When I was done, it was time to pick Cat up from school. I grabbed my things and headed out to my car, completely unaware that my day was about to take a terrible turn.
I arrived at Cat’s school and pulled up to the car rider line like I always did, then waited for Cat to come rushing over to my car.
I waited.
And I waited.
But she never came.
I was starting to worry when Sue Ellen, the school’s principal, came over to my car. I rolled my window down and smiled. “Hi, Sue Ellen.”
“Hi, Rebecca. How are you today?”
“I’m good.” I looked around at the last few remaining kids who were waiting to be picked up. “I’m here to pick up Catherine. Have you seen her?”
“No, I haven’t. Let me call into the office and see if Janet has any idea where she might be.”
“Okay, thanks.”
My stomach churned as I watched Sue Ellen take her school radio and call into the office. I could hardly breathe as I listened to her, “Hi, Janet. Do you know where I might find Catherine Rosewood? She’s a first grader, and her mother is here to pick her up.”
My heart sank when she answered, “Oh, I’m sorry. There must’ve been some mix up. Catherine was already picked up by her grandmother.”
“By her grandmother?” I gasped. “Which grandmother?”
“Can you tell me exactly who picked up Catherine?” Sue Ellen asked her.
Bile rose to the back of my throat when Janet replied, "Joyce Rosewood. She came by around eleven and checked her out. I hope that was okay. Joyce was on the checkout list, so—”
I didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence before I snapped, “No! No, it wasn’t okay. She didn’t have my permission to pick up Cat!”
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have an issue with Joyce picking up Cat from school. She’d done it many times but always had my permission. This time, she’d gone behind my back and taken Cat without my knowledge, and I knew exactly where she’d brought her. Hearing the distress in my voice, Sue Ellen quickly asked, “Oh, Rebecca, what do you need me to do?”
“Call the police. Call them right now, and let them know what happened. Tell them to meet me at my house as soon as they can.”
“Of course.”
I didn’t say anything more. I simply pulled out of the parking lot and raced towards home. Along the way, I called Joyce’s number a million times. Of course, she didn’t answer, and I knew why. She’d taken Cat to that prison to see Trevor, and she knew I would be upset with her.
And I was.
I was both horrified and utterly livid. I couldn’t believe that she had the audacity to put my child through that, especially without me there to help her.
When I arrived at the house, there was no sign of Joyce’s car anywhere. Not ready to give up, I rushed inside and called out, “Cat! Cat! Are you here?”
When I didn’t get an answer, I grabbed my phone and called Joyce’s number once again. Still no answer.
I was hanging by a thread, and that thread was quickly unraveling.
I looked down at my phone and started tapping my parents’ number but ended up calling Thatch’s instead. As soon as he answered, I started to cry. “She took Cat.”
“Who took Cat?”
“Joyce, Trevor’s mom.” My voice trembled, making it hard to speak as I explained, “She took her from school without my permission.”
“Why the fuck would she do that?” he roared.
“So, she could take her to see Trevor.”
“You sure that’s where they went?”
“It’s the only reason why she’d pull her out of school without me knowing it.”
“Fuck.”
“I know, and to make matters worse, I don’t know where she could be. Visiting hours were over hours ago, and she still hasn’t brought her home.”
“I’m on my way.”
I’d barely hung up the phone when my back door opened, and Cat came scampering into the kitchen with a police officer at her side. “Momma?”
“Cat!” Leaving the officer standing in the kitchen, she raced into the living room and jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly. I did my best not to cry as I asked, “Are you okay?”
“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled. “Gran took me to see Daddy.”
“She did?”
“Mm-hmm. I didn’t like it, Momma.”
“You didn’t?”
She shook her head. “It was scary.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. Gran should’ve never taken you to that place.”
The officer stepped into the room as he announced, “The grandmother is being questioned outside. It appears she took the child to Riverbend to see her father.”
“I was afraid of that.” I held Cat even tighter as I told the officer, “She did not have my permission to do that. She kidnapped my daughter.”
“I did not kidnap Cat,” Joyce announced from the kitchen doorway. The second officer was standing next to her as she stated, “I simply took her for a visit with her father.”