Jake stared at them, his face blank.
Kozak smiled. “I’m Claire.”
“I’m Ned. Like your shirt.” Carillo indicated Jake’s Sabres T-shirt.
“They’re going to help us find Mom,” Greg said.
Jake looked at them, grappling to decide whether these strangers were on his side or if he should fear them.
“They’re going to talk to you for a while.”
Jake’s blinking and breathing quickened with apprehension.
“You be a good boy and help them, okay?”
“But Dad, I’m—”
“It’s all right, son. I’ll be upstairs with Grandpa and Aunt Kat.”
Greg hugged Jake, kissed the top of his head, tousled his hair softly then went up the stairs. Once the door closed, Carillo sat in the chair, and Kozak took Greg’s place beside Jake.
Like most detectives, they knew kids were like barometers, able to give them an accurate reading of the pressure areas in a family. It’s why their preferred strategy was to start with them.
“It’s okay to be a little nervous,” Kozak said. “We understand. I’m a mom, too. I have two boys, a bit older than you.”
Jake looked at Kozak then Carillo, taking in the way they were dressed.
“Are you real police officers?”
“We are,” Carillo said.
“You don’t have uniforms. Do you have guns and badges?”
Carillo looked at Kozak, who nodded. They both showed him the grips of their holstered guns then their badges.
“We’re detectives,” Carillo said.
Jake’s eyes widened. He swallowed hard, his chin creased, and he started crying, tears rolling down his cheeks.
“Is my mom dead?”
Kozak touched his shoulder and looked directly into his eyes.
“Oh, sweetheart, we have nothing that tells us she’s been hurt, okay? It’s our job to find her and bring her home, okay?”
Jake nodded.
“But we need your help. Do you want to help us find your mom, Jake?”
He nodded.
“Hey,” Carillo said. “I really do like that shirt. You like the Sabres?”
Stretching his sleeve to wipe his tears, Jake nodded.
“Me too. Ever been to a game?” Carillo asked.
“A couple times with my dad.”
“So, did your mom ever go to a game?” Carillo said.
“Just me and Dad.”
“Jake,” Kozak said. “I bet your mom likes going to her book club meetings, doesn’t she?”
“She likes reading books.”
“And I bet everybody likes your mom, too,” Kozak said.
Jake nodded.
“Okay, this is where we need help. Can you think of anyone who might want to be mean to your mom?”
Jake thought, then shook his head.
“Maybe a time at a store, or in the neighborhood, or while driving, anything like that?”
Jake shook his head.
“All right, Jake. If you had to guess, why do you think she didn’t come home from her last book club meeting? What do you think happened?”
Wiping at his face, he said: “Dad said that maybe she had a medical problem and got lost, or maybe she got a flat tire.”
“All right. That’s what Dad said,” Kozak said. “Are there any other reasons you—you, Jake—can think of?”
He took a moment, then looked at the investigators as if unsure of how far he could go—what he could reveal.
“Don’t worry,” Kozak said. “Whatever you tell us stays with us.” She pointed between him and herself. “It’s confidential, you understand?”
He nodded.
“But it’s very important you tell us what you think, what you feel, or what you know. And that you tell us the truth. That’s how you can help us bring your mom home, okay?”
“Okay.”
“So can you think of any other reasons why Mom didn’t come home from her book club?”
He blinked back new tears.
“Maybe she was mad at me.”
“Why would she be mad at you?”
“I keep forgetting to put the toilet seat down and she yelled at me.”
“Yup.” Carillo nodded seriously. “Moms don’t like that.”
“Okay,” Kozak said, “is there anything else? Did she ever get mad at your dad? Or did he ever get mad at her?”
“I was thinking they wanted to get a divorce.”
Kozak and Carillo let a beat pass before Kozak said: “What made you think that?”
Jake looked at Kozak and Carillo for a long moment.
“I heard them arguing about money and stuff.”
“Did they tell you they were getting a divorce?” Kozak said.
“No. Dad said it wasn’t true, about the divorce.”
“They argued in front of you?” Kozak said.
“No, I was upstairs but I heard them.”
“When was this?”
“For the last couple of months or so. They would argue about bills, my dad’s business maybe moving to Arizona and stuff...”
“What about his business?” Kozak asked.
“I think Dad was saying that he was losing jobs and we were spending too much money and things would be better in Arizona with his friend.”
“Did your mom like the idea of moving to Arizona?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
As Kozak took a moment, Carillo asked: “Your dad has some fairly new scrapes on the backs of his hands. Did you see them?”
“Yes.”
“Did he tell you how he got them?”
“No, but I would guess from work.”
“Do you know if your dad ever hit your mom, Jake?” Carillo asked.
“Hit her?” Jake shook his head. “No!”
“Is there anything else you think we should know about your mom?” Kozak asked.
“Well, sometimes, in the last couple of months, she’d just sit alone, not reading a book or looking on her phone. Just sitting alone all quiet.”