THE BANGING ON THE front door awakened five-year-old Violet from a deep sleep. Frightened, she called out. Mommy and Daddy were in the next room, watching TV. Why didnât they come?
Her heart pounding, Violet got out of bed and crept to her bedroom door. Mommy and Daddy were standing in the living room, and for a moment, Violet felt safe. Then she saw their faces. They looked the way she felt when sheâd had a really bad dream. Or seen something scary on TV. But mommies and daddies werenât supposed to get scared, were they?
The banging at the door sounded again, and someone shouted, âPolice! Open up!â
Mommy grabbed Daddyâs arm. âCletus, my God, whatâs going on?â
Daddyâs face was white. He looked sick. âI donât know. Iâd better let them in.â
But before he could open the door, it burst open, shattering the wood frame. Mommy screamed as three men rushed in and grabbed Daddy. âDonât move,â one of the men said. âOr weâll blow your head off.â
Hiding behind her bedroom door, Violet shoved a fist against her mouth to keep from crying. Sheâd never been so scared. Mommy had always told her if she were ever lost or in trouble to look for a policeman. He would help her. But these men didnât have on uniforms, like Mommy had shown her, and they didnât have the pretty shiny badges that Violet liked so much, either. All they had were guns. And Violet knew guns were bad. Very bad.
All three of the men were scary, but it was the big man with the dark hair that frightened Violet the most. Sheâd learned about the devil in Sunday-school class, had even seen a picture of him in a book, and that was who she thought of now. The big man didnât have horns or a tail, but her Sunday-school teacher had said the devil could disguise himself in many ways. Even as a policeman.
Help us, Violet prayed. Please help us.
The television Mommy and Daddy had been watching was still on, and Violet could hear bits of a news broadcast, something about the little boy who had been kidnapped. His picture was all over the news. Violet saw it every time she turned on the TV to watch her favorite shows. She didnât want to think about what was happening, how scared she was, so she tried instead to remember the kidnapped boyâs name.
And then she heard someone say it. Adam Kingsley. Yes, that was it. Adam Kingsley had been kidnapped from his bedroom, and no one knew where he was or what had happened to him. Mommy said everyone in Memphis was looking for him.
Violet had been so frightened when she first heard about the kidnapping. What if someone kidnapped her? She could think of nothing scarier than to be taken from her mommy and daddy, but then Mommy had told her that Adam Kingsley had been kidnapped because his parents were rich. His father was an important man. Violet had nothing to worry about. Her daddy was just an out-of-work auto mechanic.
Violet heard Adam Kingsleyâs name again, and she thought it must be coming from the TV. Then she realized the big man was saying the little boyâs name. Saying it over and over as he grabbed Daddy and shouted, âWhere is he? Where is he, you piece of scum?â
Daddyâs hands were fastened behind his back, like Violet had seen policemen on TV do to bad men. The big man shoved Daddy, and he fell backward, hitting his head against the corner of the coffee table.
Blood ran from the cut on his head, and Mommy screamed. She tried to run to him, but the big man pushed her away. She fell, too, and Violetâs heart began to pound, not just in fear, but because she was angry. She ran out of her room as fast as she could.
âDonât hurt my mommy!â she screamed. âDonât you hurt my mommy!â
She tried to grab the big manâs arm, but he just pushed her away and turned back to Daddy, who had been pulled to his feet by the other two men.
Blood ran down Daddyâs face as he looked at Violet and Mommy. âIâm innocent, Grace. You have to believe me. Theyâre setting me upââ
âShut up!â the big man yelled.
The men dragged Daddy across the room. One of them opened the front door, and for the first time, Violet realized there was a crowd outside. The tiny front yard was filled with people, and in the street, lights flashed on top of police cars.