“Who left him?” I demanded. “Where is he?”

“Isabelle!” she sobbed. “She said he was crying too much. She said she needed a break. She… she put him on the bench and told me to walk home. Then she drove away!”

My chest constricted.

I scooped Sophie into my arms and ran toward the park across the street.

“Where?” I shouted.

“The fountain! The bench by the fountain!”

I sprinted past empty swings and silent slides as dusk slipped into night.

Then I heard it.

A weak, exhausted cry.