“And Colin?”
“Colin is a little different. Cade seems to have an issue with him. I’m not sure why, but it’s enough to make me concerned for Colin’s safely. I was also protecting him from his own father. Ted has been working with Cade Booker since he uncovered his true identity.”
“I always wondered how he found out,” I said. “Joe and I couldn’t figure it out, especially since we had no actual memory of it ourselves.”
“I can’t help you there. My guess is that Cade contacted Ted, but that’s just a guess.”
“There had to be a trail somewhere. My dad took care of Joe’s and my memory and he paid off Cade’s father, but a whole town couldn’t have forgotten a kid.”
“Snow Creek is a small town,” he said, “but if a kid was the invisible type—”
“But he wasn’t invisible. He was a target for the bullies. That’s why Joe and I befriended him in the first place.”
“I wish I had an answer for you. We may never know how Tom pulled it off.”
“It’s all crazy,” I said.
“Pretty much. I know you and Joe have been through this place, but I still feel like there’s something else here.”
“So do I. That’s why I came here today. My father’s darkest secrets are here, and I don’t think we’ve uncovered them all.”
“Then let’s get to it,” he said. “I have the time. Do you?”
I cleared my throat. “You do know you’re a grandfather, right?”
He smiled. “I do. I’ve already sneaked in and gotten a good look at my grandchild. He’s small but strong.”
“Melanie went into premature labor. Probably because of all the stress of the situation. The stress that you caused, Brad. You had Marjorie and the others kidnapped.”
He ignored my rant. “Thank God she and the baby are both fine. I had to be careful. Melanie never actually saw me, so I don’t know if she would recognize me, but—”
“She’d recognize you. Joe looks exactly like you.”
“I was careful. She didn’t see me. I took a quick look at the baby while she was gone to the restroom.”
“How did you— Oh, never mind.”
“I’m pretty good at sneaking around these days.”
Yeah, he was. Being “dead,” he’d have to be.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s start looking. Do you have any idea what we’re looking for?”
“No,” he said, “but I bet we find it.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. Really? Dominic Booker again? “What is it?” I said into the phone.
“Hey, can you meet me again?” he asked.
“I’m pretty busy at the moment.”
“Who is it?” Brad asked.
“Hold on,” I said to Dominic. Then I muted the phone. “Dominic Booker. He wants to meet me.”
“Great,” he said. “Let’s do it. Now.”
Dominic met us at the cabin.
“How’s your sister?” Brad asked.
“She’ll make a full recovery,” he said. “Luckily the paramedics got to her before she lost too much blood. She’s home from the hospital and taking it easy.”
“Maybe she should be taking it easy in a prison infirmary,” I couldn’t help saying.
“Alex was acting on my orders,” Brad said. “I’ve taken care of the charges against her.”
Of course he had. I opened my mouth but then shut it quickly. Nothing I said or did would change the situation.
Dominic continued, “Alex isn’t one to take anything easy. She’s been fretting over the whole thing, saying crazy stuff.”
“Like what?” Brad asked.
Dominic shook his head. “She’s convinced it all went wrong because she didn’t have her lucky rock.”
That got my attention. Marj had mentioned that Dale’s mother had told him some people carried stones for luck—stones like the one Dale found where he’d seen the stranger lurking around the school playground.
“Lucky rock?”
“Yeah, this smooth rock she keeps with her. She lost it a couple weeks—”
“Smooth rock? Like black with white markings, maybe?”
“Yeah. How did you know that?”
I cleared my throat. “Lucky guess.”
“She calls it snowflake obsidian.”
“Damn. That’s it.”
“That’s what?” Dominic and Brad both asked.
“That was the third thing Ruby found at the playground where Dale saw the strange man watching him. A baseball card, a cufflink with Colin Morse’s initials on it, and a polished piece of snowflake obsidian.”
“That bastard,” Dominic said.
“He was trying to implicate the three of you.” I inhaled. “But why the three of you? His beef is clearly with Joe and me.”
“Who knows?” Dominic said. “The man is a mess. Maybe he didn’t think anyone would believe you or Joe would stalk a little boy. Though why anyone would think Alex or I would—”
“Easy,” Brad said. “He knew you and Alex were onto him, that you were working for me, and he was trying to get you out of the way.”
“But Dominic makes a valid point,” I said. “If his problem is with Joe and me—”
“His plans for you and Joe are much more sinister,” Brad said. “Believe me. I’ve been dealing with psychopaths for the last forty years. One in particular had a beef with me, and she hurt me in the worst possible way.”
Wendy Madigan. Wendy Madigan, who’d had Talon abducted, starved, and brutally tortured.
She’d gotten to him through his child.
His child.
I gulped. “Oh, God.” I quickly texted my mother.
Mom, where’s Henry?
He’s right here with Vicky and
me. Getting ready to feed him.
How much could I tell her without freaking her out? He was most likely safe…as long as Cade Booker couldn’t find him.
But none of us knew where Cade was at the moment.
“What?” Brad said.
“My son. He’s with my mom in Florida. I’m just making sure—”
“I’ve got tails on them,” Brad said. “I’ll know if anything happens. The minute they’re in even the slightest danger, I’ll have them taken to safety.”
Nausea welled within me. If that happened, my mother would be scared shitless. But at least she’d be safe. In the meantime, I wouldn’t burden her with any of this. I didn’t trust Brad to tell the truth about being alive, but I did trust that he had my family’s best interests at heart.
For the first time since he’d shown up, I felt an overwhelming gratitude to Brad Steel. “Thank you,” I said softly. “But what about—”
“I’ve got a tail on Melanie and the baby as well. I told you that. I’ll know within seconds if anything happens.”
“Why didn’t you have them taken to safety?” I asked. “Never mind. Stupid question. The baby needs medical care. Thank you.”