times already—all through the night—and no sign of the girl had been found. But she had to stay at the command post to coordinate all the various teams of law enforcement and civilians there to help. She stood at the front of the tent as the morning’s massive search got underway. They’d start at the park and then work their way outward, searching the yards of residences in a one-mile radius as well as the college campus. If that didn’t turn anything up, they’d expand the radius.
She saw Amy and Colin walking together deeper into the city park. Both looked exhausted and pale. Amy wore jeans and had pulled a black sweater tight around her torso. Her sandy locks were thrown back in a messy ponytail. Colin wore a bright blue windbreaker and his thick salt-and-pepper hair looked like he hadn’t combed it at all this morning. He pushed both hands through it, in what was obviously a nervous habit. The two walked side by side but didn’t touch.
Josie studied the long line of searchers who stared at the couple as they walked into the trees. The age range was diverse. A number of students from Denton East High School as well as Denton West had shown up. They wore sweatshirts with their high schools’ names and mascots emblazoned on them. There were housewives, young professionals, retirees and what looked like a few college professors. One older man with gray hair and a neatly trimmed gray beard wore a tweed suit complete with a tie. He sipped coffee from a paper cup as his eyes followed the Ross parents’ movements. It was an odd choice of clothing for a search and contrasted with the garb of several volunteers who had shown up in bright orange vests and Mossy Oak ballcaps. Josie suspected they wore their bright colors hoping to draw Lucy’s attention should they find her in the woods.
Several amateur search and rescue dogs had also arrived. From where she stood, Josie spotted a lumbering bloodhound that looked very familiar. Even before she spotted his owner, her heart started tapping double-time in her chest. Then she saw him. Luke Creighton; tall, broad-shouldered, and bearded with shaggy hair. They’d been engaged once. Then he had gotten tangled up in a complicated case, had made a series of bad decisions, and ended up doing six months in prison. During her last big murder investigation, she had seen him again after two years. That case had taken her to Sullivan County, three hours north, where he lived on a remote farm with his sister. Josie had been forced to enlist his help locating a witness who turned out to be a victim. It had been a difficult time with the investigation into Noah’s mother’s murder and Noah had decided that he and Josie needed to take a break. Josie had ended up spending the night at Luke’s. Which in itself wasn’t so bad, except that she’d gotten drunk and blacked out. She had no idea what had happened that night. She was quite certain that nothing romantic or sexual had happened between them, but the truth was, she couldn’t really say. She’d left the next morning before he woke up. She had hoped she’d never have to see him again.
He spotted her from where he stood. Her cheeks flamed as he lifted a hand and waved to her, a warm smile on his face. She waved back stiffly, praying he wouldn’t come over to talk to her. He didn’t. Instead, he walked off with a group of searchers and disappeared deeper into the park.
Relieved, Josie returned to the tent, picking up the walkie-talkie that Gretchen had left and assuming command. The searches went on through the entire day. By her estimate, over a thousand people had shown up to help look for Lucy. Local businesses donated food and drinks to the effort—keeping searchers and law enforcement well fed and caffeinated. A few students from the college’s robotics engineering department arrived with drones equipped with cameras which they used to fly over the city in a grid pattern, searching for any sign of Lucy. WYEP sent three news crews to cover every aspect of the search. Thankfully, Chitwood showed up to do the on-screen interview. Amy and Colin somehow stayed off the press radar, alternating between searching and resting in the command tent. Gretchen and Noah returned sometime in the afternoon after having rested and showered. Chitwood left after talking to the press. He