her arms wrapped around my neck.

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