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“P eter Bigwood,” Kate repeated into the phone. “What about it?” When he hesitated, she groaned. “Don’t tell me somebody contacted you.”

“This little guy has contacted me a couple times,” Simon reminded her, “and the best I could tell you was that his name was Peter and he went missing two years ago. You saw my text from last night, I presume?”

“Right.”

“But now my stalker realtor contacted me.”

“Okay, and what’s that got to do with this?”

“She was following me around the city, under the guise of nagging me about buying a building. Finally, I got half mad and asked her what the hell was really going on, and she told me how she’d heard something about my helping to find a little boy.”

“Oh, crap,” Kate muttered.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“The end result is that little boy I have been talking to is her nephew, and apparently the realtor’s sister is not doing very well.”

“Of course not,” Kate replied compassionately. “But to contact you…”

“I know. Believe me,… I know. I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to do with this either. She looked desperate.”

“So, what is it you want me to do?”

“Now that you have Peter’s last name, could you look into the missing person’s case and ensure that it’s valid and that this Peter is still missing?”

“What? You’re thinking that she’s lost her marbles?”

“No, just another lost little boy,” he said.

“Crap. I’m inundated with dead little kids.”

“Yeah, in this case, I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”

First came silence. “So often they are,” she muttered.

“I know, and I didn’t have the heart to tell Ariel that outright, but I did warn her that it could go that way.”

“Oh, you probably said a little more than that. You can’t help yourself.”

He winced. “Maybe,” he agreed, “but I didn’t tell her anything either way.”

“That’s good because, if he’s dead, it won’t be a good answer.”

“No, but it is still an answer.”

She went silent again. “I’ll take a look, but no promises.” And, with that, she disconnected, staring at her phone in confusion.

Lilliana stopped by her desk. “That sounded unusual.”

“Not when you live with Simon,” Kate noted. “Somebody he knows mentioned that their nephew is missing and has somehow figured out that Simon may or may not have a line into helping with such things. So, he’s asked me to see if it’s a real case and whether anything is there would preclude him from going ahead with it.”

“Ouch,” Lilliana replied. “I mean, you can’t even win with that deal.”

Rodney sat nearby and had heard it too. He nodded.

Kate agreed. “I know it, and, if I say no, and a little boy named Peter is missing, then it sucks for everybody. However, if I say yes, then Simon gets involved in another missing child case.”

“Which could obviously have repercussions in terms of maybe finding him, but also maybe not.”

Rodney turned away from them, cleared his monitor, and brought up the database, then asked, “What’s the name?”

“Peter Bigwood,” Kate said.

“Oh, I know that case,” Lilliana replied. “It was all over the news. Little boy, out on the playground in Surrey and supposed to be with other kids at the time. He just wasn’t there at the end of the school day. He was supposed to be on the playground, and school’s over, and there’s a monitor, and kids are being picked up all over the place. The mom comes to pick him up, and he’s gone, never to be seen again.”

“And, of course, she knows nothing.”

“Right, she knows nothing,” Lilliana confirmed. “She had a breakdown afterward, thinking she was responsible, and hasn’t been doing well ever since.”

“Do you know her?”

She winced and nodded. “Yes, not close, but I knew of her at the time.”

“It’s not the easiest thing to deal with in any case.”

“Exactly,” Lilliana agreed.

Rodney asked, “Did Simon say anything about it?”

Kate turned to him and grimaced. “Simon thinks the boy is dead.”

They both winced, but no surprise was there because generally, when children are picked up, they are used and abused and then discarded. There was also the sex trade to consider, and, while neither one of them wanted to see anybody go into that, at least it could mean that the little boy might still potentially be alive.

Rodney sent something to the printer and then got up and shared, “I sent you an email copy as well, but this is the file on it.”

Just as Lilliana suggested, there was really nothing to go on. “They did check into the parents, but the father was away at a conference, so he was cleared immediately, and the mother was at work. She was off right on time, but the traffic held her up. So, by the time she made it to the location, there was no sign of him.”

“Crap,” Kate murmured. “That’ll be something that weighs on her the whole time too.”

“Exactly,” Rodney said. “I mean, it’s bad enough that you already hate traffic, but to know that being late on one particular day may have contributed to the loss of your son would be awful. Not to mention that I believe the family broke up over it all as well. The father blamed the mother. The mother blamed the father, and it’s been a shit show.”

“A realtor Simon works with is the one who got in on this. The sister of the mom, I guess.”

“Ah, I remember that. She was pretty active in the search I think.”

“Too active?” Kate turned and asked directly.

“No, I don’t think so. I think she just realized that her sister would go to pieces, and something needed to happen. Otherwise, they were in danger of losing her too.”

Rodney nodded. “Which all of us can understand.”

“Yeah, especially considering the fact that I’m already dealing with two dead kids right now,” Kate stated, “and now we have a third one.”

Rodney dropped the printed pages on her desk. “Is there any chance that these are connected?”

“If they are, I have no idea how,” Kate admitted. “So far, I don’t have anything to speak of, except the same designer drug keeps showing up, and nobody understands how either kid got it—except for the teen, since he could have obtained it and taken it on his own. Yet he has no history of heavy drugs, according to the neighbors and the mother.”

Lilliana added, “And we also know that the mother would lie as much as any mother will, in order to save herself, or maybe save her son.”

“Did you stop in at the hospital and see her?” Rodney asked.

“Edna? No, I got sidetracked by my mother,” Kate replied, “but I can go now, particularly since we have yet another child, missing, presumed dead. And yet—”

“I know,” Rodney interrupted, “and yet it shouldn’t be related. It’s just that when it involves Simon…”

“Exactly.” Kate raised both hands. “When it’s Simon, all bets are off.”

She grabbed her keys then headed back to the hospital. As she headed down the hallway to Edna’s room, the hospital’s Code Blue alarm went off, and Kate raced there. She stood outside in the hallway with her heart in her throat as she waited.

When the doctor came out moments later, he shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “She’s gone.”

Kate closed her eyes, hating the fact that she had missed the opportunity to talk to her earlier, something that could have made a difference.

Then the doctor added, “She never regained consciousness.”

Kate took a deep breath. “Thank you for telling me that. I was supposed to come talk to her earlier, when I was here to see another patient, but I didn’t get it done.”

“Sometimes we do everything we can, and still it’s not enough. Unfortunately, in this instance, we don’t have any answers, except for the fact that grief is one of the most debilitating emotions ever. I guess she went to join her son after all.” And, with a commiserating look, he walked away.

She immediately sent Rodney a text message, and he called her a few minutes later. “Do you think it’s all on the up-and-up?” he asked.

“We’ll wait for an autopsy on that one,” she murmured. “Yet, if we think about it, considering what Edna had just gone through, I’m really not surprised.”

“No, I’m not either. I’m just sad because…”

“I agree. No point in saying she had so much to live for because, as far as she was concerned, life wasn’t worth living if she didn’t have her son.” Kate hesitated. “Still, I need to sort out if anything else was going on with this case, without her assistance. So I’ll go to her house and take a look. We went through the teen’s room and talked to the neighbors about him, but we didn’t do a full search on her.”

“Right. How about I meet you there?” Rodney suggested.

“Sure.”

He added, “I’ve got my other cases here more or less wrapped up.”

“Good to know,” she murmured. “But having said that…”

“I understand. I jinxed it. Now we’ll get twelve murders, fourteen drive-by shootings, and sixteen questionable deaths all in the next twenty-four hours.”

“When it happens,” she quipped, “I’m blaming you.”

He laughed. “I’ll meet you there in twenty.”

She walked out of the hospital, took a deep breath, then looked back and thought about the pain and the waste, the loss of life and how debilitating it was to everyone. When she sat in her vehicle, her phone rang. As she answered it, a man who she barely recognized spoke on the other end of the phone.

“Kate, is that you?”

“Yes. Who is this?”

The man replied, “Your stepfather.”

She frowned as she stared down at the phone. “I wasn’t expecting your call today,” she noted cautiously.

“No, of course not,” he conceded. “Your mother told me what’s been going on.”

“Did she?” she asked, bitterness in her tone. “Are you calling from prison?”

Silence came again. “I just got out,” he murmured, “and I was hoping we could talk.”

“Oh, we could talk,” she noted. “However, I’m not sure what good you think it would do.”

“Your mom never really spoke much about what happened to your brother back then.”

“No, all she’s ever done is blame me,” she snapped.

He sighed. “I’m sorry about that. Obviously that’s not been fair to you.”

She shook her head. “Why do you want to talk?”

“I… might shed some light on it. On… what happened.”

She sucked in her breath. “I guess that’s a guaranteed way to get my attention.”

“I didn’t really want it to be for that reason,” he admitted, “but I really would like to talk to you about it.”

“Or you want to talk to Mom.”

“No, I’ve already talked to her.”

Kate swore. “Is that the reason she’s so terrified right now? Is that because of you?”

“I don’t think so,” he said, “no reason for her to be.”

“What the hell?” she asked, scrubbing her face with her free hand.

“I know. It’s confusing, but I think we should talk.”

“Fine. When?”

“Tonight. I need food, and you need to eat as well,” he stated, with a note of humor in his voice. Then he named a restaurant not too far from her place.

“Fine, but don’t be wasting my time.”

“Of course not,” he said. “Selene told me that you’re a cop.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that surprised you.”

“I haven’t kept up over the last few years,” he shared, “but I’m happy for you. Really.” And, with that, he hung up.

She hadn’t mentioned anything about bringing somebody but knew instinctively that, if she told Simon, he would want to be there too. Was it so wrong? He was connected to the case, yet wasn’t. She knew she needed to tell Rodney too. And, with that, she turned on the engine and headed to Edna’s house to meet him there.

As soon as she got out, Rodney stared at her and asked, “What happened?” Frowning, she told him. “Oh hell no,” he declared. “You’re not making that meeting on your own.”

“That was my take on it too,” she agreed, “but I’m not sure exactly what he’s planning.”

“Which is also why you’re not going alone,” he repeated immediately.

“Yeah, you coming with me?” she teased, with half a smile.

He frowned at that. “I guess he won’t be too happy to see more authority.”

“I doubt it, though I could be wrong. He told me that he’s just been released from prison.”

“Let’s check that out. I’ll get Lilliana on it right now,” he announced.

“Why don’t you get Reese to pull everything she can on him, my mother, and anybody else on the case,” she suggested. “We should have done that already.”

He looked at her and nodded. “We did do that. I just don’t think we have a report back yet, or, if it’s back, that it was even shared with you.” She froze at that, and he nodded. “Remember how it’s not just about you anymore. An awful lot more is going on here than that.”

“I agree,” she muttered. “It’s just a weird feeling to think that I’ve been kept out of the loop on this case, the most important case for me.”

“I’m not sure it’s deliberate. I think we’re all a bit unsure on who’s supposed to report to whom on this one,” he offered.

He quickly sent off several texts, while she sent one to Simon. As soon as Simon got it, he called her.

“I’ll meet you there,” he stated.

“Look. It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not fine,” he snapped, “and don’t go telling me that it’s fine. This guy has been in prison for how long? Now he gets out, and the first thing he does is contact you?”

“Yes, that’s apparently what he did, after talking to my mother,” she pointed out, with a note of humor in her tone. “And I get it. You don’t think that’s normal.”

“Nope, it’s not normal,” he barked. “And, if he has something to say about your brother, you’ll need somebody there with you. Not to mention he assaulted you as a child.”

She groaned. “I was kind of hoping to get through this one on my own.”

“Not happening,” Simon snapped. “So, you might as well give it up right now.”

“Fine,” she muttered, “then you might as well come for dinner.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you asked.” And, with that, he hung up.

She was still glaring at the phone while Rodney chuckled beside her.

“Have we solved that problem? Because I don’t want you going alone. Me or him, that’s your choice on this one.”

“I am a cop, you know?”

“And this is your stepfather, who sexually abused you, who physically abused your mother, and no telling what with your missing brother,” Rodney reminded her. “So absolutely nothing is normal about it. Every time something happens, it sends you for a loop. It would send any of us for a loop,” he stated, glaring at her.

“Fine,” she muttered. “Simon is coming. Are you happy with that?”

“Actually I am. If nothing else,… I trust his judgment.”

“Oh, and you don’t trust mine?”

“Right now, with this case? No,” he stated bluntly. “I don’t. You’re so involved in the case that you’re practically a part of it. Still, this is a good answer. Now, shall we go deal with Edna’s house?”

She nodded and proceeded to walk into the poor woman’s home and tear apart the rest of her life. The little bit that was left after the death of her son was now about to be completely disintegrated by everybody else in law enforcement. It was a sad fact that, the minute you died, your life became a hell of a lot more interesting than when you were alive.

*

Simon shoved the paperwork to the back of his desk to stare out his huge office window. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kate’s stepfather. This was the man who had sexually assaulted her as a child, and she’d had a part in making sure he ended up behind bars. Why the hell would he be contacting her now? He was sure it was nothing good.

Simon wanted to reach out to her mother and see just what was going on, but, if Kate was correct, and Selene was scared shitless, this could explain why. Unfortunately, it made way too much sense.

He sat for a moment and wrote down the little bits and pieces he knew, just trying to empty his mind. Then, hating what he was about to do, but feeling as if he had to try, he opened up his mind and sent out a message to Peter.

His mind went into this sad, quiet, almost desperate moment where there was nothing but just this weird silence in his brain.

And then that little voice said, Hello?

“Peter, is that you?”

His voice was even more frail and wispy than before. Yes, it’s me .

“Somebody is really missing you,” Simon told him.

My mom , he replied immediately. Yes, I think so .

“Is there anything you can tell me about where you are, so I can help you?”

First came silence, and Simon knew that he’d asked Peter this same question before, and it was frustrating that nobody ever seemed to have any answers. “Do you know where you are? Is it dark or light?”

Light… I think.

Right, of course not, a clear answer would be way too easy. “Your aunt is asking about you.”

Again came silence. Aunt?

“Yes, Aunt Ariel, your mother’s sister.”

Ah .

Simon was unsure whether Peter remembered Ariel, though he was young and may not. “I want to bring you home, if I could,” Simon said.

That would be nice . His voice was fading.

“Please don’t leave.”

I don’t think I can stay , the little boy shared.

“Can I get more information other than water? Are you close to the school? Are you close to home? Are you in the woods? Are you inside a building? Are you outside? Do you remember who you were with? Are you alone now?”

No ,… I’m not alone .

Simon caught the breath in the back of his throat. “I know this is a very complex question, but do you know who you are with?”

Other … little boys.

Simon winced. “Can you tell me anything else? Anything about the other boys?”

No , he whispered.

“Are they all dead?” Simon asked, hating at needing to clarify question. Of course dead and together didn’t mean they’d died together or were buried at the same place. That was a leap he couldn’t make. There were too many variables when it came to the other side.

After a long silence, Peter whispered, I don’t know . And then the little boy broke into weird sobs, that sounded like crying but not. And then he was gone.

“God,” Simon muttered to himself. That was really well done. Not .

He didn’t have any experience in this. All he knew was to ask questions and to hope for answers. Only when he got up did he realize how late it was, how long he’d talked to Peter. Simon had twenty minutes and only twenty minutes to get to the restaurant tonight. When he finally walked in, he saw no sign of Kate. It would make life a little easier if she was already here.

A man sat at a table in the far corner. He was looking around, as if waiting for somebody. Simon studied him for a long moment, not liking anything about it. He knew when Kate arrived outside because the man’s gaze sharpened, and almost a feral smile appeared. Simon realized that Kate might be here for all the right reasons, but this asshole was not.