Hush Little Girl

them. There was nothing. No one. She strode over to the car. The movement seemed to reanimate Gretchen. She dove into the open window of the driver’s side door and grabbed her gun. Josie said, “Lock her inside the car.”
“We have to get her out of here, boss.”
“Call for back-up.”
A whirring sound made them both turn to the back seat window. Emily had used the button to lower it. She said, “He’s already gone.”
“Who?” Josie said. “Who’s already gone? Who was here, Emily? Who left that doll? You saw him, didn’t you?”
Emily gave a solemn nod. Gretchen said, “Who was it? Who was just here?”
She lifted her finger to her lips again. Hush.
“Emily,” Josie said, trying to keep the frustration and desperation out of her voice. “It’s very important that you tell us who left that doll.”
No response.
“Was it your father?” Gretchen asked.
“I don’t have a daddy,” she said.
“Then who was it, Emily?” Josie asked. “You can tell us. We’re the police. We need to know who he is so we can arrest him. We think he’s the one who hurt your mom and Holly. Please, Emily, tell us whatever you know.”
She shook her head and lowered her eyes.
Gretchen lowered her voice so only Josie could hear. “Maybe she doesn’t want to tell us while we’re at the house. We need to get her out of here.”
Josie nodded. “Call for back-up. As soon as they get here, we leave with Emily.”
While Gretchen made yet another phone call, Josie slid into the back seat beside Emily. They watched Gretchen finish her call, one hand pressing the phone to her ear while the other held her pistol out, panning the area in front of the car.
The pinecone doll stared at them, it’s freakish, googly eyes now sinister and menacing. Josie felt Emily’s warm hand on her arm. She looked over at her.
Emily said, “It means he’s sorry.”

Nine
Outside one of the glass-partitioned rooms in Denton Memorial’s Emergency Department, Josie paced. A nurse and doctor were inside the room with Emily. They had pulled the curtains across the glass when they went inside so Josie couldn’t tell where they were in terms of their exam. Gretchen had gone home to change before heading back to Lorelei Mitchell’s house to help with the search for whoever had left the creepy pinecone doll. Chan was going to meet her back out there to process the doll. Then Mettner was going to meet with Gretchen at Lorelei’s house to compare notes. A social worker from the county’s health and human services department was due at the hospital any minute. Josie still wore her wedding dress, and every person who walked past her stared. She wished she had thought to bring her own phone. She could have called Noah and asked him to bring her a change of clothes.
A woman in a black pantsuit strode down the hall toward Josie. Soft brown curls floated around her face. Over one shoulder was slung a messenger bag. In her hand was a paper coffee cup. She stopped when she got to Josie and gave a wry smile. “I’m looking for an eight-year-old girl found at a murder scene. I was told to stop when I saw the lady in the wedding dress.”
Josie laughed and extended a hand. “Detective Josie Quinn. Excuse the dress. Are you from child services?”
The woman shook Josie’s hand and then produced her credentials. “Yes. Marcie Riebe.”
Josie pointed toward the glass enclosure. “The medical staff are examining her now.”
Marcie looked up and down the hall. She spotted a linen bin and wheeled it over to where Josie stood. She took a small laptop out of her messenger bag and set it on top of the bin. Next to it, she set her coffee. After a few clicks and some fast typing, she looked up at Josie and said, “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
Josie told Marcie everything they knew. She tapped away furiously at her keyboard, pausing occasionally to fire off questions. When Josie was finished, she said, “The first thing we need to do is try to locate her next of kin. I’d like to keep her with family if at all possible, especially given the trauma she’s been through.”
“I agree,” Josie said. “My team will get to work on it as soon as possible. Right now, they’re still out in the field.”
Before Marcie could say more, the doctor emerged from Emily’s room. Josie knew him from many trips to the Emergency Department related to cases she was working. Dr. Ahmed Nashat was smart, sensitive, and no-nonsense. Josie made the introductions between him and Marcie. He gave them both a pained smile. “She appears to be in excellent health. Well nourished, no signs of any injuries or physical trauma. No signs at all of long-term abuse. She is alert and oriented. On exam, she is around the fiftieth percentile for milestones for her age. She’s bright and articulate, although she does refuse to answer some questions. I’m a little concerned about the psychological trauma she’s had today. I’ve called for a psych consult. The only issue at this point is that she does appear to have a case of food poisoning. She threw up twice while we were in with her.”
Josie sighed. “I was worried about that.” She told them about the spoiled food they’d found in Emily’s hiding place.
Dr. Nashat nodded. “That would do it. If it’s okay with you, Ms. Riebe, I’d like to keep her for at least a few hours, perhaps overnight, to make sure she’s stable.”
“That will be fine,” said Marcie.
Josie asked, “Doctor, does Emily already have a medical chart here?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. She’s not in our system.” He looked at Marcie. “Registration will probably be reliant on you to provide financial details.”
“Great,” said Marcie with a tight smile. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go in and speak with her now.”
“Of course,” said Dr. Nashat. “Just one more thing. We asked her