Last Seen: A gripping edge-of-your-seat thriller that you won’t be able to put down

“The guy was trying to jazz him up about the ride. It was short, but he seemed to enjoy an extralong look at Faith.”

“What about inside? Did you see that guy or notice anyone hanging around Gage?”

“No to both, but again it was hard to make out details inside.”

Price made notes and tapped her pen.

“Let’s go back a bit to the spinner before you exited,” she said. “You say you thought Faith had Gage, that you thought you saw her with him at the exit?”

“Yes.”

Price blinked a few times and made a note, then Cal asked a question.

“I thought you guys were trying to retrieve footage from the video recordings inside the ride.”

Price shook her head. “We’ve got nothing helpful so far. The techs are still working on that.”

“Did you talk to other people who were in the Chambers and those chutes at the same time we were there?”

“We’ve been trying to locate them—it’s difficult. But with the media coverage a few are beginning to step forward. We’re talking to them.”

“What about that canine unit?”

“Nothing so far.”

“What about tips?”

“Nothing concrete has come in but we’re following up all possible leads.”

“The neighborhoods surrounding the fairgrounds?”

“We’re still working them but nothing yet.”

“Nothing?” Cal’s jaw muscle twitched and he indicated the squad room. “What about the people working the attraction? The carnies...what did they tell you?”

“Like I said, we’re still talking to everybody and we’re still searching and canvassing. Look, being a Chicago crime reporter, Cal, I’m sure you have an understanding of the anatomy of these types of investigations.”

Cal understood very well.

Price let a moment pass, then said, “There are only a few explanations for what happened. Gage wandered off, was perhaps disoriented, or he was lured or enticed, or he was abducted.”

Abducted.

Here it comes.

Up to now Cal had been hanging on by his fingertips, struggling not to break, fighting to work around the keening in his head. He shut his eyes tight because what he’d feared, what he’d been denying, what he knew in his gut, had swallowed him. Gage was likely abducted and Cal knew from his own reporting experience that if an abductor intended to kill their victim, stats showed they’d do it in the first four hours. And if a kidnapper was seeking ransom, they make contact within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The likelihood that Gage was dead, or that they’d never see him again, increased with each passing second.

“Cal?”

He opened his eyes, not having realized he’d closed them.

“Until we have a clear picture of what happened,” Price said, “no one is above suspicion. You understand that, don’t you, Cal?”

He swallowed and nodded.

“And you know we have to clear you and your wife so we can cross you off our list?”

Cal nodded.

“Now.” Price sipped some coffee. “Are you okay to keep going?”

Cal thought of Faith across the hall, wondering how she was enduring.

“Cal?”

“Yes.”

Price looked at her notes. “Are you involved in, or do you have knowledge of who may be responsible for, your son’s disappearance?”

Cal shook his head. “No, I’m not involved and I don’t know who took him.”

“Do you or your wife use illegal drugs?”

“No.”

“Has Gage ever been exposed to any form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse in your home?”

Cal shook his head.

“Do you have a gambling addiction?”

“We went to Las Vegas for fun and gambled a little, that’s it.”

“Do you have any debts?”

“Just the mortgage, car payments, credit cards, like most people.”

“Who handles the finances in your household?”

“Faith. We each have separate accounts, but we have joint accounts, too, and Faith uses those to handle household finances.”

“And these separate accounts...they’re private from each other?”

“That’s right. We agreed to do things that way when we got married.”

“All right.” Price made notes, then moved on. “You’re a crime reporter with the Chicago Star-News.”

Cal nodded.