WHERE'S MY SON? (10 page)

Katie
was well aware this was the reason for their impatience. Every day after school, she let them go to the end of the block to meet the ice cream truck.

“If we're quick, I think we can make it home in time.”

Jesse flashed a big smile, but Jack managed to look skeptical. They hurried down several aisles, Jesse dragging Jack, until they had collected the few things she needed for dinner.

Heading for the
‘twenty items or less’ aisle, Katie nearly collided with another cart. “Oh, I'm sorry!” She looked up to see a man smiling at her.

“It's fine.
Please, go ahead.”

“You sure?”

The man tipped his head toward the boys. “I'm sure, no problem. I'm in no hurry. Besides, it looks like you've got your hands full.”

She smiled.
“They keep me young, that's for sure.”

“I bet
. What are they, six and ten?”

Katie load
ed her stuff on the counter, talking back over her shoulder. “Jesse is seven and Jack is ten. Say hi, boys.”

The man lo
oked at the two boys. “Can you guys shake?”

He put his hand out. “My name is Michael.”

Jack extended his hand and Michael took it. A little of Michael's smile disappeared.

“I'm Jack
, and this is my brother, Jesse.”

“Nice to meet you, boys
.”

Katie finished paying.
“Come on boys, let's go.”

Michael let go of Jack's hand
, and Katie waved a goodbye. They headed for the car, trying to make it home in time for the ice cream truck.

*******

Michael watched them walk away, trying to gather himself.

“Can I help you, sir?”

Michael turned to see the clerk looking at him. “Yes…no…I changed my mind.” Michael left his cart and went to his car.

He sat there, trembling.
Pain mixed with the anger caused his body to vibrate. It took more than ten minutes before he calmed down enough to drive himself back to the motel.

The whole way, Michael
relived the moment he held his son's hand. Over and over, he felt the touch of his son. He wanted that again. He wanted to be hugged, and to be called ‘Dad.’

And he felt the darkness taking control.

*******

Katie pulled in
to the driveway just as the ice cream truck was coming to a stop at the end of the block. She gave Jack a dollar for him and Jesse to get a treat, and they were off.

Katie gathered the two sacks
of groceries, and went to unlock the door. It opened without her turning the key, and she was immediately alarmed. “Hello? Anyone here?”

There was no response
, so she moved to the kitchen. Everything looked in place. She set the bags down and called her mom.

“Hello
?”

“Hi
, Mom. It's me. Didn't you say you’d lock up when you left?”

“
Yes, and I did. Why?”

Katie tried to hide the worry in her voice.
“Well, I just got home, and the door was unlocked. Are you sure you locked it?”

“I know I did,
Dear. Maybe Wade stopped by and left it unlocked.”

T
he boys came in with their ice creams. “Maybe...I'll ask him. Gotta run, bye.”

The picture was always the same: Jack with his ice cream sandwich, and Jesse covered in fudgsicle.

Katie pushed her worries aside and laughed.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

She herded
Jesse toward the kitchen sink.

Chapter
9

Wade Duncan rifled through the file box in the bedroom.

The
papers have to be in here.

They kept all their important stuff in the fireproof box under the bed. Finally, he saw the folder marked
‘Adoption,’ and pulled it out.

He was lo
oking for the number of the lawyer’s office that had set up the adoption.

N
one of the adoption paperwork has a phone number.

An odd fact
they probably should have noticed before. The only thing on the paperwork was the address of Johnson & Carr, the attorneys.

Wade
found the card Zebulin Johnson had given him the day they met at the cemetery. He dialed the number.

“The number you have reached is no longer in service. Please check the number and dial again.”

Wade did.

“The number you have reached
…” He hung up and stared at the phone. The gnawing feeling was getting stronger.

“What ya doing?”

He jumped when Katie spoke. “You scared me! Oh, nothing.”

“Is that the adoption folder?”

“Yeah, I was looking for a picture of Jack taken when we first adopted him. I thought it might be in here.” Wade didn’t like lying, especially to Katie, but neither did he want to scare her.

After all,
I might just be overreacting.

“You know all the photos are in the albums downstairs.”

“Oh, of course.” Wade started putting everything back in the box.

Katie gave him a weird lo
ok. “Hey, I forgot to ask you, were you home earlier?”

“Today?”

“Yeah, this afternoon.”

“No
. Why?”

“Well, M
om came by and said the door was unlocked. She said she locked it when she left, but when I got home, it was unlocked again.”

He stopped what he was doing and
stared at her. “I'm sure I locked it this morning.”

“Well, M
om swears she locked it when she left, too.”

Wade's stomach began to churn.

The phone call and now this.

“I'll check the lock
; maybe it's not closing all the way.”

Katie gave him a
skeptical look. “Okay. Dinner's ready.”

“Great, be right down.”

He grabbed the business card from the lawyer’s office and stuck it in his wallet. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

*******

Wade had a busy morning the next day and wasn't able to break free until almost one in the afternoon. He waved at Peggy. “I'm going out to grab a bite, call me if anyone comes in.”

The receptionist was on the phone
, but she gave him a nod and a smile.

Wade got in his car and headed downtown. The address on the card was in the older part of Springfield
, and it took him fifteen minutes to get there. When he pulled up in front, he found a law office, but not the name he was looking for.

CRANE, STOOPS, & COLLINS

Attorneys-At-Law

Wade pulled out the card and stared at it. The address matched, but not the name.

Maybe
it’s just a name change.

He
got out and entered through double glass doors into a darkly paneled waiting room, complete with deep leather chairs. He crossed to the window as the glass slid open.

“Can I help you?”
A smartly dressed receptionist smiled at him. Her nameplate read ‘Beverly.’ Blonde, thin build, with brown eyes, Wade guessed she was probably forty-five, but thought she could pass for thirty.

“Yes.
I'm looking for an attorney.”

“Well, we have three very good ones here. What's the nature of your case?”

“No…I'm sorry,” Wade gave her a sheepish smile. “What I mean is I'm looking for a particular attorney. His name is Zebulin Johnson.”

Beverly obviously didn't recognize the name.
“Well sir, I've been here for thirteen years, and I don't think I've ever heard that name.”

“Has the firm been in this same location all that time?”

“Yes, sir. In fact, they've been located here for nearly twenty years. What was the name again?”

He handed her the card.
“Zebulin Johnson, red hair and beard, maybe three hundred and fifty pounds.”

“I don't remember anyone like that. Let me ask Joyce.”

Beverly went and asked the woman in the next room. Wade couldn't hear them, but saw the woman shake her head. Beverly returned and handed him the card. “I'm sorry. She didn't recognize the name, either.”

“Really
? Okay, well thanks.”

“I'm sorry I couldn't be more help
.” She flashed him another beautiful smile. “Have a nice day.”

Wade didn't feel like smiling, but
he nodded. He was too stunned. She had confirmed what he suspected before he’d come in. Something wasn't right with Jack’s adoption.

What exactly they were involved in, he didn't know.
The question now was what to do next? He couldn't tell Katie, he didn't know how she would react, or what she’d do. Maybe he could tell Shirley. He needed advice, but it couldn't be just anybody.

He called the office and told Peggy he wouldn
’t be in the rest of the day.

“Everything
alright?”

“
Yeah...yeah, fine. Just need to take care of something.” He hung up and sat in his car. Summer was turning to fall, and the sky was gray, a light drizzle coming down. The weather matched his mood. He stayed there for a long time, praying, and trying to figure the next step.

Nothing
seems best, but nothing won’t give me any solutions.

He
needed a plan. He started the car and called his mother-in-law.

*******

“Mom, can we have our dollar?” Jack asked.

“
Yeah, Mom, the truck is coming,” Jesse chimed in.

“
Okay.”

Katie left the pot she was stirring on the stove and retrieved her purse. She rummaged around until she found four quarters.

“Here boys, be careful.”

“
Okay, Mom,” they said in unison.

Katie smiled as she watched them scamper out the door.
The weather would soon be too cold for ice cream, and the truck will stop coming around.

I’ll
have to come up with a new treat for after school, maybe hot chocolate.

She returned to her stirring.

*******

The
boys reached the truck just as the driver was preparing to leave. Jack waved and Tommy reopened the window. “What'll it be boys, the usual?”

Jack was just about to say
yes when he heard a voice behind him. “What's the usual?”

Jack, Jesse
, and Tommy all turned to look at the stranger. Jack recognized him as the man named Michael who had shaken his hand at the grocery store.

“Ice cream sandwich for Jack
, a fudgcicle for me,” Jesse answered.

“Really? Why don't we have something new today?”

“We only have a dollar,” Jack explained.

“My treat
, anything you want.”

Jesse's eyes got huge.
“I've never had an Explosion Cone! Can I have one of those?”

Jack knew they weren't supposed to talk to strangers
, but they had met him before. Besides, he'd always wanted an Explosion Cone himself. “I'd like one, too.”

Michael lo
oked at Tommy with a big grin. “Make it three…what was it?”

“Explosion
Cone!” Jack and Jesse shouted together.

“Right, make it three to go!”

Tommy doled out the three giant cones, Michael paid, and they walked off. Jesse was in heaven, attacking his ice cream with frenzy. Jack paused his eating to thank Michael. “That was real nice, mister. Thanks.”

“
You’re welcome, and it was my pleasure. You boys get ice cream a lot?”

“Every
day after school, if we've been good.”

“That's awful nice of your mom. You boys need a lift home?”

“No, thank you,” Jack wasn’t going to break two rules in a row, and no rides was a rule, even if he had met Michael before. “It's just a short walk. Bye, and thanks again.”

“Bye
, Jesse. Bye, Jack.”

Michael got in his car and watched the boys walk toward home. Jesse and Jack ha
d just helped plan his next move.

*******

Katie didn't see the boys come in.

“Mom
look, we got Explosion Cones!”

Katie turned to lo
ok at them. “Really? That's great. Wasn't that nice of Tommy?”

“Not Tommy
…”

Jack cut in.
“The nice man from the grocery store bought them.”

Katie's face immediately turned dark, her voice rising.

“What man? You let a stranger buy you ice cream?”

“You remember,
I shook his hand. His name is Michael.”

It to
ok Katie a minute, but she did remember. She was still unhappy. “You boys know not to talk to strangers, especially you, Jack.”

“We knew who he was.”

“He's still a stranger. Grandma Shirley is someone you know. Your soccer coach is someone you know. That man is a stranger.” Her voice held both anger and fear.

“Sorry
, Mom, I won't do it again, promise.” Jack was near tears.

Katie to
ok a deep breath and pulled him to her. She gave him a hug, holding on for a long time. She would have done the same with Jesse, but as usual, he was
wearing
most of his ice cream.

Katie and Jack both lo
oked at him, breaking out in laughter at the same time.

Katie's anger disappeared
, but the uneasy feeling was still there.

*******

Shirley heard the phone ringing. Her hair wet, and a towel wrapped around her, the caller hung up by the time she got to the phone. She looked at the number. It was Wade.

She toweled off and got dressed.
She was running a brush through her hair when it rang again. This time, she got to it before he hung up. “Hello?”

“Shirley?”

“Yes. Hi, Wade Everything okay?”

“Sure, Katie and the kids are fine.
I'm calling about something else.”

Shirley put the brush down and sat on the end of the bed.
“Okay, what's up?”

“You remember the phone call I got at the soccer field the other day?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it wasn't about a
real estate deal.”

“I suspected as much.”

“It was some guy telling me I had his son and he wanted him back.”

A
long pause followed while Shirley let it sink in. “Did you tell him he was mistaken?”

“
Yeah, but he wouldn't listen. Finally, I just hung up on him.”

“Did you tell Katie?”

“No, I didn't want to scare her.”

Shirley tried to reassure both herself and Wade.
“I'm sure it's nothing.”

“There's more.”

Shirley caught her breath and Wade continued.