Page 23 of Silent Echo

I make a face. Can no one do anything right? “When I ordered the car, I put in the comments that I was riding with a young child. This is really unacceptable.”

The driver shrugs. “Are you getting in or not?”

I shake my head. “Yes, but please be careful.”

The seat belt is way too big for him, but I buckle the lap belt. I’d report the driver if I weren’t trying to keep such a low profile. I count to one hundred in my head, hoping it will be enough to calm me down.

We arrive at the house without incident. The code to the lockbox works, and we get the key and go inside. It’s a small bungalow, bright and airy, but close to the houses on each side. I feel exposed. The first thing I do is shut the living room curtains.

“Where are we? Is this our new house?” Sebastion asks.

“No, sweetie. We’re just here for a couple days until we figure out where to go next. We need to get far away from here so police don’t think we’re part of those bad ladies stealing and arrest us.”

He starts to cry. “I don’t want to go to jail.”

I pick him up and kiss the top of his head. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise. We may need to change your name.”

“No!”

“Okay, okay.” He’s clearly not ready for that. If it comes to it, I’ll have to figure out a way to make it a fun game for him. “Never mind. It’s all fine. How ’bout I order us a pizza and then we can go online and try to find a fun place to move.”

“Okay.”

I place an order through DoorDash. “Let’s go sit on the sofa and look together,” I tell him. He follows me over, and I put the computer on my lap. I pull up a map of the United States. “We’re here,” I tell him as I point to Florida. “I think we should go to the other corner of the map. Washington or Montana.”

He begins to fidget. “I don’t know.”

“Okay, what’s your favorite weather?”

“Sunshine and warm. Like here.”

“What are your favorite things about Florida?”

“I like the beach. And the palm trees. And Disney.”

“I’ve got it! Do you know what state has all of those things and is even prettier than Florida?”

He shakes his head.

“California!”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Charlotte spent a sleepless night lying next to her phone, willing it to ring with good news, but it remained silent. She got dressed and went down to the restaurant for coffee. She thought she’d lose her mind if she stayed in the hotel room for another minute. She texted Eli that she was already in a meeting and would call him later that afternoon. She was in no mood to talk to him and make up more lies about her trip. Penelope was now going by the name Cathy Miller. She’d deliberately chosen a very generic name. The fact that she’d taken on a new identity meant she was well aware of what she was doing. She wasn’t laboring under the delusion that Sebastion belonged to her. Instead, she had executed a plan to kidnap and keep him. Charlotte couldn’t fathom how someone could be so cruel. To allow her to believe that her son was dead. If Penelope was that cold and calculating, who knew what she might do to Sebastion if she found out that they were close to finding her.

She drank two cups of coffee, her mind imagining all sorts of scenarios, when finally, her phone rang. She got up to find a spot to talk more privately.

“Did you find her?” Charlotte asked in lieu of a hello.

“Not yet. We tracked her cell phone, which was active until noon yesterday. Nothing since then. I’m assuming she bought a burner. We found her car in a parking lot by a Walmart. We’re checking the security cameras in the area to see if someonepicked her up or if she called for a car. I’ve got some agents reviewing the footage now.”

“So now what? She dumped her phone and her car?”

“I’m going to speak with her sister. The school gave me her information. She was listed as Penelope’s next of kin.”

“I want to go with you.”

“Absolutely not!”

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