My son, 4, vanished in the mall.

me fully now. Her smile is gentle. Too gentle. “You remembered the pin.”

“I found it on my son’s bag,” I say. “Why are you giving him things?”

“To remind you,” she answers. “You forget easily these days.”

A cold wave rolls through me. “We have never met before the mall.”

She tilts her head. “Not like that, no.”

My heart races. “Then how?”

She looks past continue reading …