David Silva - The Disappeared

The men were only fifty yards behind them now, Mitch in front, looking like a football player in a suit, only a little heavier and maybe a little slower. The others had fanned out on either side.

Teri helped the boy to his feet, and pushed him ahead of her, between two parked cars, over a small area planted with ivy, across the road, and into the southwest doors of J.C. Penny’s. It was warm inside, and she was immediately struck by the calm in here. The chaos on the other side of the doors suddenly seemed a thousand miles away. She glanced back, seeing no sign of Mitch or his friends.

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know.”

They passed through the cosmetics department, past women’s clothing, and followed the tiled walkway out into the mouth of the mall. In the back of her mind, she had been thinking—more like hoping —that they might be able to blend in with the shoppers and maybe find their way out through another store. But it was late afternoon now, and foot traffic was light.

Up ahead on the left, a Gottschalks had recently moved in. Teri crossed the floor, keeping the boy in front of her. In their rush to escape the car they had left his cane behind and he was limply markedly now. Distantly, it crossed her thoughts that there hadn’t been a normal, peaceful minute since the moment he had shown up on her doorstep.

“Not much further,” she said. “Hang on.”

“I’m okay.”

Once inside Gottschalks they followed the walkway toward the women’s section in the back, Teri glancing over her shoulder and trying to convince herself every step of the way they were okay, that Mitch and his friends hadn’t seen them.

A clerk looked up from her register, and smiled.

Teri forced herself to smile back, and pushed the boy toward the changing rooms, where a heavyset woman was modeling slacks in front of the mirrors. They moved to the back stall, closed the curtains, and sat down.

“Mom, this is for girls.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Gabe. Give me a break, will you.”

Walt woke up in a cold sweat. He sat on the edge of the bed, his heart pounding faster than he ever imagined possible. He slowly rubbed his hands over his face, and stared down at them, studying the wrinkles, the pores, the hair. And gradually, the dream came back to him.

Jeff Newcomer.

Raymond.

Joseph.

Samuel.

Berry.

Oh, Jesus.

Richard Boyle.

He got up and went into the bathroom to relieve himself. When he was done, he washed his hands and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Richard Boyle was the man who had kidnapped his two children and disappeared on his wife. He was the man Walt had been hired to find, and the reason Walt was here. Only Walt had never expected to find Richard Boyle in his dreams.

“We fucking lost them!” Mitch said, barely able to control his anger. The light turned green and he made a left through the intersection on the way out of the mall parking lot. He switched the car phone to the other ear and checked his watch. It was a quarter past five. They had spent nearly two hours combing through the mall, all for naught. The Knight woman and the boy had simply vanished.

“That’s not what I wanted to hear. Where’d you lose them?”

“The Shasta Valley Mall.”

“How long ago?”

“About two hours.”

“And the boy, how did the boy look to you?”

“Okay, I guess. I didn’t get much of a look at him. Once she realized who we were, the woman kinda went ape shit, you know. She jumped the curb and ran the car into an RV. Left behind one fucking mess.”

“He wasn’t hurt, was he? The boy?”

“I don’t think so.”

“We need the boy alive, Mitch. You understand that? If something happens to him, I’m holding you personally responsible. This is the second time you’ve screwed this thing up, and quite frankly I’m running short of patience. I want the boy back, and I want him back before this thing gets any further out of hand. You understand me? Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.”

“All right. Now… if there was an accident, there should be an accident report. And if she abandoned her vehicle, then the police should be looking for her. Keep tabs on what they’re doing and make sure you let me know the moment they come up with anything. Have you got any idea where they’ve been the past two days?”

Mitch glanced into his rearview mirror, saw that the left lane was open, and moved into it without signaling. “No, nothing. We’re still checking out the husband, but it looks like he’s living out of state. Could be they’ve been staying with a friend we don’t have a line on yet. We’ll keep an eye on the clinic in case they turn up there again.”

“Better reinstate the surveillance on her house, too.”

“Of course.”

“Sooner or later, she’s bound to turn up somewhere.”

“Yes, sir.” It had been an easy assignment and so far he had screwed it up royally. Retrieve the boy, that was it. No blood. No unnecessary force. Just make sure that he understood it would be in his best interest to come along peacefully. Well, that wasn’t going to happen now. Mitch knew it, and the man on the other end of the line knew it.

“Sorry about the screw up.”

“You and me, both, Mitch. You and me, both.”

Nearly three hours had passed.

The boy, whom Teri had referred to as Gabe out of pure exasperation, had sulked for a short time before curling up in the corner and falling asleep. She hadn’t been able to take her eyes off him. He had slept sitting up, knees to chest, his head buried in the fold of his arms, and she had noticed a mark on the back of his neck. It was a scar of some sort. Round. About half the size of a dime. Maybe from Chicken Pox.

He stirred.

Teri got up and stretched, then checked her watch and pushed aside the curtains. Traffic had picked up considerably in the women’s section. Four of the eight changing rooms were occupied and she could see half-a-dozen women and several children rummaging through the racks. A new clerk was working behind the register. She looked up and smiled like an old lost friend.

“How’re we doing back there?”

“Just fine,” Teri said.

“Need any help?”

Oh, you wouldn’t believe the help I need, she thought.

“No, everything’s fine. Thank you.”

It was another ten minutes before the clerk became preoccupied and they were able to slip out of the changing room. Out on the main floor of the mall, they crossed to the other side, made their way past a Software Etc. and a B. Dalton, past a Payless Shoe Source and a Shear Magic, and into Sears. They exited out the back of the store, onto Larkspur Avenue, which bordered the mall on the north.

No sign of Mitch.

No sign of any of his friends.

The evening sky, which was moments from sunset, was a muddy orange and brown color, streaked with perfect brushstroke clouds that seemed too well-defined to be real. Teri took in a deep breath, grateful to be out of that damn dressing room and into the fresh air again.

“What now?” the boy asked, clearly on the cranky side. She could hardly blame him, though. It had been a long, difficult afternoon and she was feeling a little cranky herself.

“I don’t know. Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

“Me, too.”

They caught a city bus cross town to a place called Casa Lupe. The boy ate a taco and burrito plate, with beans and rice, as hearty a meal as he had eaten since his return.

Afterward, Teri used the pay phone on the corner to try to reach Walt in the Bay Area. She had hoped he might be able to suggest what she should do next, but she wasn’t able to get a hold of him. It was all up to her now. God, what a difference a few days made.