Seeley’s phone vibrated in his back pocket and he yanked it out. The screen lit up and Director flashed across its surface.
“Excuse me,” Seeley said, stepping to the corner. “Sir?” he said into the phone.
“I need you back here ASAP. Internal affairs uncovered a possible accomplice in Olivia and Lucy’s escape,” Hammon said.
“Who?”
“Zachary Krum.”
Seeley’s stomach dropped. Had it only been last week when Krum had been showing him pictures of his kids and asking Seeley which team he favored to win the Super Bowl?
“They’re taking him into custody now.”
“Sir, I may be onto something here.”
“We need him to talk, Seeley, and for that I need my best.”
Behind his eyes Seeley saw Krum’s goofy face. “He’s one of us.”
“So was Olivia.”
Seeley swallowed back his hesitation. “I’m on my way.”
“Good.” The line went dead, and Seeley pushed the phone into his pocket. He turned back to Dr. Holbert. The man was holding out the folder he’d just retrieved.
“You weren’t able to find a record of Zoe Johnson’s brothers because Zoe Johnson is an alias,” the doctor said. “She wanted a clean start, and she believed changing her name would help. I’d so hoped she would continue to see me after what happened to her younger brother. I really believe I could have helped her.”
Seeley took the folder and turned it over to see the name written on the red tab.
Evelyn Pierce.
EIGHT
ZOE AND LUCY sat in the back of a dark blue van as it drove along Dallas roads toward their destination. They’d arrived in Dallas late that afternoon, after catching a bus from Sherman in the early morning hours. Zoe had made a call, been given a time and place to be, and the dark van had been there precisely as instructed. Zoe wouldn’t have expected anything else.
Their driver, simply referred to as Snow because of his stark white hair, and his companion, Eugene, loaded the girls into the back with very few pleasantries. The back was dingy, gutted out with two long benches on either side. Zoe and Lucy sat on one side while Eugene took the opposite. There were no windows, and the back windshield had been blacked out, so it was impossible to tell where they were going. Zoe had tried to use the front glass, but she could hardly see through the tight wired barricade that had been installed directly behind the driver’s and passenger’s seats. She shook her head as the van jostled over a speed bump.
The entire setup had Tomac written all over it. He was even more suspicious of the world than she and had a flare for the dramatic.
It had been years since Zoe had seen the boy who was now a man. They’d been kids together during their years in foster care, then teens together as their home became the streets, and after they’d gone separate ways as adults, their paths had continued to cross. They shared a bond that went deeper than trust, which was good, because she knew better than to trust him. It was odd to have faith in someone and constantly question his motivations, but that was how things were.
After several more minutes the van made a final turn and rolled to a stop. Snow glanced back and instructed, “Stay here.” He crawled out, and the van shook as he slammed the door.
Zoe looked at Lucy. Her face was worried, and Zoe placed her hand on the girl’s knee for reassurance. Then she looked at Eugene, who was watching them carefully. She’d have to make sure she mentioned the fine work Tomac’s men were doing at making the situation feel threatening.
Silence engulfed the van for a long while, until the side handle jiggled and the door slid open. Snow stuck his head in and nodded to Eugene.
“Let’s go,” Eugene said, motioning for the girls to stand.
Zoe made her way out with Lucy close behind. Around the corner of the van, she saw that they were standing in an alley, staring at a tall fence that had once been white but was now tarnished with time. On the other side of the fence stood a row of older houses, built within a few feet of one another. She could hear voices from their owners drifting on the wind, a baby crying, a dog barking, a distant school bell. On the other side of the alley was a collection of tall apartment buildings that looked newer.
“Through the gate and up the path. He’s expecting you,” Snow said. He pointed to a wooden gate in the fence, then crossed his arms and leaned back against the van.
Zoe jumped as the van door slammed shut. Guess that was the end of the line for Eugene and Snow.
She started toward the gate and felt Lucy take her hand. Zoe threw a reassuring smile over her shoulder, though her own heart rate was rising. She yanked the gate open and stepped through with Lucy. They were in a backyard that seemed completely out of place for this neighborhood—meticulously manicured with perfectly kept hedges that lined both sides, a vegetable garden, a rock path, and a freshly painted porch. It looked odd connected to the house where the gray paint on the wood siding was peeling, the gutter was falling off in sections, and the shingles were warped. It was as if everything around them was true to the wear of time, but this yard had been plucked from somewhere else and placed in the center.
For the first time since climbing into the van, Zoe started to wonder if calling in a favor from her eccentric acquaintance had been a mistake. She and Lucy took the reconstructed porch stairs and rapped on the screen door.
“Come in,” a pretty female voice called.
With a deep breath Zoe pulled the screen door open and stepped inside. The room was simple but clean and beautifully designed with white lines and warm copper-colored couches with soft touches of creams and light grays. A living room large enough to seat a dozen friends had a large flat screen on the far wall, surrounded by built-in shelving that housed hundreds of DVDs. It opened up into a dining room that touched what appeared to be a kitchen. All clean and well-furnished, homey and filled with delicate touches. Not at all what Zoe expected, judging from the outside. A young woman with bright green eyes and a lovely smile walked in from the kitchen, her light brown hair pulled back off her face in a ponytail that hung past her shoulders.
“Come in, make yourself at home,” she said. She crossed the room and extended her hand to greet Zoe. “Can I get you anything, something to eat or drink?”
Zoe wasn’t sure how to answer as she shook the woman’s hand.
“Mave, sweets, I’ll take it from here,” a familiar voice said. Mave smiled and left as an older version of the boy Zoe had known confidently bounced down the stairs across the large open space. Casually dressed in tan shorts and a black T-shirt, hair long and tied up in a knot, with thin-rimmed glasses and barefoot, he was almost exactly as Zoe remembered.
“Friend,” he said, crossing the room and extending his arms to Zoe. She wasn’t really a hugger, but Tomac had always been overly affectionate. His own unique defense mechanism. They all had one.
“Tomac,” Zoe said, enduring the embrace for just a moment before pulling back. “It’s been a while.”
“Too long, as they say. You look good.”
“You look the same.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Tomac spun around and lifted bent arms to either side. “What do you think of my place? Pretty cool, huh?”