Chapter 8: The Boy Who Knew Too Much
James read Rebecca's message three times.
Then he called her.
The phone rang until the call went to voicemail.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Frank stood beside the broken doorway, watching the road.
“She's warning us away from the hospital,” he said.
“That means either Martin has someone inside, or he's trying to draw you somewhere else.””
“Either way, I'm not leaving her there.””
“We need to know where she actually is.””
James looked down at the message.
Find Daniel. He knows what I did.
The words felt like a confession.
“What could a ten-year-old boy know about Laura Bennett's death?””
Frank closed the blue folder.
“Enough to make someone nervous.””
They returned to the apartment building where Evelyn lived, hoping to find Daniel's current address in Patricia's records. But when they reached the apartment, the front door stood open.
James ran inside.
“Evelyn?””
No answer.
The cardboard box lay overturned on the floor. Documents were scattered beneath the table, and the photograph of Rebecca holding the newborn had been torn in half.
Frank checked the bedroom.
“She's gone.””
James spotted a strip of paper beneath the overturned sofa.
He picked it up.
Three words had been written in blue ink.
*MILL CREEK MOTEL.*
Below them was a room number.
Twenty-seven.
James looked at Frank.
“Daniel?””
“Probably.””
They drove to the motel without contacting the police. Frank sent copies of the blue folder to a secure account and arranged for a lawyer he trusted to preserve the evidence.
James kept the original folder inside his jacket.
The motel stood beside an old highway, its faded sign flickering in the afternoon light. A broken ice machine rattled beneath the office window.
James knocked on the door of room twenty-seven.
No answer.
He knocked again.
“Daniel? It's James Carter.””
A muffled voice came from inside.
“Go away.””
“Your sister asked me to find you.””
Silence.
James stepped closer.
“I know about the bracelet. I know about Lily. And I know someone is trying to hurt your mother.””
The lock turned.
Daniel opened the door just enough to look out.
His face was dirty, and his lower lip was swollen. He wore the same thin jacket he'd had at the gas station.
When he saw James, he tried to shut the door.
James caught it gently.
“Please. I'm not here to hurt you.””
“You're the biker.””
“Yes.””
“Mom said you might come.””
“Then she knows I can help.””
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
The room was nearly empty. A backpack sat on the bed beside a paper bag containing two sandwiches.
“Where's your mother?”” James asked.
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“Did someone take her?””
“I don't know!””
The boy's voice cracked.
James released the door and stepped back.
“Okay. I'm sorry. I'm not going to force you to tell me anything.””
Daniel stared at him suspiciously.
“Why do you care?””
James reached into his pocket and took out the photograph of Lily.
“Because she's my daughter.””
Daniel looked at the picture.
Then he looked at James.
“You're the father Mom said was dead.””
“That's what they told her.””
“Lily thinks you're dead too.””
“I know.””
Daniel sat on the edge of the bed.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out a small plastic bag.
Inside was a folded piece of paper, a photograph, and a key.
“Mom gave me these before she went to the hospital,” he said.
“She told me not to give them to anyone unless I saw the blue butterfly.””
James stared at the key.
“What does it open?””
“I don't know.””
Daniel unfolded the paper.
It contained a handwritten address and a message.
*If Rebecca is taken again, go to the old train depot. Ask for the woman who sells flowers.*
Frank leaned over James's shoulder.
“Where did your mother go?””
Daniel looked down.
“She went to meet someone. She said she had to tell the truth before it was too late.””
“Who was she meeting?””
“Patricia.””
James and Frank exchanged a look.
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Mom said if the wrong people found out, Lily would disappear forever.””
James crouched in front of him.
“Daniel, I need you to tell me what you know about Laura Bennett.””
The boy's face changed.
He glanced toward the window.
Then he whispered, “I remember her.””
James felt his pulse quicken.
“You were born after she died.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not the way they told it.””
He pulled the photograph from the plastic bag.
It showed a young woman sitting on the floor of a hospital room, holding a newborn in each arm.
One baby had a blue ribbon around her wrist.
The other had a green one.
On the back, someone had written two names.
*Lily Bennett. Daniel Bennett.*
James stared at the photograph.
“Twins?””
Daniel nodded.
“That's what Patricia told me. We were born together. But someone took Lily away, and Mom raised me under another name.””
“Why would Rebecca do that?””
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“She said she was trying to save us.””
James looked at the photograph again.
Two babies.
One mother.
A private adoption.
A stolen child.
The pieces were beginning to fit, but the picture they formed was worse than anything he had imagined.
“Daniel, do you know who took Lily?””
The boy nodded.
“Patricia said Martin arranged it. He wanted Lily because she was the only baby who survived something that happened at the hospital.””
James leaned closer.
“What happened?””
Daniel swallowed hard.
“Mom said there was a fire in the nursery. Several babies were moved to another hospital. But one baby was listed as dead even though she was alive.””
Frank's face went pale.
“Was that Lily?””
Daniel nodded.
“She said Lily was the only witness.””
James stared at him.
“A witness to what?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Mom never told me.””
A car door slammed outside.
Daniel jumped to his feet.
Through the curtains, James saw a black sedan pull into the parking lot.
Two men climbed out.
One of them looked directly at room twenty-seven.
Daniel began to tremble.
“That's them.””
James moved toward the window.
“Who?””
“The men who took Mom.””
The men started walking toward the room.
Frank reached for his phone.
“James, we need to leave. Now.””
James grabbed Daniel's backpack and pulled the boy toward the bathroom.
“Is there another exit?””
Daniel nodded toward a narrow window above the bathtub.
“It's small.””
“Small is fine.””
Frank locked the bedroom door and dragged a dresser in front of it.
The first knock shook the frame.
“Open the door!””
James lifted Daniel through the window and lowered him onto the narrow roof of the adjoining laundry room. Then he climbed out after him.
Frank followed just as the door splintered behind them.
They dropped into the alley and ran toward the road.
A motorcycle engine roared to life.
James turned.
A man was sitting on his bike, blocking the exit.
He pulled a phone from his pocket and pointed it toward James.
“Mr. Carter,” he called, “Martin Hale wants his folder.””
James pushed Daniel behind him.
“Tell Martin he can come get it himself.””
The man smiled.
“That's what he expected you to say.””
He raised the phone.
A live video appeared on the screen.
Rebecca sat in a dimly lit room, her face bruised, her hands tied behind a chair.
A gun rested on the table beside her.
The man enlarged the image.
Then he said, “You have thirty minutes to bring us the folder.””
Daniel began to cry.
James looked at the screen, then at the boy beside him.
He had spent fifteen years searching for Lily.
May you like
Now he had found her brother.
And someone was using their mother to make sure neither child ever learned the truth.
