Blind Run (16 page)

“I know.” She sounded frustrated. “But it’s a start.”

He turned away from the window. “We can check the facility’s records and . . .” He stopped abruptly, suddenly uneasy when she avoided his gaze. “What is it?”

“We can’t do this alone, Ethan. We need help.”

“Are you saying you want to turn them over, and let social services send them back to that island?”

“Of course not. I know there’s something wrong here. I have no proof, but I believe those children are products of in vitro fertilization and that Timothy Mulligan may be their biological father.” She let out a short disgusted laugh. “Though I’m convinced he doesn’t have a clue.” Then she dismissed the statement with a wave, as if irrelevant. “But whoever their mother was, she’s either dead or has deserted them. I want to know which and why.”

“So what do you suggest?”

“I want to call my friend Charles in Dallas.”

“We’ve been over this . . .”

“Hear me out,” she insisted. “Charles has connections. He can access information about James Cooley and the Haven that you and I can’t touch.”

“Don’t be so sure about that.”

She crossed her arms. “Is this a male ego thing? Because if it is—”

“It has nothing to do with ego.” Though he’d like to wring this Charles’s neck.

“Good, because besides helping us with information, Charles can let my parents know I’m okay. They’re probably worried sick.”

“It’s too risky.”

“They won’t call the authorities, Ethan.”

“Not on you.” He thought of the last time he’d seen his mother-in-law, at Nicky’s funeral, and how she’d looked at him over her grieving daughter’s shoulder.
She’d
known who to blame for her grandson’s death. “They’d turn me over in a minute.”

“They wouldn’t do that.”

“Look, Sydney, I’m really sorry about your folks. And you might be right that this Charles could help us.”

“But?”

“If we contact them, especially if they start digging into things, they’ll be at risk.” And he couldn’t put anyone else in danger, too many people had died already. “Someone wants this island kept quiet, and they’re not going to take it very well that we’re poking around.”

She remained stubbornly quiet for a couple of seconds, then her entire body seemed to deflate. “You’re right, the less they know the better.”

“And the less they’ll worry.”

“That, too.” She pushed away from the dresser. “So what do we do?”

“We head for Chicago. I’ll drop you and the kids off at a library where you can get on the Internet and do some research on the Haven and Cooley. Danny says he’s good with computers, so let him prove it.”

“What about you?”

“I have a few contacts of my own.” She didn’t know about the network of connections he’d built over half a lifetime of service to the Agency, nor about the type of debts owed and collected by men who lived their lives on the fringes of society.

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“One step at a time, Sydney.” If necessary, he’d stow her and the children somewhere safe while he went to that island. But he wasn’t about to mention that now. He needed a lot more information before even considering it. “Meanwhile, we shouldn’t stay here any longer. So let’s head out.”

Ethan turned back to the window and knew immediately something was wrong. The tire swing was empty, as was the boulder. And the porch.

Danny’s backpack was gone.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ETHAN RUSHED OUTSIDE
with Sydney right behind him. Danny and Callie were nowhere in sight.

“Where did they go?” Sydney turned, searching the clearing and surrounding trees.

“They’ve run off.” Ethan ran a hand through his hair, cursing the movement and the offending arm. “They must have heard us talking and decided they’d be better off on their own.”

“That’s crazy.” She kept looking, as if Danny and Callie would suddenly reappear. “They’re only children.”

“Tell that to Danny.”

“He thinks I’m lying.” She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Why not? Every other adult in his life has lied to him. The Keepers. Anna. Everyone.” Sydney tossed up her hands. “Why wouldn’t I lie as well?”

Turning to Ethan, her voice took on a pleading tone. “We have to find them. It will be dark in a few hours, and we can’t leave them alone in these woods.”

“Take it easy, Sydney. They’ll head for the highway but can’t have gotten far.” He snagged his denim jacket from the porch and started for the trees. “I’ll catch up to them before they reach it.”

Sydney followed. “Why the highway?”

“They’ll go to Mulligan,” Ethan said, while looking for the spot where they’d entered the woods. “Danny’s smart and he pays attention. Last night he watched road signs and asked to see the map.” Which made sense, considering their conversation while they’d waited for Sydney. Anna hadn’t just sprung these kids, she’d taught them something about being on the run. Who would have ever guessed?

“He knows where we are,” Ethan assured her, “and how to get to Champaign.”

“It’s fifty miles, and even if they make it, Mulligan doesn’t want them.”

“Danny’s not thinking that far ahead.”

“Go on.” She dug the keys out of her pocket and started toward the Explorer. “I’ll take the car.”

“No.” Ethan turned quickly, but she was already halfway across the clearing. “Sydney, stay here. It’s safer. Ramirez—”

“Screw Ramirez.” She climbed behind the wheel. “We need to find those children.”

“Shit.” Ethan headed back across the clearing. “Sydney, wait.”

It was too late.

Before he could reach her, she’d started the engine and thrown it in gear. “Look in the woods,” she yelled out the window. “I’ll watch for them on the highway.” The back tires spit dirt as she tore off down the road.

Ethan had no choice but to let her go. He had to find those kids, then he’d go after Sydney and make her see reason. She was too damn obstinate for her own good, and sooner or later it would get her in trouble. Eventually Ramirez would surface, then she’d need more than stubbornness to survive.

Spotting where Danny had entered the trees was easy enough. For all his bravado and smarts, he wasn’t very good at hiding his trail. Not, Ethan guessed, that the kid was even trying. He was an angry and frightened boy, a child, and he was heading for the safety of a man he believed was his father.

It was the most basic of instincts to return home, to seek the familiar, family, and friends. Sooner or later even the most experienced fugitives made that mistake. Even Anna. She’d come back to the desert, to their team’s emergency rendezvous point, knowing if anyone was left alive she’d find them there. She’d been right, she’d found Ethan, but she’d found Ramirez as well.

Likewise, Danny would head for Mulligan, but the place the boy thought of as home didn’t exist. That in itself wasn’t a serious problem. Mulligan would be merely an unpleasant surprise for Danny, as long as nothing or no one else was waiting for him in Champaign.

Ethan continued along Danny’s path.

Bent and broken branches, small footprints in soft mud—it was as simple to read as any road map. They were moving fast, running most likely, heading away from the park road and deeper into the woods. Danny was smart and had studied the maps. He knew the highway curved around the park, and if he went far enough in the right direction, he’d eventually find it.

Ethan couldn’t fault the boy’s basic strategy. If he could reach the highway, someone would pick them up. What Danny probably didn’t realize was that most adults, after offering a ride to kids too young to be on their own, would head straight for the cops. Then Danny’s search for their father would be over. The authorities would send them straight back to that island off the Washington coast, a place Ethan had begun to have more and more misgivings about.

As for a driver who’d pick up a couple of strays and not head for the nearest police station, it wasn’t a scenario Ethan liked to dwell on. The world was full of kooks, but Danny was a smart kid and resourceful as hell, he’d—

Ethan stopped.

Next to Danny and Callie’s small muddy footprints was a third set of tracks.

SYDNEY SPED
down the dirt road.

The car bumped and jerked, finding every rut and hole in an attempt to yank the steering wheel from her grasp. She held on, trees whipping past, their low-hanging branches slapping at the roof.

She couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid.

She never should have let Danny go off on his own. The time between his finding out about Mulligan and when he’d decided the adults in his life were lying again had been critical. She should have talked to him, convinced him she was telling the truth, and reassured him she would help him and his sister. Instead, she and Ethan had spent those precious moments theorizing about James Cooley and sperm banks.

She hit a pothole and let up on the gas. But only for a moment. Just long enough to get the vehicle under control.

What had she been thinking? She and Ethan couldn’t solve these children’s problems on their own. They had no right even to try. If they’d called the authorities yesterday, none of this would have happened. Danny and Callie would be safe with people who knew how to care for them instead of alone in the woods or on an interstate, hitching a ride.

Just the thought terrified her. Anything could happen to children alone. Didn’t she and Ethan, of all people, know that?

She scanned the woods, hoping to spot a couple of small figures scrambling through the underbrush. Instead, she almost missed a sharp turn in the road, and at the last minute swerved to avoid driving into a ditch.

Focus, she told herself. Just get to the highway and watch for Danny and Callie there. Let Ethan cover the woods. He knew what he was doing, and chances were, he’d catch up to them first anyway. If not, well, then they’d head to Champaign. Danny had proved his resourcefulness more than once. He’d find a way to get to Mulligan, and when he did, she and Ethan would be waiting.

The ranger station passed in a blur. And as she hit the paved road, she pressed a little harder on the accelerator. Until she spotted the stone entrance gate.

At first she didn’t pay any attention to the car turning into the park, or even the second one behind it. It wasn’t until she noticed the blue-and-white color scheme as the vehicle spun across her path, that she let up on the gas pedal and slammed on the brakes.

The Explorer screeched to a halt.

The other car pulled up alongside her, and men jumped out of both. Police officers. Guns aimed at her.

Confused, she reached for the door handle.

“Hands in the air,” one of the officers hollered.

Sydney froze.

“Right now, Dr. Decker.”

They knew her name. Slowly, Sydney raised her hands. “What’s going on here? How do you—”

An officer jerked open her door, while the other kept his gun trained on her like she was some kind of dangerous criminal or something. “Okay, take it slow, Doc. No sudden movements. Get out of the vehicle.”

For a second she just stared at him, Ethan’s warnings racing through her head. Someone must have recognized him. Or her. He was suspected of murdering two police officers, and they would come after him with a vengeance. But she didn’t have time to explain his innocence now. “I’m alone, and I need your help.”

“Just get out of the car, ma’am.”

“No, you don’t understand—”

The officer with the gun flicked his wrist, reminding her of the weapon in his hand. As if she could forget. “Now.”

“Okay.” She climbed out, but didn’t even try to keep the impatience out of her voice. “Look, we don’t have time for this. I need your help to find a couple of missing children.”

“You’re under arrest.”

SOMEONE WAS FOLLOWING THEM.

Danny caught Callie’s arm and pulled her behind a bush. “Did you hear that?” he whispered, knowing his sister’s ears were better than his.

She nodded, her eyes wide. “But it’s stopped now.”

They waited another couple of moments, the sudden silence creeping up Danny’s spine. Someone was back there, out of sight but watching them.

“Maybe it’s Ethan or Sydney,” Callie said.

“They wouldn’t have stopped. Let’s go,” he said, afraid to move but more afraid to stay. Sooner or later, whoever was out there would come for them. “The road can’t be far.”

Callie didn’t need prodding.

As soon as they started, the sense of someone or some thing behind them returned. They half walked, half ran on the uneven ground. At one point Callie stumbled, and Danny caught her.

“Don’t look back,” he said.

Together, they broke into a loping run.

Not looking was easier said than done, Danny soon realized. Maybe it wasn’t a man at all. It could be a bear. Or something worse. He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw movement, but it was gone so quickly he didn’t know whether he’d really seen it or his imagination was playing tricks on him.

He picked up the pace, and Callie stayed with him.

She was a pretty brave kid, for a girl. Any other seven-year-old would be bellyaching about going too fast. Not Callie. Not his little sister.

Around them, the woods closed in, growing denser and harder to navigate. Plus, whoever or whatever was following them was no longer moving quietly. Danny could hear it even as he ran, something heavy pushing its way through the underbrush.

They should have headed for the park road instead of cutting through the woods to the highway. At least then they could have made a dash for the ranger station or circled back to the cabin for help. Now it was too late. If they turned back, whatever was behind them would grab them for sure. So he kept on, helping Callie when she needed it and watching for a break in the trees.

Suddenly he slipped, his feet going out from beneath him on a muddy slope. He grabbed at a nearby bush, barely avoiding sliding into the creek. Callie grabbed his hand and helped him up.

“This is it,” he said. “We’re almost there.” On the map the creek and highway had been almost on top of each other, a blue ribbon and narrow black line, crisscrossing each other for the length of the park, until the ribbon became a lake. “The road is just a little way past the creek.”

Getting across was the problem. It wasn’t very deep, he could see the bottom, but it was running fast and cold. He looked up and down the bank for the shallowest point to cross. Suddenly, a commotion disturbed the silent woods behind them. Danny turned as a blur struck the standing figure of a man and sent him to the ground.

Ethan?

Danny wasn’t sticking around to find out. “Come on. We’ve got to do it.”

He took Callie’s hand and started down the slippery bank, wading into the icy water and splashing across. Then a quick run through the last of the trees, and they burst onto a grassy embankment leading up to the highway. Neither of them stopped until they reached the edge of the asphalt.

Callie, breathing hard, watched the woods. “They’re back there.”

Danny couldn’t see anything but looked for somewhere to hide. Nothing. They were in the open, on a two-lane country highway. Other than a black truck parked on the curve of the road, the highway was empty.

Callie seemed to read his mind. “The driver won’t help us.”

Danny didn’t know what to do next. He tried to think what Anna would say, but his mind went blank. Then a car topped the horizon, coming in their direction. Danny took Callie’s hand, heading across the road to flag it down, and then froze as the black truck started toward them.