by Holley Trent
“So stupid. Why did he bring those kids back to the school they were in when they lived up here last year?”
Maria’s hand stilled over the duffel zipper. “Do you think this could be a trap?”
Eric scoffed and raked a hand through his greasy hair. “Well, now that you mention it, maybe it is. Gene would have had to know that eventually someone would come after those kids, and not just their mother.”
“But we have to go in and get them anyway. We can’t back out now just because we’re being paranoid.”
“We’re not going to back out. We’re just going to be careful. I’m going to put my butt in that chair and I’m going to watch the clock as you head down there, calm as you please. I’m going to call Dana and Bryan and let them know what we think. At eleven fifty-five, I’m going to put this puppy in gear and go scoop you and those kids up, leaving traces of my scent here and there. Then we’re going to get far from this zip code, and then we’re going to stop somewhere. We’re going to search those kids from heads to toenails and make sure they’re not carrying any of those listening devices Gene favors so much. When we’re sure they’re clean, we’re going to head to Buffalo.”
She dropped her bag into the coffee table compartment and let the lid down. “You’re way too reasonable. Even more than Astrid, I think. Don’t tell her I told you that.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m really that much more reasonable, or if I’m just practical to a fault. We know what we’re here to do, and we’re going to do it. We’re just going to be a little more vigilant than we originally planned.”
Maria bobbed her eyebrows in the shadow of her hat’s brim in a manner he knew was indicative of skepticism, but he wasn’t going to press her on it. They didn’t have time, and he knew she’d do what needed to be done.
She tucked her T-shirt into the waistband of her dark-rinse jeans and tightened the belt. “How do I look?”
“Uh. Normal? Frosted pink lipstick aside.”
“Hey, the lipstick is intentional. People will pay more attention to it than what I’m saying.” She gave a little twirl, and he looked at all three hundred and sixty degrees of her. “Do you like the look of normal?”
He’d been waiting a very long time to see it, but he’d decided that no, he really didn’t. It didn’t suit her any more than that lipstick did, and maybe that was the point of the disguise.
“I like you the way you normally are,” he said. “I just wish you’d wear shoes more often.”
“Hmph.” Sighing, she pulled on a New York Giants sweatshirt and stuffed the pockets with a switchblade and container of pepper-spray. She probably wouldn’t have walked into the school carrying a gun, anyway, but neither of them had proper licensure to carry concealed in New Jersey.
“That sweatshirt goes great with the lipstick,” he said.
“Shush.” She smoothed her hands over her jeans, straightened her hat, and pulled in a long breath.
Then she released it and repeated the process.
And again.
What is she doing?
She’d probably stood there like that for a minute when he leaned in and wrapped his fingers around her wrist.
She took a step back, jerking away as if startled.
He put his hands up slowly. “Hey. It’s just me, making sure you’re all right.”
“You can’t—can’t come near me when I’m—” Brow furrowed, she swallowed hard. “When I’m working. I’m not always…me.”
“You mean this is the you that you don’t want me to see.” He stepped closer, crowding her a bit, and when she didn’t back away, he put his hands on her shoulders.
She looked down at one of his hands and cut him a vicious sideways look.
He squeezed her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. “You think you’re gonna have to show your true colors? Fine. Let me see them. Maybe you’ll scare me away once and for all and we can stop having this conversation.”
“Eric, I—”
He guided her around like a waltz partner and got her moving to the door. “It goes without saying, but be careful. You know how to do your job better than I do. I’m just the guy driving the getaway vehicle. Make sure you don’t give me a reason not to be able to do my job.”
Because if anything happened to her, he had a sneaking suspicion that beast inside of him was going to come out, and no amount of coddling was going to be able to get him to shift back until he’d reaped his vengeance.
She dug in her heels, turned, and pointed to him. “Make sure you’re out—”
“I know when to be there. You just do your job, and let me do mine. If shit hits the fan somehow, we’ll deal with it when it happens.” He canted his head toward the door. “Go.”
She took one more deep breath, and went.
He watched her walk slowly away, casually taking in the neighborhood sights around her, smiling and waving at folks in their yards. When she rounded the corner toward the school, he grabbed his coffee mug off the counter and retreated to the driver’s seat. He fastened his seatbelt, checked the time, then started a group text message to Dana, Tamara, and Bryan.
We did some accidental brainstorming and are paranoid now. Here’s what we’re concerned could be happening. What if Marty expects someone to come for the kids and this is a trap?
Dana was the first to respond. I thought it, too, and said that to Bryan last night. We’re going to have to snatch those kids regardless, trap or not.
Eric grunted. That’s what we decided, too.
Bryan texted, You have the element of surprise. Even if Marty and Gene thought someone would be going, they wouldn’t know day or time. We’re nearly at the end of the school year now. We’ve waited a long time to jump on this.
Find out if the kids know anything, Tamara said. They’re nine and ten. Be gentle with them, of course, but don’t be afraid to ask them some tougher questions. They may know more than you’d expect.
Got it, Eric responded. Getting ready to fire up the engine now and head that way. We’re going to take a detour to Buffalo until we can be sure the kids aren’t being tracked somehow.
Ditch their shoes and backpacks at the first opportunity, Dana said. If they’ve got tracking devices on them, those are the most likely places they’d be embedded. Check their clothes well, too.
Tamara chimed in, You might be best off getting rid of everything they have on them. That’s what my brothers and father would do. Leave no room for chance.
Eric typed, 10-4. Will check in, and turned the key in the ignition.
It looked like they’d be hitting up another superstore to replace the kids’ discarded items before the day was over.
It was a damned good thing he had the Shrew credit card. Kids were fucking expensive.
___
You’d better be out there, Falk.
Maria leaned against the school’s heavy metal door and held it open for the kids, smiling at them as they passed in front of her.
They seemed a bit disoriented, which was to be expected, but at least their feet were moving and they weren’t asking any questions.
Maria saw the RV at the corner, and heard the low hum of the engine. Eric had the wheels turned away from the curb and the door halfway open.
She had to admit that he made a good getaway driver.
“All right, kids,” she said sunnily. “Are you excited to go visit grandma?” she asked for the benefit of the groundskeeper who was standing on the path nearby with an edger.
The kids nodded obediently.
“Make sure you tell her that you missed her when we get there. Do you need to go back in to pee-pee?” She stopped them and pointed to the school door they’d just emerged through. “Long drive to Massachusetts, and you know how your uncle feels about using the bathroom in the RV.”
Both kids groaned.
That’s right, kids. Play the part. “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t ask.”
She got them moving again, leaning down between the two of
them to whisper, “I’m Maria. Do you have anything you need to tell me?”
The girl shrugged.
The boy nodded.
“Okay. Later.”
They may have walked slowly and casually to the RV, but Maria was on high alert, scanning the street in front of them for people watching from parked cars and being mindful of that groundskeeper. Maybe he was okay, but she didn’t want him to remember too much. If pressed, she wanted the only thing he could say would be, “They got picked up and left in an RV.”
Maria pulled the RV door open for the kids and didn’t say a word until Eric had the vehicle moving and the kids were settled onto the sofa.
“Everything all right?” Eric asked.
Maria peeled off her baseball cap and grabbed a paper towel to wipe off her sticky lipstick. “So far,” she said. “The attendance clerk was expecting me. She seemed relieved when I showed up. I guess they were all waiting for it to happen.”
Scrubbing her mouth, she turned to the kids. “Nina. Gabe. The guy driving this thing is Eric. He’s my friend.”
“And he’s a Bear,” Gabe said.
“Yep. You can tell, huh?”
Nina shook her head. Gabe nodded.
Maria crouched in front of them. “Is that something you learn to do or is it instinct, like knowing you’re hungry or that you need to go to the bathroom?”
Gabe made a waffling gesture. “I think I could always tell but didn’t know.”
“Ahh. You didn’t know what you were feeling.”
“Probably.”
Maria gave Nina’s knee a squeeze. “And you just don’t know.”
Nina nodded.
“No worries. Would you like to talk to your cousin Bryan? He may not be able to tell you our plan, but I bet you’d like to talk to someone with a familiar voice.”
“We’re gonna have to hold off on that for a little while,” Eric called back. “We’re gonna ditch their things as soon as I can find a good place to stop. Shoes and backpacks for sure, and probably their clothes if they have complicated hems and seams.”
Nina wrapped her arms around her knees and made herself very small.
Gabe sighed in that, well, what next? way some people did when they’d already endured too much.
“You can get one of those big plastic trash bags from under the sink and toss their stuff in there. As soon as I find a dumpster, we can toss everything in. You can put them in a couple of my T-shirts for the time being.”
Nina’s small shoulders shook and her sob came out before she could even put her head down.
Gabe just frowned.
Maria knelt up and hugged Nina. “Oh, honey, it’s okay.”
“I want my stuff.”
“We’ll get you some more. We’re going to stop somewhere and get you clothes and shoes, right Eric?”
“Yep. As soon as we’re far enough out of the metro area for my liking.”
“They’re mine,” Nina emphasized.
“We don’t have a lot of stuff,” Gabe said. “We haven’t since we came up here.”
“Oh, I see.” Maria rubbed Nina’s back and cringed. Even if Maria weren’t an empath, she would have known exactly how the child felt. She’d worked in child services long enough to see dozens of kids removed from their homes with only enough stuff to fill a single kitchen-sized trash bag. Of course they formed attachments to trifling things. Those things were familiar and theirs.
Maria sat back on her feet and caught Eric’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Can we try to be sensitive here? Maybe let them keep their jackets?”
“Sorry, no.”
“Eric, I—”
“It has to all go, Maria. There’s no way to check it without ripping every single seam, and we don’t have time for that. We need to get out of this state.”
Nina sobbed harder.
Gabe sighed again and shrugged out of his jean jacket. He handed it to Maria, keeping his upper lip stiff and obviously trying to set a good example for his sister.
Maria draped the jacket over her arm and gave Nina’s knee a squeeze.
Goddamn it, Eric.
He could have waited until they had new stuff to strip the old away from them—to mitigate the feeling of loss.
She’d have to take it up with him later, though. In front of the kids, they needed to present a united front.
“All right,” she said brightly. “Maybe you could change in the bathroom.” She found one of the T-shirts Eric had mentioned and handed it to Gabe along with a trash bag. “If you have anything in your pockets, bring it out with you so we can look through it, okay?”
“Okay.” Gabe took the shirt and bag, and walked the short distance to the tiny bathroom.
Maria took the seat he’d abandoned and put her arm around Nina’s shoulders. She rubbed her arm and hugged her sideways.
“You know, when I was a kid, my mother and I moved all the time,” Maria said. “When I was old enough to carry a purse, I started to always keep a change of clothes in it, and everything I didn’t want to lose if we had to leave fast. All the photos I liked—this was before there were fancy smartphones like there are now—plus little knickknacks I’d collected here and there, and even a couple of books.”
Nina sniffled. “It must have been heavy.”
“Oh, so heavy. And I used to snarl at people if they tried to root around in it. I knew I looked like a crazy bag lady, but I didn’t care. The stuff in that bag was mine and it was up to me to protect it if I wanted to keep it.”
“I want to keep my stuff.”
“I know you do, honey. But the difference here is, well…”
“Nobody wanted to kill you,” Eric said.
Maria groaned inwardly at Eric’s candor and shot him a glare via the rearview mirror.
He narrowed his eyes at her. She’d known him long enough to know exactly what that stare meant—that she shouldn’t even try to argue with him—but she wasn’t going to stop pushing back when she saw fit. He wasn’t going to hash his words, but she was going to be as gentle as she could be for the sakes of those kids.
Nina’s bottom lip quivered. “Who wants to kill us?”
“No one, honey.”
“Maria,” Eric warned.
She rolled her eyes and took Nina’s hands. “Here’s the thing. Your alpha right now—Gene—he’s not careful. If he thinks you’re going to stop him from getting something that he wants, he won’t think twice about hurting you. He might think that hurting you is a good way to get back at your mommy or to make your cousin Bryan angry.”
Nina dragged her shirtsleeve across her runny nose, and Maria decided it was a good thing the shirt was going into the trash. She grabbed a paper towel from the counter and handed it to Nina.
Gabe came out of the bathroom with the bag and dropped what seemed to be the contents of his pockets onto the kitchenette table. He handed the bag to his sister and pushed the shirt closer to her. “Go on.”
Nina, still sniffling, took the T-shirt and the bag and trudged to the bathroom.
Dispirited, Maria sorted through the stuff from Gabe’s pockets. The wallet, she discarded—figuring she’d be the one to trash it and not Mr. No-exceptions behind the steering wheel. She put everything from inside, including a couple of pictures of who she guessed was Keely, into a plastic zipper bag, and handed it to Gabe.
Kneeling, Maria pulled his backpack closer and unzipped all the pockets. There wasn’t much in there, besides—surprisingly—a few changes of underwear and socks in the front pocket, and a bunch of school papers inside the main section.
Maria held up the socks. “Did you put these in here?”
Brow furrowed, Gabe shook his head. “No. I never put anything in that pocket. They’re mine, though. I’m pretty sure of it.”
On a whim, Maria checked Nina’s bag, too.
There were a few pairs of socks, the same number of underwear, and a couple of girls’ undershirts.
“Could they have been in here all alo
ng?” she asked Gabe.
“No. We only got those bags when we came up here. Marty took us from home so fast that we didn’t have time to take anything with us.”
“Huh.”
“Don’t toss that yet, Maria,” Eric said.
Duh. She rolled her eyes at him, not that he could see the act with her back turned to the mirror.
She put all the underthings on the table and pulled out the rest of the stuff in the bags.
When Nina returned to the sofa and buckled in again, Gabe put his skinny little arm around her and hugged.
Poor kids.
It was a damned shame that he thought he had to be Nina’s protector when he wasn’t very much older. At least she had someone to look out for her and protect her moods, though. Maria hadn’t had that as a kid.
Maria quickly sorted through the notebooks and binders. The binders had canvas covers that were suspiciously bumpy in a couple of places, and not wanting to risk the disfigurements being due to anything but wear and tear, she discarded the notebooks, but kept the papers from inside.
The papers, she sorted through quickly, scanning for anything with personal information that would need to be handled more carefully.
She paused at one of Gabe’s science worksheets. It had a low grade and was supposed to have been signed, but it never was. On the back was some scrawling in a handwriting that wasn’t Gabe’s. It looked like random letters and numbers written out on lines like regular text, but insensible.
She held it up to Gabe. “What is this?”
He furrowed his brow again. “I dunno. That looks like Marty’s handwriting.”
“Huh.” She put the paper aside and had a hunch that if she kept looking, she’d find more of that mysterious writing.
She found one more sheet at the very back of Gabe’s writing journal and another inside Nina’s homework planner—written on the reverse side of a flyer advertising a school fundraiser.
