Sitting crouched in a corner is Violet. Her hand is clamped across her mouth as if trying to hold back a scream. “Violet, it’s Mom.” I try to force my way inside but the angle is all wrong and for a second I’m stuck. “Violet,” I say again. “It’s just me. Officer Grady isn’t here. What happened, sweetie? Why did you run away?”

She looks at me with eyes filled with fear but doesn’t speak. “I know you’re scared but I promise that I won’t let anyone hurt you. We’ll get this all cleared up and have you home in no time. I promise.”

Outside comes the sound of tires on gravel.

“He’s coming,” Violet whispers.

“Officer Grady?” I ask. “Is that who you are afraid of? I promise, Violet, I won’t let him hurt you.” But she’s not listening. Holding my breath and squeezing my stomach in as tightly as I can, I’m somehow able to wriggle inside the car, my jeans catching and tearing on the ragged, corroded edges of the door.

“Violet, it’s just me right now. It’s going to be okay.” I reach my hand out to her. Her skin is ice cold and she’s shivering. “Please tell me what’s going on. Why did you run away? Why did you come here?”

Using the light from my phone I scan the walls. Stenciled in a now grimy white are the words Primrose Sugar—Do Not Damage. The boxcar is surprisingly clean. There are no signs of any critters taking up residence here, as if someone has been tending to it. I wonder if the boxcar is some sort of clubhouse for Violet and her friends.

Violet is sitting on a blanket that I recognize as an old one of ours. There is a wooden pallet in a corner and atop it sits an empty mason jar with a several scraps of paper stuffed inside.

“Shut the door, shut the door.” She slaps my phone from my hand and it skitters across the floor. The car is plunged into shadows. “Shh, Mommy, he’ll hear.” The terror in her voice is unmistakable.

“Officer Grady?” I ask again, this time in a whisper. “Violet, I don’t understand.”

In the distance I hear a car door slam; next to me I feel Violet tremble. “Violet, come on, this is ridiculous.” In the distance the blare of sirens come closer and closer. I don’t think I’ll be able to get her out of here now. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

With difficulty I climb out of the boxcar to find Officer Grady walking toward me.

“Your son told me you came this way. Any sign of her?” Officer Grady asks, looking over my shoulder toward the boxcar. Before answering I wait for the sound of sirens to fade but instead they only get louder.