Lost Voices

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As quickly as I had tensed up, I felt relief. There was no menacing meaning to the voice. No hidden undertones. Only the pure love of a mother. Silently, I scolded myself; maybe not every voice that I alone could hear had an alternative or evil meaning.

I had no time to think about the voice; the storm clouds were gathering. A real threat of rain hung heavy in the air, and the last of the parents were gathering their children and all their beach toys and towels to make a hurried exit to safety.

The raindrops were starting when one mother from my committee, Peggy Lewis, came up. By her side was another mother in obvious distress. Before anyone could say a word, the mother blurted out, "Has anybody seen my little boy, Tommy? He has red hair and lots of freckles. He was wearing—oh God, what was he wearing?"

Moira took over the situation; her instincts as a healer kicking in. She could see the woman was hyperventilating and in panic mode. Using her soft voice, Moira calmed the woman down and I think she deliberately let her Scottish brogue be heard. It always calmed me down, I knew.

"Okay, it's all right. Take a deep breath, that's it. I’m Moira and this is Mackenzie. Now, tell us about Tommy. Think about what he was wearing and where you last saw him. Was he with other kids?"

Between Moira's soft voice and common-sense questions, the woman quickly calmed down enough to answer.

"Sorry, I’m Renée Clifton. Tommy's four years old and he loves everybody. I have to keep my eye on him constantly because he wanders off to meet new friends. That's why I bring him here to the country club beach where I know everyone. Now, nobody’s seen him." Taking a deep breath she looked around frantically, hoping to see her young son, but there were no four-year-old boys to be seen. Gently, Moira urged her to describe her son. Nodding as if she was getting her senses back, the woman answered Moira’s questions.

"Like I said, he has red hair and he's about this high." She held her hands to her side to show how tall her son was before she proceeded. "He had on bright blue swim shorts, and...which character was it today?" She thought for a second before continuing. "Oh, it was Scooby Doo—that's it, he had on a Scooby Doo t-shirt. And his beach shoes were lime green."

All I could picture in my mind from the woman’s words were colors, from the red hair down to the lime green shoes. I wondered how anybody could miss a child dressed like that. She must've seen the look on my face because she returned my smile while telling us that Tommy loved to dress himself and had a tendency to grab bright colors.

"It sounds ridiculous, I know, but Tommy loves bright colors and it always worked out well for me, making it easier for me to spot him. But, today I can't."

I could hear the panic beginning in her voice again and I quickly took charge. I turned to Peggy, who seemed at a loss, and told her to run and get a hold of the lifeguards on duty. I left Moira in charge of the young mother, knowing Moira would stay calm while trying to get as much information from her as possible.

I started doing a quick a search of the area on my own. Working fast, I tried to take in as much area as possible as quickly as possible. I was getting ready to leave the playground area when the lifeguard on duty showed up and I was relieved to see my friend Karen. I knew she sometimes filled in at the country club’s beach and I was happy to have her here to help with the search. She was a bright woman with the training needed to get things organized quickly. She took everything in and looked at me, asking where I had searched so far.

"I searched every piece of playground equipment, behind the lockers, and over where I know the older kids play. I haven’t made it down to the beach area yet.” I said my last few words softly, not wanting to upset the young mother with the possibility that her son may have wandered down towards the ocean.

With a curt nod Karen headed off in that direction, yelling at me to go towards the staff area of the country club and check there. By the time I had finished checking the remaining areas, Karen had made a thorough search of the immediate beach area. Neither one of us turned up anything by this time, but our movements had caught the attention of the security guard for the country club and the clubhouse manager. I knew the manager, Louise, well and without words, she seemed to read the look on my face and pulled out her cell phone to call 911. Karen and I followed her signal as she dialed and walked a little farther away from Moira and the mother.

"This is going too far. We need to get a search unit to take over. A young boy can travel quickly in a short time,” Louise White said as she dialed, taking control.

Karen and I nodded in agreement, but there was an unspoken fear in the back of our minds the boy may not have wandered off on his own. We didn't want to say anything about our fears in front of the mother. Not until the police were here.

By the time the police arrived, so had more members of the club, coming out to find out what was going on. They quickly became involved in the search for Tommy. By now it was clear Tommy was not on the property or in the nearby area.

Police were already spreading their search to nearby neighborhoods, and someone had brought in the lead detective to oversee what was going on. The country club would make sure they helped it in any way they could. The first order of business was to make sure the proper police were in place. I looked up as I saw the lead detective heading our way, his figure familiar. Detective Byrd and I had a tenuous relationship. It started out on a bad foot when he suspected my boyfriend of being a murderer. We'd gotten on an easier footing as time went by, but we still weren't sure of each other. I’d held things back from the detective in the past, and I think he was aware of that as well.

"Mac!"

I looked up to see a group of volunteers working their way down the clubhouse steps. In the lead was a man I would know anywhere. His hair was bleached blond from the sun and salt, and his muscles were toned from hours on the water, surfing or swimming. He had been my best friend for years and now we were in a serious romantic relationship together. Behind Peter was a group of young men, surfboards in hand, and I knew what their intention was. They would go out into the ocean and search. I hated that thought, but it was something that had to be done. I pointed for the guys to meet me on the beach further away from where the worried mother sat. I didn't want to impose anymore duress on her with what she was already under. Racing down to the beach I met the guys at the shore’s edge. Peter held me in his arms for a moment and then looked down at me to make sure I was okay.

"The Coast Guard’s gonna be here soon. They’ll be working the search from the boats. We thought we'd paddle out past the shore break and just explore all possibilities. I hope we find nothing."

"I know what you mean, Peter. Its great you guys are all jumping in to help with the search. I'm going to convince the mother to head back up to the clubhouse. I think Detective Byrd will agree with me. She doesn't need to be down here by the water while the search is going on."

Giving him a quick kiss and a wave, I headed back to meet Detective Byrd as he lumbered across the beach, his dress shoes taking a beating as they sunk into the loose sand from his weight. I offered my suggestion of taking the mother back up to the clubhouse and he agreed with me. He had to realize what was going on down by the shore as well, and it was important to keep the mother calm and focused. I motioned to Moira to head to the clubhouse. Gently she helped the mother to her feet, murmuring soothing words. Between her and the manager, they guided the mother towards the clubhouse.