“Noori.”
“Mr.Noori.Clearly your son is a brave young man.Now I just need one more small act of courage.You and your son come with me to headquarters, where we can take an official statement and set you up with a specialist who will turn your verbal description of the subject into a picture we can circulate among law enforcement.Sooner we catch this guy, sooner both of you can feel safe.”
“They already provided a description.”Aliah nods her head in the direction of the uniformed officer.“Ask her.”
“With no disrespect, Officer Kade is not an expert in this area.Now—”
“Brown hair,” the boy speaks up abruptly.“Light eyes.He reminded me of the guards.”He glances up at his father.
“At the camp?”
“Yes.”
Pazir presses his lips into a thin line.“Then the man is military or maybe special police.”
I perk up at this piece of information, while Aliah looks like she wants to hurt someone.
The detective—Marc?—leans down to be closer to the boy.
“How tall?”
Shrug.“Same as most.”
I take that to mean average height.Given Detective Marc’s nod, I’m assuming he agrees.
“What was he wearing?”
“Gray pants with many pockets.White shirt with a collar and many buttons.”
“How was he built?”The detective points to himself.“Like me, or maybe like him?”He points to Daryl’s bulked-up form.
The boy hesitates, murmurs something to his father.
Aliah does the honors: “Thin, but strong thin.Wiry, I believe is the word?”
Detective Marc nods.“His hair, short or long?”
“Short, very short.”The boy slides his hand along the top of his head.Buzz cut, consistent with the military appearance.
“His eyes.Close or far apart?”
The boy shrugs.
“Could you see any special markings, tattoos, freckles, maybe a scar?”
Another shrug.
“He is… just a man,” the boy says finally.“He used nice words, but his eyes didn’t match.I have seen such things before.”
Pazir’s hand tightens on his son’s shoulder.
Marc nods, straightens.“You’re a brave boy.Your sister, your family, are very lucky to have you.Last couple of questions, okay?His vehicle.Do you know what kind of car?”
“White.Big, like a truck, but fully enclosed.An SUV?”
Detective Marc glances at the father.“Any chance you caught the license plate?”
Pazir shakes his head.“I ran out when I heard my son call.But the man was already jumping into his vehicle.He wanted to cause trouble, I am certain.But he did not want to be caught.”
