Page 82 of Mountain Void

Hugo’s jaw was clamped hard. “Fucker.”

“No sign of Pelletier’s car yet.”

“We treat this as a kidnapping,” Beau said, his expression as serious as Lorenz had ever seen it. “Until we find the vehicle, we assume they’re still on this mountain. We start tight.”

“How was Charlie doing?” Ry asked, picking up his pack.

“Like she was holding it together.”

“Good. We’re going to need her help.”

“Alright. Let’s move,” Beau said.

It took them nine minutes to reach the near-empty picnic area. Lorenz could imagine what it must have been like just an hour earlier, with more than forty kids running around. Now, only Charlie and a young, red-haired woman were there.

Lorenz made his way straight to where Charlie was standing, her posture tight, her hands clenched into nervous fists by her side.

She looked up as he approached, and there was hesitation in her face, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to address him. Lorenz felt no such hesitation. He walked right up to her and pulled her into his arms. He stood by everything he’d told her the night before, and he wasn’t about to hide it.

Charlie’s posture remained strained for an instant, then softened against his body.

“He was here one moment, then gone the next,” she sobbed, her voice muffled against his jacket.

“It’s going to be okay, Charlie,” he said. He knew better than to make a promise he couldn’t keep, but there was one thing he could say. “We’re not leaving here until we find him.”

Behind them, Beau coughed gently. Charlie disengaged herself from Lorenz.

“Charlie,” Beau said. “We’re going to need to ask you some questions.” He turned to include the other teacher. “And Mademoiselle …”

“Rennie Meyers,” the young woman said tearfully. “I was with Théo. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Mademoiselle Meyers,” Beau said kindly. “Please sit down, and the two of you can take us through everything that happened. But first, the other children are gone?”

Charlie nodded. “Carmen and Mathieu—the other teachers who were with us—went back to school with them. I’ve also spoken to our principal.”

“Good. What time did you arrive here this morning?”

The younger woman sniffled loudly. It was Charlie who spoke. “We arrived around ten thirty—a bit later than planned. We had a restroom break in the bathrooms next to the parking area, and then walked up here in groups. On the way, the children picked up leaves, sticks, things like that.”

“And the boy was here at the time?”

The teachers nodded. “The kids were all here when we sat down for the picnic.”

“Then what happened?”

“We were taking the kids to the hut in groups, so they could go to the bathroom before heading back to school. Second-graders don’t have very big bladders,” Charlie explained.

“Mademoiselle Meyers. So, you took Théo to the bathroom?”

The woman blew her nose loudly before responding. “Yes. He was in the fourth group I took. The boys were in there for a few minutes, then they came out. I asked them if they’d washed their hands. They hadn’t, so I sent them back inside.” The sniffling grew louder. “That’s when Monsieur Pelletier arrived.”

“Did you see his car?

“His car? No. He was on foot.”

“And he told you he had to take the boy?”

The young woman nodded. “He said he’d already cleared it with the school, that there’d been a small family emergency.”