The officer moved forward in a way that made Ruby step back. “If you could come this way please, madam. There’ll be someone along shortly to talk to you.” With arms held out slightly, the officer ushered Ruby away from the shop, toward the patrol car.

“Can’t I see her?” said Ruby, trying to see over her shoulder through the glass. “She’s okay, isn’t she? Is she safe?” How to explain it? Even ten minutes is unforgivable. “I’m so sorry—I let go of her hand for one second, and she ran off. I lost sight of her.”

The guilt was crushing. Sharp tears formed in the corners of Ruby’s eyes, her throat swelled painfully. She glanced at the expressionless face of the police officer, in which she could read nothing at all. No sympathy, no understanding. Then it hit her: it wasn’t just the blonde coloring, and the uniform—this person really reminded her of Joanna, and not in a good way. It was the cool, detached attitude, the way she was observing Ruby the way you would observe another species, an insect, or an alien.

“If you wouldn’t mind just waiting in the back of the vehicle,” said the officer. If you wouldn’t mind. There was clearly no choice whatsoever.

“Are you arresting me? I haven’t done anything wrong. It was a mistake. An accident.”

The officer opened the door of the patrol car and motioned for Ruby to get in. The police radio gave a crackle, and she moved to turn the volume down.

“Do you have children?” said Ruby.

But the officer simply repeated, “If you wouldn’t mind.”

It was probably best to do as she was told. Ruby climbed carefully into the back seat of the patrol car and sat there stiffly, pressing her knees together, staring at the headrest in front of her.

“Won’t be a moment, madam.”

When the door was shut, the darkness closed her in. The officer walked away, and Ruby scrabbled at the door, checking for an escape route, just in case. The handle slipped from her fingers as she pulled it; the thing was functionless, child-locked. That must have been a mistake. They weren’t supposed to keep her prisoner, were they? When she hadn’t done anything wrong?