Page 28 of Silent Echo

I figure we’ll have to get a room for the night and catch another bus tomorrow. When I get back to my seat, Sebastion is crying and I get withering looks from everyone around us.

“Haven’t you ever seen a sick child, before? Mind your damn business!” I scream.

I put a hand on his head. He’s warm. He must be getting the flu. We’ll have to lie low for a few days, but he’ll be okay. “Sweetie, we’re stopping soon, and we’ll go to a motel where you can lie down.”

I do my best to soothe him for the remainder of the ride, and finally the bus comes to a stop. I grab our bags and hurry him off the bus, looking around for a taxi. I notice the woman whose bag I put my phone in. She’s being questioned by a police officer. My blood runs cold when I see three more officers standing at the doors to the bus, checking the ID of everyone who gets off. I didn’t realize the bus to New Jersey would be making the same stop as our bus. Shit! I pick Sebastion up and, as discreetly as possible, turn around and walk the other way. Once we’re no longer in their line of sight, I run as fast as I can, jostling Sebastion in my arms. I stop when I see a cab and hail it. Only when we’re safely inside and driving away do I exhale.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Agent Preston’s phone rang and Charlotte held her breath.

“Yes, okay. You’re sure? All right.”

She turned to Charlotte with a bleak look.

“They weren’t on the bus.”

“What? How is that possible? I thought they were tracking her phone.”

“They were. She put it in someone’s bag. She must have known we were on to her. We can only assume she took another bus, or maybe she left the station. Unfortunately, we have no way of tracking her.”

Charlotte’s heart sank. “You were right. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t interfered—”

Agent Preston put a hand on her. “No, stop. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even know Sebastion was alive. I know I was tough on you, but this isn’t your fault. Everyone found out the truth when I went to talk to them anyhow. It was most likely her sister.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“As I said, there’s an Amber Alert. We’ll also send agents back to her sister’s to see if we can monitor her phone. We’re going to do everything we can to find him.”

Charlotte didn’t miss the look of defeat in Agent Preston’s eyes. “But there’s no guarantee, is there? In fact, it’s very likely I’m never going to see my son again, isn’t it? I need to call Eli and tell him what’s happened.”

“Yes, and you should go home. But I don’t want you to give up. Penelope’s going to mess up, and when she does, we’re going to find Sebastion.”

But Charlotte knew in her heart that those were just empty words. They had lost the element of surprise. Penelope was smart and determined. It was going to take a lot more than luck to find her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I’ve been up all night with Sebastion, and he’s not getting any better. His fever hasn’t broken, and now his stomach is distended. I looked up the symptoms for appendicitis, and he has some of them. I don’t know what to do. If it is appendicitis, he’ll need treatment, but then we’ll be exposed. If I don’t take him to the hospital, and it is appendicitis, he could die. On the other hand, if it’s just the flu, then I could risk our getting caught for nothing. I never knew motherhood could be so hard. All these decisions and no way to know what the right one is!

I decide to give it a little longer. When I looked it up, it said that complications don’t usually occur until after forty-eight hours. So, we still have a little time. And besides, it’s probably not even that. I always have had a tendency to jump to the worst conclusion. This is either a twenty-four-hour flu, or just a stomachache from being on the road and him not going to the bathroom. He’s probably just constipated.

We’re in a fleabag motel off the highway, but they didn’t ask for any ID when I slapped some cash on the counter. Sebastion is curled up on the bed, crying, and I’m pacing the floor, wishing he would just be quiet so I can think.

“Any better?” I ask, leaning down to put a hand on his head.

He shakes his head. “It hurts, Mommy!”

“Maybe it’s gas. Let’s see if you can go to the bathroom.” Now that I think of it, I can’t remember the last time he had a bowel movement. I pick him up and carry him to the bathroomand seat him on the toilet. He doubles over again, his little arms wrapped around himself.

“I can’t,” he says, tears running down his face.

“Just try for a few minutes, you might feel better.”

He shakes his head pathetically. Why can’t he just try harder? This could totally be just gas.

“Just sit there until you go. Then you’ll feel better. I promise.” Maybe I should give him a laxative. I saw a drugstore around the corner. If he doesn’t go in the next hour, I’ll run out and get him one.

CHAPTER THIRTY

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