Read Online STOLEN by DAWN KOPMAN WHIDDEN - Free Book Online Page B

wanted to ask him to
come back to work, now that the Captain was out of surgery, but thought better
of it.
    “I’m going to go back to the station, see what the techs
found. Maybe Frank found something on the video that will give us some
answers.”
    She smiled at Hope. “I’ll see you guys later.”
    Her first task would be to see what she could drum up on the
dead guy, Fred Blakey, or whatever his real name was, and find out exactly who
the guy in surgery was and how the two were connected. Maybe, by doing a little
old-fashioned detective work, she would be able to connect the dots. She
resigned herself to the fact that this kid couldn’t or wouldn’t tell them who
he was, so she would have to do it for him. Somewhere out there was a mother
and father probably going insane not knowing what has happened to their little
boy, devastated by the thought they possibly were never going to see their
child again. Her professional persona took a sudden nosedive, as she found
herself almost in tears at the thought, as another wave of intense heat
traveled through her entire body.

He knew he should be upstairs with his family
standing vigil over his father’s bedside, but there was something about this kid
that captivated him. The most obvious was that he physically looked like he
could have been Hope’s son. His eyes were the same shade of green, his hair the
same dark chocolate brown.
    The medical team that examined him determined that Tristan
wasn’t out in the weather for too long, because they found no signs of exposure
or injuries. A few bruises and scratches here and there scattered around were
just the signs of a very active little boy. Justin handed Marty a small pair of
sneakers and he sat down in front of Tristan, who was sitting up now, his legs
dangling over the side of the bed. Marty grabbed Tristan’s ankle and lifted his
right leg onto his own right knee and maneuvered the canvas shoe onto his foot.
Marty started to lace it up, but Tristan leaned over and grunted, pushing Marty’s
hand away and taking possession of the shoe string; he proceeded to make a bow
out of one side of the lace and then a second bow and tie it into a knot. He
looked up at Marty with a smile so wide, as if he was so proud of what he had
accomplished. Marty put the second sneaker on his other foot and adjusted the
tongue, and then he leaned back, allowing Tristan to do the same with the
second sneaker.
    Marty thought they were getting along fine so he was caught
off guard when it happened. Marty turned his back for just a second when Tristan
jumped off the bed and took off, only this time the wall he ran into was
wearing a skirt. The social worker, Sophie Harris, stood blocking the door. Tristan
turned back to Marty and Marty could swear he was able to read the look in his
eyes. Tristan was hoping that Marty would be an accomplice, and help him
escape. Marty was tempted to tell Sophie to let him go, he wanted to follow, to
see where he would lead them. Maybe he was not running aimlessly, after all. But
he knew there were procedures that had to be followed and now it was in the
hands of the social worker. Besides, Marty had a very ill parent, his only
parent, who was in a room upstairs and had just come out of a very delicate
surgery. He had priorities. Family first.
    Marty picked him up and placed him back on the bed. Tristan
tightened his muscles and they became stiff in defiance, yet he didn’t fight him.
    “What’s going to happen to him, Sophie?” Marty asked her,
keeping his hands firmly on either side of the child’s narrow hips, preventing
any further attempt at escape.
    She moved in closer, also expecting the kid to try and take
off again.
    “We have our entire department, and yours, looking for his
parents. So far, he doesn’t match any of the children reported or listed in the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
    It was at that moment that Tristan leaned over, put his
little hands on Marty’s shoulders