Lies Never Sleep

by Stacy Claflin

  “I can’t believe you still remember that.”

  “What?” She pulled her attention to his eyes, then his arm. “What I mean is that it was pretty funny. How could I forget?”

  He shrugged, then winced and grabbed his bandage.

  Lila tossed his shirt into the laundry basket, then lightly traced his arm. “Maybe we should change this before we leave.”

  “Probably. I’m not looking forward to it. Before I left the hospital, it hurt worse than all the other times.”

  “That nurse was being rough. I won’t be. I promise.” She threaded her fingers through his and led him to the bathroom.

  He flinched before she even touched the gauze.

  “Close your eyes,” she whispered.

  Morgan curled his lips, but then did as Lila said.

  She found the end of the bandage and pulled it loose. Then she unraveled it as carefully as she could.

  Morgan gasped near the end, when it caught on a stitch.

  “Sorry.” She rubbed the area around it. “Anything you want me to do for you?”

  He shook his head and pulled her close. “Let’s get to the station and give them everything we’ve got. I’ll bring the necklace and the pens. Did I get both of them from her? It’s so hard to think with everything that’s been going on.”

  Lila leaned against him, finding comfort in their closeness. “And nobody would fault you for that. You’ve been through more than anyone ever should.”

  Morgan kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”

  She stepped back and helped him get dressed and fix his hair.

  He stared at his stitches and frowned.

  “Do you want me to wrap some more gauze around them?”

  “Probably should. I think they said to wrap for a while. I forget how long.”

  “It’s fine. We can check the paperwork they sent home. I think they’re on the kitchen counter.” Lila dug around in the drawers until she found some.

  Time seemed to move in slow motion as they gathered everything and got ready to leave. Finally, Morgan was ready and they had the necklace and all of Atlas’s green pens. Time didn’t move any faster on the car ride.

  Lila wanted to step aside from her life and scream. To shout about the unfairness of everything. Of her son’s disappearance. Her husband being shot. The pain the twins were experiencing.

  As if dealing with the horror of a missing child wasn’t bad enough, or finding out about Morgan’s secret. Now they had everything else piled on top of it. Was her son really dating a child predator?

  “The light’s red!” Morgan yelled.

  Lila simultaneously looked up at the traffic light and slammed on the brakes, lurching them forward. The tires squealed. Or was that the brakes?

  Her heart thundered so hard she shook. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Morgan put his hand on her arm. “It’s okay. Are you?”

  She squeezed the steering wheel and took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m really sorry. I’ll pay better attention.”

  “With all the stress we’re under, I can’t blame you.”

  “Still, I could’ve gotten us killed.”

  “Light’s green.”

  “Ugh.” She glanced up, determined to stay focused on driving. The last thing the girls needed was for their parents to die, on top of everything else they were dealing with. Luckily, traffic was fairly light between the lunch rush and the afternoon commute. Though the afternoon rush hour wasn’t too far away.

  Focus!

  She took a deep breath and shoved every non-traffic-related thought from her mind until they reached the station.

  Morgan turned to her. “Are you up for this?”

  “I should be asking you that.”

  “We’re both under a tremendous amount of stress. It’s rather astonishing that we’ve grown closer rather than pushed each other further away.”

  “I suppose that’s true.” Lila cut the engine. “You have everything?”

  He held out the pens and the necklace. “Hopefully it’s enough.”

  “It has to be—at least to send them after her to look into it. We saw Atlas’s jacket in her apartment! If that isn’t proof, I don’t know what is.”

  “They’re never going to find it. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Lila laced her fingers through his. “If she’s guilty—which I can’t see how she’s not—they’ll find the evidence. They have to.”

  He squeezed her hand, then they made their way into the station.

  Lila’s whole body went cold. It felt like they had just left the station after seeing Emmett’s coat. Hopefully, this time they would at least leave with some good news. All she wanted to hear was that they’d look into the teacher. If she’d done anything to the boys, the cops would figure it out.

  At the front desk, she asked to speak with Deputy Alvarez. It was the only name she could remember out of all the officers she’d spoken to.

  “What’s this regarding?” The receptionist didn’t look up from the computer screen.

  “Our missing son, Atlas James. We have a potential lead.”

  Her eyes widened, and she turned to Lila. “I’ll let her know right away. Please have a seat.”

  Lila glanced over at the waiting area and decided to stand again. Morgan stood next to her and eyed a guy with a pink mohawk and at least a dozen piercings.

  Only about a minute passed before the door opened. “Lila James?”

  Both Lila and Morgan turned to see Deputy Alvarez.

  She waved them in. “You have a potential lead?”

  “Yes,” Morgan said. “We thought we should tell you right away.”

  “Is your arm okay? I heard about what happened.”

  Morgan touched his bandage. “I’ll be as good as new in a couple of days, thanks.”

  “Glad to hear it.” She ushered them into another room with a two-way mirror. “Have a seat, then tell me what you’ve got.”

  Once they were settled, the deputy pulled out a tablet and slid her finger around the screen, then glanced up at them.

  Lila cleared her throat. “There’s no easy way to say this.”

  Deputy Alvarez nodded. “I doubt you’ll surprise me.”

  Lila looked at Morgan, then back to the deputy, unsure how to word the accusation. “We think a teacher might be involved with Atlas.”

  “As in, romantically?”

  Lila nodded. “It looks that way to us. She won’t admit it, and what worries us is that she might have something to do with the boys disappearing. What if Atlas threatened to expose her? How far would she go to protect her job? She might do anything, even kidnapping!”

  The deputy tapped on her screen. “That’s definitely something we need to look into, for several reasons.”

  Relief washed through Lila.

  “What’s the teacher’s name?”

  Morgan sat up straight. “Savannah Johnston.”

  “And what makes you think she’s involved with Atlas?”

  He went over every detail, starting with the pens, then the necklace, and finally the jacket.

  “That does sound like something we need to look into. Do you have her home address?”

  “Yeah.” Morgan pulled out his phone and read it off.

  “Did you suspect anything before your son disappeared?”

  Lila shook her head. “No, it was a complete shock.”

  “I can imagine.” Deputy Alvarez asked them a few more questions before standing.

  “Will you let us know if you find anything?” Morgan asked.

  “Call us in a day or two.”

  Lila groaned. “A day or two? Can’t you move things along quicker than that? Two boys are missing!”

  “That’s exactly why we don’t have time to call you about this. If we find sufficient proof, we’ll arrest her. If not, we’ll have to ask around and look for more evidence. So far, everything is circumstantial. We can’t make an arrest on what we have, but it does point to some ser
ious activity.”

  Lila and Morgan headed back to the car. She turned to him. “Can you believe they want us to wait two days? Do they not realize what we’re already going through?”

  “We have to let them do their jobs, and that will take time. If it leads to finding the boys, then that’s all that matters.”

  “I suppose. I just hate all this waiting.”

  “So do I.”

  She managed to keep her attention on the road as she drove home. As soon as she pulled into the driveway, exhaustion swept over her. “Maybe we should take a nap before the girls get back from school.”

  Morgan yawned. “I’m all for that after sleeping—or should I say, not sleeping—at the hospital.”

  “I was right there with you half the night.”

  They trudged up the stairs and Lila fumbled through her purse to find her keys.

  “What’s this?” Morgan asked.

  She turned to him. “What?”

  “That.” He gestured toward the welcome mat.

  Something small and white stuck out from underneath.

  “Perhaps a piece of paper.”

  He knelt and pulled it out. An envelope. Mismatched letters spelled out their names, like in an old-fashioned ransom note.

  Lila gasped.

  “We should get inside and read this, where we can sit down.”

  She pressed her palms against the wall and took deep breaths. Somehow they made their way inside and sat at the kitchen table.

  “This could be good news.” Morgan studied the envelope.

  “How?”

  “It could be our chance to get him back. If all they want is money, we can get it. Then Atlas can come home.”

  Lila nodded, doubting it would be that easy. Not when the nightmare had already dragged on for three days, four by the end of the night.

  He held the envelope between them. “Do you want me to open it?”

  She nodded again, unable to find her voice.

  Morgan pulled out his pocketknife and slit the envelope.

  Lila held her breath as he opened it, expecting to see a plume of deadly powder. Why hadn’t they thought of this before? They should’ve had the authorities open it.

  Too late now.

  Nothing nefarious came out as Morgan pulled out the single piece of paper. He unfolded it, revealing a letter with the same cut-out style as the envelope.

  Lila’s stomach lurched. “What does it say?”

  The paper shook in his hands. “They’re demanding me to come clean about everything publicly.”

  “What does that mean? Clean about what? The baby?”

  “I don’t know.” He pushed the note to her.

  Lila read it, careful not to touch it.

  Dr. Morgan James,

  You have exactly ten hours to come clean about everything publicly before Atlas gets hurt badly. This is no joke. Ten hours.

  Lila had to read it several times before it sunk in. “They’re not offering to bring him back safely.”

  Morgan shook his head. “And they don’t say what I’m supposed to come clean about.”

  She looked him in the eyes. “Have you done anything that needs confessing?”

  “No. I’m pretty boring.”

  “Are they grasping at straws? Just waiting for us to give them a reason to hurt him?” Tears blurred her vision. “Or is it Ms. Johnston, furious that we’re on to her?”

  “I don’t know, but I need to figure out what I’m going to do.”

  Lila buried her face into her palms. “You’d better write a list of everything you can think of that you’ve ever done to hurt anyone. Then you’ll have to post it online.”

  “I will. Hopefully it’ll keep Atlas from getting hurt, though I have a hard time trusting anyone who would kidnap and threaten people’s children.”

  “It’s all we have right now. You start writing, and I’ll let the deputy know about this.” Then another idea struck her. Something that might just help them get the boys back. But she would keep it to herself until she was able to speak in front of the cameras.

  32

  Zion Powell

  * * *

  “Would you stop watching that video?” Zion pulled on his hair and repositioned himself on the couch. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy. Or me.”

  “It’s the only thing I have of my boy right now.”

  “This whole house is filled with things reminding us of him! His room is filled with his things. We have pictures of him everywhere. Awards. Trophies. You name it. Let’s walk around and look at those things.”

  “But this is recent! Since he disappeared.”

  “I know, but it isn’t healthy to keep watching that replay.”

  “It’s all I have!”

  They needed to focus on something else. Something useful. But what?

  The press release. He hadn’t heard back about that. “I need to call Veronica.”

  Rowena finally looked at him instead of the screen. “Who?”

  “My contact about holding a press conference. We can speak to the abductors directly. Every news station in the area will broadcast it.”

  “Do people even watch TV anymore?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “With all the streaming options, everyone I know doesn’t bother with cable.”

  “Go back to your video.” He left the room, then pulled up Veronica’s contact information and called her.

  “Zion, I’m so glad you called,” she answered. “I’ve been swamped. It’s short notice, but can you guys come down to City Hall in two hours? I’ve been busy getting the word out about this. Clearly I should’ve talked to you first but—”

  “But nothing. We’ll be there early. Thank you so much.”

  “Think nothing of it. If you need anything else, just let me know. I hope the boys come home soon.”

  “So do we.” He thanked her again, then ended the call. His mind raced with everything they needed to do in the next two hours.

  It was anyone’s guess if the press conference would do any good, but he was going to try.

  So far, the abductors had ignored their social media posts, pleading for the boys’ safe return. But this might actually get their attention. They weren’t fighting to be seen over millions of other posts. The release would get significant airtime on multiple channels. Maybe even beyond just the local ones.

  Rowena didn’t glance from her screen when he returned to the room. “What did you find out?”

  “The conference is in two hours.”

  She stared at him, wide-eyed. “Two hours? Where?”

  “City Hall.”

  “I need to put on something nicer and fix my makeup.” She scrambled out of the room.

  At least she’d put the video down. Neither of them needed to watch that, even if it was proof of Emmett still being alive.

  He pulled up his contact list again to tell Morgan and Lila about the conference. Morgan might still be in the hospital, but they would want to know about it even if he couldn’t be there.

  Just as he was about to press call, the doorbell rang.

  He groaned, not wanting to deal with anyone. They’d had a lot of solicitors in the neighborhood recently, and he didn’t feel like dealing with a pushy vacuum salesman.

  Ding-dong!

  Maybe it was Morgan and Lila. Or someone with information about Emmett or Atlas.

  Zion forced himself off the couch and trudged to the front door. Every muscle ached and protested with every movement. He would rest once his son returned home, and only then.

  Ding-dong!

  “Hold on!” He swore under his breath. If it was anything other than an emergency, he was going to give an earful to the impatient person on the other side of the door.

  Zion unlocked the deadbolt, then flung open the door.

  Rather than a frantic neighbor or an annoying salesperson, Ellen Waterman stood on his porch. She brought her hands to her hips and glowered at him.

  His
heart sank. “What are you doing here?”

  “We didn’t finish our discussion yesterday.”

  “Yes, we did. You shot my friend, then drove away before the police arrived.”

  “You need to get my husband out of jail! Now!”

  Zion’s mind raced. Usually, he’d have something charismatic to say that would help calm her down. But all he wanted to do was to shut her up with his fist.

  Then he remembered something. A security feature he’d only recently installed. With all the stress of Emmett’s disappearance, he’d forgotten all about it.

  “We discussed this, Ellen.” He pressed his palm on the doorframe and reached his fingers around to the wall, searching.

  “There’s nothing to talk about, you worthless piece of trash! We paid you all that money, and he still ended up in jail.”

  Zion cleared his throat, still running his fingertips along the wall. Then he found it. The small hidden button that would alert the authorities to come right away.

  He pressed it.

  “Well?” Ellen stepped closer and shoved him in the chest.

  Zion didn’t budge. He drew his brows together and clenched his jaw. All he needed to do was keep her on the porch until the police arrived. “I advised him not to lash out in court, but he went against my counsel and earned himself a jail sentence.”

  “You wanted to see him behind bars! That’s what this is really all about. If you’d have tried harder, he’d be a free man!”

  Zion bit his tongue. There was so much untruth about what she’d just said, it’d have been ridiculous to dignify it with a response.

  “Can’t deny it, can you?” She shoved him again.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to stop doing that.”

  “Why?” She pushed his shoulder, despite the fact that he loomed over her and had to outweigh her by at least fifty pounds. The woman was even more ballsy than her husband, and that was saying something.

  “It’s called assault.”

  “Even when little ol’ me does it to big ol’ you?” She batted her eyelashes while glaring at him.

  “Doesn’t matter who we are.” He strained to hear sirens.

  Nothing yet.

  Ellen waved her finger at him. “You said you need some kind of order from a judge. Call and get it. There are ways to get them faster. I watch TV. I know these things.”