While we waited for the principal, my phone rang.
It was Lily.
As the eldest, Lily had been given a phone so she could contact us in an emergency.
Amid the confusion of not finding my grandchildren, I forgot to call her.
“Grandma?”
“Where are you?”
“We’re okay. The lady Dad sent to pick us bought us ice cream.”
Lily hesitated. “She says she knew Mommy.”
“What?”
Lily didn’t answer. Instead, she ended the call.
I tried calling her back, but she didn’t answer.
Marcus arrived 10 minutes later, white with fear.
The principal was reviewing the authorization records and contacting school security when my phone rang again.
It was the mysterious woman.
She said she was bringing the children directly to my house.
I told her to return them to school, but she hung up.
Marcus drove us to my house.
Twenty minutes later, an unfamiliar gray car stopped outside.
