Харлан Кобен - Found

“Let go of me!”

“No!”

I pulled and arched my back, aiming my legs for the stairs. Behind me I heard the door open.

“Freeze!”

It was Chief Taylor again.

“He’s getting away!” I shouted.

But Chief Taylor and the other officer wouldn’t listen. They tackled me instead. I tried to hold on, tried with everything I had to keep my grip, but I could feel my fingers slip away under their combined weight.

“He killed my father!”

I crashed to the ground. Above me, I saw Luther smile and slip away.

“Stay put,” Taylor yelled.

“He killed my father! Stop him!”

“What are you talking about?”

But it was pointless. We were belowground. Luther was already off and running. Chief Taylor stood. The other officer flipped me onto my stomach and snapped the cuffs on me.

Ema came through the door. “Leave him alone! He didn’t do anything!”

“You’re both under arrest,” Taylor said.

“For what?”

“A neighbor saw you break into the garage. That’s a crime. You’ve wiggled out of plenty of trouble, Mickey, but not this time.”

“Listen to me,” I said, “you have to find that man.”

“I don’t have to find anyone,” Chief Taylor said. “I told you to stop. You didn’t. You ran away from a police officer. You resisted arrest. I’m sorry, Mickey. You’ve gotten too many breaks.”

Ema tried. “But if you’d just listen to us—”

Chief Taylor spun toward her. “Do you want me to cuff you too, missy?”

“What?”

“Turn around.”

“You’re kidding—”

“Turn around!”

Ema did so. I watched in disbelief as Chief Taylor cuffed her too.

“I don’t want to hear another word out of either of you.”

They led us back down the corridor through the tunnel. Again I saw Taylor looking around as though he couldn’t believe his eyes. “What is this place?” he asked me.

I said nothing.

“I asked you a question, Mickey.”

“I don’t know.”

“So why did you break into the garage?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I saw his face redden. “That’s it. I’ve had enough of you. I’m taking you down to the city prison in Newark. You’re going to spend some time in that system. Adult population. I told you once about the guy with the really long fingernails, remember? You’re about to be his cellmate. Jackson?”

He turned to the other officer.

“Let’s lock them in the squad car and check out this tunnel.”

It was hard to get us up the ladder because our hands were cuffed behind our backs. Jackson suggested taking them off us. Taylor refused. When we reached the front yard, he said, “You wait with them here. I’m going back into—”

“What’s going on here?”

We all stopped at the sound of the scratchy old voice. There, standing on the sidewalk as though she had just materialized, was Bat Lady. Jackson choked back a scream. Bat Lady was back in her full crazy-person persona — the long white-to-yellow gown, ratty slippers, her white hair flowing down to her waist.

“Ma’am,” Taylor said, risking a step in her direction, “these two broke into your own garage.”

“No, they didn’t.”

“Uh, yes, ma’am, we spotted—”

“Don’t ‘yes, ma’am’ me,” she snapped. “They have permission to be here. I asked them to check my tunnel for me.”

“You did?”

“Of course.”

“Well, about that tunnel—”

“Why are they handcuffed?”

“Well, see, we got a report that they broke in—”

“And I just told you that they did no such thing, didn’t I?”

She waited for an answer.

“Uh, yes, ma’am.”

“So uncuff those children immediately.”

Taylor gestured at Jackson. Jackson took out a key.

“Ma’am, could you tell what those tunnels are for?”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“Do you have a warrant?”

“A warrant? No. Like I said, we got a report—”

“Has this become a police state? I’ve lived in police states before. They are horrible places.”

“No, ma’am, this isn’t a police state.”

“Then you have no right to be on my property, do you?”

“We were responding to a call.”

“Which was made in error obviously. So now you know that. Do you know what I want you to do now?”

“Um...” I was enjoying watching Chief Taylor squirm. “Leave?”

“Exactly. Don’t make me ask again. Shoo.”

After Chief Taylor’s squad car drove off, Bat Lady started toward the garage. We followed her. I asked her questions. She didn’t respond. Ema asked her questions. She didn’t respond. She just kept walking in silence.

The woods seemed to be thicker now. The darkness settled over us like a blanket.

“Miss Sobek?” I tried again.

Finally she spoke. “Why did you come?”

“To find clues.”

“About?”

“About Luther.”

I couldn’t see her in the dark. “I guess you found more than that.”

“Who is he?”

“I told you.”

“He said my father’s dead.”

The old woman didn’t reply.

“Was he lying?”

“I told you before.”

“You heard his voice.”

“Yes.”

“And the dead never talk to you.”

She didn’t bother replying.

Ema asked, “Are we going back to the tunnel?”

“No, Ema,” Bat Lady said. “We will never go back there again.”

“I don’t understand.”

“It’s been exposed. The police know about it now.”

“It was hardly a secret,” I said. “Luther knew about it.”

“Of course he did.”

“I don’t understand,” Ema said. “Where are we going?”

“You’re both going home.”

“And you?”

She raised a hand straight in the air. Suddenly headlights came on. A car came up the road hidden in the woods. I wasn’t surprised when I saw it. It was the same black car that had tailed me since I moved in with Uncle Myron. The passenger door opened.

Shaved Head stepped out. He was dressed, as always, in a black suit. Even at night, he still wore the sunglasses.

“Hello, Dylan,” I said to him.

He ignored me.

“Go home,” Bat Lady said to us. “Don’t ever come back here.”

“What are we supposed to do?” I asked.

“I told you already. You remember, don’t you?”

I nodded. “You want us to find Jared Lowell.”

Bat Lady looked at Ema as though she were seeing her for the first time. She stepped toward her and put her hands on her shoulders. “You’re stronger than you know, Ema.”

Ema glanced at me and then back at Bat Lady. “Uh, thanks.”

“You love this boy.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. In a way I don’t even know him.”

“It will hurt.”

“What will?” Ema asked.

“The truth.”

Ema and I stood perfectly still.

“Go home. Both of you. Don’t ever come back here.”

Lizzy Sobek looked over her property as though seeing it for the first time — or, more likely, the last. I wondered what she saw, how much history lay on these grounds, how many rescued and terrified children had come through here.

“None of us,” she said, “should ever come back.”

Bat Lady seemed to float toward the car. Shaved Head/Dylan opened the back door of the car. She slipped inside without another word. Dylan got into the front passenger seat.

The black car drove off.

That night I dreamed about my mother.

I don’t remember the specifics. The dream was pretty surreal. Mom was young in the dream, really young, like before-I-remember-her young. Sometimes my dream mom was wearing tennis whites. Other times not. She was healthy, though, smiling the way she used to, the way she did before my dad died and the demons moved in and took her away from me.