Read Online The Advocate's Conviction by Teresa Burrell - Free Book Online

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    “You think he may already be dead, don’t you?” Sabre asked, as JP trampled through some bushes.
    JP looked at Sabre. The lines on his forehead seemed deeper and his eyes gave away his concern. He took a breath and his face lightened a little. He reached out and took her hand. “I think he may still be alive. I think he could be hiding. I think he could be hurt, tired, hungry, scared. And yes, I think there are other possibilities, but I choose to think he’s still alive.” He let go of her hand. She sighed and they continued to talk with everyone they met.
    They woke a man asleep on a bench, covered with a dirty overcoat, and showed him Cole’s picture. “Nope. Never seen him.”
    The next man they met asked for some money. He wore a mangled hat that looked like it was once a light brown but now was dark from dirt and grease. His shoeless toes on both feet protruded out of soiled socks. He reeked of alcohol and urine. JP took a dollar bill out of his wallet. He started to hand it to the man, but held on to it as he showed him the picture of Cole. The man shook his head. “Sorry, man,” he slurred. JP let go of the bill.
    They continued for several hours through the park, covering ground and killing time until it was late enough to contact Hayden’s foster parents and interview Hayden again. Before they reached the opposite end of the park, they encountered a woman fumbling through a trash can. She was methodically sorting, removing the bottles and cans as well as discarded bags of half-eaten food. She picked up a bag that read McDonalds across the side, opened it up, and then tossed it back. She pulled out two soda cans and placed them in her shopping cart, along with an empty beer bottle and two plastic water bottles. She leaned into the trash can again and pulled out a bag from In-N-Out. She opened it, removed a half-eaten tray of French fries, and set them in a cardboard box in the basket portion of her cart. Sabre and JP stood there watching her as she continued to stash bottles and cans into her cart, but placed a piece of donut, left-over Chinese food in its paper carton, and a Styrofoam container of Mexican food into her cardboard box.
    They approached her cautiously so as not to startle her. Sabre spoke. “Good morning, ma’am.”
    “Hmpf,” the woman responded.
    “Excuse me. We’re looking for a missing child.” Sabre showed the picture of Cole to the woman. “Have you seen this boy?”
    “Lots of boys everywhere. Boys play. Boys help. Boys drink and eat.” She reached in her basket and picked up a donut. “Hungry?”
    “No, thank you. You keep it.” Sabre felt a tug at her heart for the generosity of this poor woman. “Have you seen this boy?” Sabre extended the photo.
    “Nice boy.”
    “Do you know him?”
    “Good boy.”
    “Have you seen him here in the park?” Sabre tried again.
    “In the park. Yes, in the park.”
    “You’ve seen him here in the park?”
    “No.” The woman returned to the trash and started digging again.
    “Thank you,” Sabre said and started to walk away.
    The woman pulled out another fast food bag with a partially eaten hamburger and placed it in her box. Sabre thought she heard her say, “Food for the boy.”
    Sabre turned to JP. “Did you hear what she said?”
    “It sounded like she said, ‘Food for the boy.’”
    “Do you think she has seen him?”
    “It’s hard to say. She’s not making a lot of sense.”
    Sabre walked back to the woman and showed her the picture again. “Do you know this boy’s name?”
    “Boy,” the woman responded as she reached her hand toward the photo and moved her finger across it, as if she were caressing his face.
    “What do you call him?” Sabre asked.
    “Boy.” This time she didn’t look up.
    “His name is Cole. Do you know where he is?” The woman continued to dig through the trash, not looking or responding to Sabre’s question. Sabre asked again, “Do you know Cole?”
    “Boy,” the