A tall, brown-haired man with dark eyes entered the room. He wore a suit and tie and there was a glint of a badge at his waist.
"I'm Joe Silveira, Chief of Police," he said, his voice crisp.
"Ryan Prescott," Ryan said. "This is my wife, Nicole."
"I'm glad you're both here," the chief said. "It will be helpful to have you and Mrs. Schilling in the same place. Hopefully, we can put our heads together and come up with some new leads."
Nicole liked the chief's positive attitude. "That's what we're hoping for as well."
"What can you tell me about your adoption process?" the chief asked. "How long did you work with your attorney before you got your son?"
Nicole glanced over at Ryan. "It was about six months, wasn't it?"
He nodded. "Yes, but we'd been working with other agencies for five years before that. We always knew that Nicole couldn't have children, so we started our quest for a child soon after we got married."
"Did your attorney tell you anything about the biological mother or father?"
"No," Nicole said. "What about Mrs. Schilling? Does she know anything?"
"I wish I did," a woman said from the doorway. She gave them a tentative smile. "Hi. I'm Jessica Schilling."
The slender, leggy brunette who walked into the living room in a clingy black sweater, tight jeans and boots surprised Nicole. Jessica Schilling couldn't have been older than twenty-five or twenty-six. Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and there was a beauty in her face despite the dark shadows under her eyes and the reddened tip of her nose. How could such a young woman have adopted a child six years ago?
As the questions raced through her mind, she realized that Jessica was staring at her with the same curiosity. Regardless of their ages or backgrounds, they were both mothers of missing children, and that gave them an immediate bond. She introduced herself and Ryan and then they all sat down.
She and Ryan took a seat on the couch, Joe Silveira sat in the chair across from them, and Jessica curled up on the adjacent love seat, her feet tucked under her.
"I'm sorry you've come all this way," Jessica said. "But I don't know anything about Kyle's birth. I don't know if Chief Silveira filled you in on my situation—"
"I didn't," the chief replied. "I thought I'd leave it to you."
"Oh, okay." She twisted her wedding ring around on her finger as she took a deep breath. "Well, here's the story. My husband, Travis, adopted Kyle with his first wife, Sharon. Sharon had cancer as a teenager, and while it had been in remission for a long time, she had difficulty getting pregnant. When Travis and Sharon reached their mid-thirties, they decided to adopt. It's my understanding that it took a few years before they got Kyle. They were happy for a while and then things went bad. Sharon's cancer came back. She passed away when Kyle was two."
"I'm sorry," Nicole murmured. She hadn't expected such a sad story. Sharon had finally gotten the child she'd always wanted and then had died knowing she wouldn't be able to raise him. It was heartbreaking.
"Travis he told me that he was grateful that he had Kyle to distract him from the pain," Jessica continued. "His little boy kept him going through the sadness. The two of them were inseparable. They loved each other so much." She bit down on her bottom lip. "This is hard."
Nicole could see that Jessica was fighting back tears, and while her heart went out to her, they needed to hear the rest.
"Take your time," Ryan said gently.
Jessica drew in a deep breath. "Travis and I met when Kyle was four. We had a whirlwind romance. I think I fell in love with both of them at the same time. In three months we were married, and I was a wife and a mother. I thought I'd won the lottery. Everything was great. But good luck never seems to stay with me long. Travis was killed in an accident a few months after our first wedding anniversary." She cleared her throat and licked her lips, pain in her eyes. "That was almost a year ago. Since then it's been Kyle and me. I really love that kid, and he loves me. We're a team now."
Nicole heard the defiant note in Jessica's voice and wondered where it came from. But all she said was, "I'm so sorry about your husband."
"Thank you."
"Did Travis tell you anything about the adoption proceedings?" Ryan asked.
Jessica shook her head. "He said that it was a blind adoption. He didn't know anything about the birth parents, and they didn't know anything about him. That's the way he and Sharon wanted it. They didn't want to confuse Kyle with two sets of parents. Kyle doesn't know that he's adopted," she added. "Travis wanted to wait until he was old enough to understand, and, to be honest, I didn't even think about it after Travis died. It's been difficult enough trying to explain the concept of death and heaven to a six-year-old."
Kyle had certainly suffered a lot of losses in his young life, Nicole thought, her heart going out to Brandon's brother. The pictures she'd seen of him hadn't told the whole story.
"I wish I could be of more help," Jessica added. "I had no idea Kyle had a twin brother, and I don't think Travis knew, either. He and Sharon had hoped to adopt more children before she got sick. I'm sorry you wasted your time coming down here."
"It wasn't a waste. We wanted to meet you," Nicole replied. "And we still want to know more about Kyle. He's our son's brother, even thought that feels weird to say out loud."
"Kyle is a great kid. He's friendly, outgoing, curious, and way too trusting. He loves people. I've told him not to talk to strangers, but he's too young to understand the danger."
Nicole's stomach twisted with every word that came out of Jessica's mouth. The other woman had no idea that her simple description of her son had caused Nicole pain. Brandon was about as far from outgoing, curious and trusting as a boy could be.
"Could you show me Kyle's room?" Nicole asked impulsively, the words coming out of her mouth before she considered what she was asking.
"Nicole, that's not a good idea," Ryan warned.
He was probably right, but it was too late to take back the request. And she wanted to see Kyle's room, almost as much as she didn't want to see it. "If it's okay with you?" she asked Jessica.
"Sure," Jessica said, getting to her feet. "It's upstairs."
Nicole glanced at Ryan. "Are you coming?"
"Not yet. I want to talk to the chief."
* * *
After Nicole and Jessica left the living room, Ryan saw speculation in the chief's thoughtful gaze.
"What?" Ryan asked shortly.
"Why wouldn't you want your wife to see Kyle's bedroom?"
The police chief obviously didn't miss a thing. Ryan hoped that boded well for the investigation.
"Because our son, Brandon, is autistic. And seeing Brandon's identical twin so full of life is hard on Nicole, and on me."
"I understand."
"I'm not sure that you do," Ryan said. "Autism comes in like a thief in the night. Brandon was fine until he was three years old. He was talking, walking, laughing, singing, dancing around; he was a totally normal kid, and then one day he got sick. He retreated into a world that we couldn't enter. He barely talks now. He can occasionally squeeze out a word if he's desperate, but for the most part he's silent. He's hypersensitive to light, colors, noise, and he becomes extremely agitated around people he doesn't know."
Ryan realized he was telling the police chief more than he needed to know, but the words kept pouring out of him. "It's been a struggle to have him in public school. He has special aides, but Brandon doesn’t like being around other kids. We're trying to keep him in the world, but it's a battle. That's why seeing Kyle, the mirror image of our child, and yet so completely different, is rough."
"I'm sure it is," the chief said with compassion in his tone.
"Nicole and I worry that the kidnappers won't be able to deal with Brandon's illness, that they'll become frustrated or angry with him."
"I'm going to do everything in my power to bring both boys home as soon as possible. How long are you planning to stay in Angel's Bay?"<
br />
"As long as it makes sense," Ryan replied. "The boys are together, and my gut tells me that we'll be able to make more progress if we join forces with Jessica, although, it doesn't appear that she has any more information than we do."
"No, but she may remember more as time goes by—things Travis may have said in passing."
"I hope so. Did you know Travis?"
The chief nodded. "I only met him once, but after his death, Jessica became friends with my fiancé, Charlotte, so I actually know Jessica better, and Kyle, too, of course. He's exactly the way Jessica described, an open, loving child. He's the light of a lot of lives, and everyone in my department is committed to bringing both children home to their parents."
"Thank you."
The chief stood up, and Ryan followed. As they walked to the door, Ryan said, "I keep wondering why the boys were split up. It sounds like Travis would have wanted two children, and Nicole and I certainly did. It doesn't make sense."
"Splitting up the boys would make finding them more difficult. The mother may have wanted to prevent the father from going after the kids. Or it could have been about money. Splitting up the twins might have been more profitable. But those are just theories. We need facts."
"Yes, we do."
"Charlotte gave me your phone number, so I'll be in touch."
As the chief left the house, Ryan thought about the theories he'd presented, wondering if either or both were true. At least Joe Silveira was considering all the options. He liked the chief's open mind and willingness to cooperate, not that Max wasn't working his ass off in San Francisco, but Max had to work through the various departments and there were more missing children in San Francisco, all of whom deserved attention and time. Here in Angel's Bay, Kyle was the focus of the department, which meant Brandon was, too.
Ryan glanced toward the stairs, wondering how Nicole was handling being in Kyle's bedroom. He'd always been impressed with Nicole's fight, her courage, but standing in the bedroom of Brandon's twin couldn't be easy. There was a part of him that wanted to join her and another part that wanted to keep Kyle in the background. He didn't want to be distracted by emotion or by wondering what their life would be like if Brandon wasn't autistic, because that wasn't going to get him anywhere.
But as the minutes passed, he found himself moving slowly toward the stairs.
Chapter Ten
Kyle's bedroom was a chaotic, colorful mess, with an unmade twin bed, toys everywhere, and clothes tossed on the floor or in the hamper by the closet. It was a totally normal room for a totally normal six-year-old, which reminded Nicole again how different Brandon was from his brother.
Brandon didn't like clutter. He got agitated when things fell on the floor, and with the exception of building blocks, he had no interest in toys of any nature.
"It's a mess," Jessica said, a guilty note in her voice, as she picked up some clothes and put them in the hamper. "I try to get Kyle to pick up, but the room is never clean for more than ten minutes. He has such a short attention span. He moves from one activity to the next. Is Brandon like that?"
Nicole swallowed hard, a knot growing in her throat. "Not really," she said, not wanting to discuss Brandon's illness. She walked over to the dresser where a plaque and a small trophy were displayed. "What are these for?"
"Soccer and swimming. Don't be too impressed. Everyone who played on the soccer team got a trophy. The plaque for swimming was when Kyle graduated out of the tadpole group by swimming one lap across the pool. Kyle is a little fish when it comes to water. Does Brandon like to swim?"
"Not really," she repeated. Realizing she wasn't giving Jessica much in return, she said, "Brandon likes to build things."
"Oh, that's interesting. Not Kyle," Jessica said with a smile. "He likes to knock things down. He's a little bulldozer. It used to make Travis crazy. Travis's company puts up buildings all over the world, and Travis was always trying to get Kyle interested in construction, but Kyle didn't have the patience. He doesn't like puzzles or putting things together. It's more about action for him."
"Brandon likes puzzles. And he can show extraordinary patience when it comes to matching things up." As the words came out of her mouth, she was reminded of her earlier conversation with Ryan. Had Brandon been subconsciously looking for his twin all these years? Was that what had driven his obsession to pair things up?
She looked at Jessica. "I wonder what the boys thought when they saw each other, when they realized they looked exactly the same."
"Kyle was probably excited. He loves to meet new people, especially other little boys." Jessica paused. "I've been trying to find comfort knowing that they're together. It was worse the first few days when we didn't know who could have possibly snatched him. Not that I'm happy your son is also missing; I didn't mean it that way."
"I didn't take it that way," she reassured Jessica. "I've also been trying to feel better about the boys being together. It's not really working that well for me."
"Okay, thank you for saying that. I was lying before. It's not working for me, either." She let out a sigh. "You and your husband are the only ones who understand what I'm going through." Jessica crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I wish Travis was alive. I could use his support right now. Although, if Travis were alive, Kyle probably wouldn't be missing."
"I don't think that's true. Knowing now that the boys were targeted, it's clear that someone or several people planned their abductions for some time. It wasn't a crime of opportunity, Jessica. This was purposeful." She stopped talking as Ryan appeared in the doorway.
"How's it going up here?" he asked.
"All right," she said.
His jaw tightened as he looked around the room, and she knew he was seeing everything she'd seen. As his gaze caught on a pair of small cleats on the floor, her heart broke a little more. Ryan had had big plans for Brandon. He'd talked endlessly about not being able to wait until Brandon was old enough to play baseball, soccer and basketball, and all the other sports that Ryan had excelled at.
And it wasn't only athletics that Ryan had wanted to share with his son; it was everything else. He'd wanted to take Brandon camping and teach him how to fly. He'd wanted to be a part of his son's life. He'd wanted to be the kind of father he'd always wanted to have.
It suddenly occurred to her that when Brandon had withdrawn from the world, Ryan had taken it like a rejection, probably feeling the way he'd felt when his father rejected him. She'd never really looked at it like that before, but now it seemed so clear. That's why Ryan had had more trouble dealing with Brandon's illness. Not that it was easy for her to communicate with Brandon, either. But she'd never taken the broken connection as a personal rejection.
And she'd pushed herself into Brandon's life. She'd forced him to deal with her, even though most of the time she annoyed him. But she kept hoping that some day he would see her constant presence as love, and not just see it, but also feel it.
"What's that?" Ryan suddenly muttered. He walked across the room and squatted down next to the laundry basket. Then he pulled out a small colorful quilt.
Her heart leapt into her throat. "Oh, my God," she said as he held up the quilt. She looked at Jessica. "Where did you get that?"
Jessica frowned. "Kyle has had it since he was a baby. Travis told me it was a gift from the local quilting guild. It's a tradition in Angel's Bay for every newborn to get a handmade quilt. Why do you ask?"
"Because Brandon has a quilt like that," Nicole replied. "Exactly like that."
"I don't understand," Jessica said slowly. "What do you think that means?"
"Brandon came to us wrapped in a quilt just like this one, so if this quilt was made in Angel's Bay, then Brandon has a connection to this town."
"Maybe the birth mother lived here," Ryan suggested, clearly on board with her train of thought.
"I don't think that's possible," Jessica said doubtfully. "I got the impression the birth mother was from somewhere else. And Angel's Bay is a tight co
mmunity. If a teenager had a baby here, it would be impossible for them to give it up for adoption and have it be a secret."
Nicole could see Jessica's point, but there was a connection between the boys, the quilts and Angel's Bay. "Well, someone made our two boys matching quilts. And even if the birth mother didn't live here, maybe the quilter did or still does."
"How old was Kyle when Travis adopted him?" Ryan asked Jessica.
"I think he was a few days old; I'm not completely sure. What about Brandon?"
"Four days," Ryan replied. "And on one of those days, someone wrapped our son in a blanket that was made here in Angel's Bay." He looked at Nicole. "This is important."
"I agree. I don't know what the link is, but I know there is one." She turned to Jessica. "What else do you know about the quilts? You said it's a town tradition?"
"Yes. I don't know if you've heard any of the town history—"
"I know some of it," Nicole said.
"Then you probably know there was a shipwreck a long time ago, and the survivors built a town here. One of the first things they did was put together a quilt in honor of their lost loved ones. The quilt still hangs in the shop, a reminder of where a lot of people came from. It's crazy how many people in this town trace their roots back to people who were on the ship, including Travis and his family."
"Who can we talk to about the newborn quilts?" Ryan asked. "We need to know who made the quilts for Brandon and Kyle and who ordered them."
"My friend, Kara Lynch, would be a good person to start with," Jessica replied. "Her family owns the quilt shop, and Kara knows everyone in the guild."
"Where can we find her?" Nicole asked.
"It's Saturday, so she's probably at the quilt shop."
"Let's go," Ryan said abruptly.
"You should come with us," Nicole said to Jessica. "You know Kara, so she'll be more willing to talk to you."
"All right," Jessica said. "Do you really think we're on to something?"
"I do," Nicole said. "I have a feeling those quilts are going to bring our boys home."
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