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other day, the main thing is – you’re with her. Taking time off, being together; that’s the best thing you can do for her right now. After all, you just got back.”
    “I know. It’s still hard to see her this way.”
    “So what have you two been up to?”
    Janis watched as Alyssa strolled farther ahead with camera swinging by a strap at her side. “We got up late, went out for lunch and a movie. It was a good distraction. Now we’re at the park. We both needed to get out of the house.”
    “I know you probably think keeping busy with work is the best thing to do but my offer still stands. If you want to take a leave of absence and come this way for a visit, I’d love to have you two stay with me. It would sure warm up the place.”
    “I’ll think about it.”
    “It’d be fun for Alyssa. How long has it been since you took her to the snow?”
    Janis thought back to a vacation in Europe . “It’s been a while…a couple years.”
    Walking and talking, Janis noticed the nature trail up ahead bending between thick vegetation. Intruding on her memories of Switzerland snow was the uneasy realization that Alyssa was scooting around the bend and out of sight. Janis’ attention drew sharply present with a burst of disquiet, a sour twinge from a sixth sense.
    On the phone, Mom was relegated a few time-sliced fragments of awareness.
    “Mom – I’ll have to call you back. Love you!”
    Janis cancelled the call as her pace quickened down the trail. “Alyssa.”
    Sights and sounds from moments before on the periphery of Janis’ attentiveness were singled out. In sudden recall, the tandem jog of two men could be seen. A jogging track ran parallel to the nature trail in this area but it was mostly hidden by plants. The men had paced themselves, neither running or walking. Their footwear was oddly non-athletic.
    Janis broke into a run. “Alyssa!” The call went unanswered.
    Around the bend, a parent’s worst fear was realized. Through a break in the trees the joggers could be seen hustling a struggling Alyssa to the street and into the back of a waiting car.
    “No!” Janis screamed and sprinted into the brush towards them. Her outburst only alerted the kidnappers of pursuit and energized them to move more quickly.
    Alyssa cried out and fought them as best she could but the two men flanking her held her by the arms, nearly lifting her off the ground. Her shouts shot flat against the empty expanse of deserted park and indifferent road. The car raced off before the men got the back door closed.
    It only took a few moments and she was gone.
    Janis ran into the street, her heart bursting, her yelps of disbelief and pain calling out for help to anyone who would listen. In the distance, scooters, cars, and three-wheeled taxis negotiated a far intersection. Accelerating through the traffic maze, the getaway car disappeared around a corner. Janis was left pacing in shock as the horns of oncoming traffic ignored her pleas and demanded the right-a-way.
    Dashing in the direction of home, Janis dialed the police. She shouted into the phone while running. The operator demanded she calm down and repeat herself. Neither went well. By the time Janis plunged across her threshold and paced crazily from living room to kitchen, enough had been said to bring the police to her door. Waiting for them was an eternity.
    Out loud to no one, she tried to invoke the magic of denial. “This can’t be happening!” Too shocked to cry, she shivered, unable to sit but too overwhelmed to stand still.
    When the police arrived, they asked for details about the men, the car, their direction of travel. Trying to concentrate, to remember, only made Janis relive the trauma. Officers checked the house to make sure nothing else was disturbed. They assured her they would do whatever they could to bring Alyssa back. Janis wasn’t convinced it would be enough but she had to act as if she hoped it could. The detective left a patrolman to watch her street