In The Dark. We Pray

Chapter 1

Roosevelt Fields

"Carry, this isn't what you think it is."

Evan put the shovel back against the side of the Tuscan and picked up the other spade.

"We are digging in dirt. That one you had is used for shoveling loose gravel and debris."

Carry frowned. "So? I liked that one... it had a big soft rubber handle."

Evan sighed, staring down at his 10-year-old daughter.

She shouldn't be a part of this. He had wanted to keep her out of the situation entirely. But with Heidi missing for 4 days, Carry wasn't going to be okay either way.

"Okay honey, you can use whatever you want. Start over there where it's a little loose."

Carry raised her eyebrow. "Why are we doing this again Dad?"

Evan looked across the parking lot toward the taped off area of the ball field, where the police were going over some 'so-called' evidence and had refused to let the family continue searching.

"Because when Hiedi and Alyssa saw the man that evening, it was over there."

"So then why aren't we over there with the cops?"

"Because Carry, they think they've found something. But this dirt was left over from the dugout construction going on at the diamond over there."

Evan pointed to the right of the softball diamond to the adjacent high-school sized field.

"It was dumped and packed in over here the day after the girls saw him."

"But Hiedi didn't go missing until later when she went to Alyssa's dad... this feels stupid."

"We don't know when she went missing Carry, Alyssa was asleep."

"Yeah, but Alyssa said Her and Hiedi went back to her house after the ball fields."

Evan caught his eyes burning. The intensity of a sleepless week was making him testy, and the worst had turned into rage. Carry's question made Evan want to cry.

Evan tried to straighten his face for his daughter.

"I know baby but right now, all we can do is look."

_

"It's not going to be his."

"Who's is it then?"

"Well, it's a leather glove. The kind used for landscaping. Probably one of the guys working on that ball diamond the last few days."

Detective Demmer glanced across the street at the Piersons.

"What are they doing over there, that could be a potential crime scene."

Detective Molly raised an eyebrow and followed his partners gaze to Evan and Carry; covered in dirt, hacking away at the dumped debris.

"Greg, his kids missing. He's worried and trying to help. You know how these things go."

Demmer shot a look back.

"I guess we're going to need that help if all we have is your landscaping glove."

Greg rubbed his eyes in exhaustion.

Since the call came down about the Pierson girl, the detectives have been running off of nothing but coffee and lucky strikes. The district was stretched too thin to bring on anyone else from another department. The two detectives have been juggling 3 missing persons cases in cherish county; so, exhaustion was officially moved in.