just doing what teenagers do.”
Brody nodded. “I’ve told myself that a hundred times, but it doesn’t make the guilt go away.”
Another pained second passed. “I’ve worked a couple of other kidnappings/missing children cases,” Julie said. “Every parentand sibling, even the friends of the victim, always blame themselves. But the truth is that predators are everywhere. Sometimes it’s a crime of opportunity. They see a kid off by themselves and abduct the child. Sometimes, that person has been stalking the child for a while just waiting on the opportunity to arise to snatch him without anyone noticing.”
“My father went through all that withthe cops back then,” Brody said. “The police questioned all the employees at the rodeo, and as many spectators as they could. Some had already left by the time we realized Will was missing.”
“I know, I’ve studied the files.”
Brody’s gaze latched with hers. “You have?”
Julie nodded, then swung the car into the parking lot of the jail. “But if this case is connected to the Forte boy’sdisappearance, and to those others cases on the wall, then maybe Kyle can lead us to this bastard and we can save the victims he has.”
Brody nodded, although Kyle’s face flashed in his mind.
If Kyle was Will and he’d been abused to the point of not recognizing him or remembering his own name, would he give up his abductor’s name?
Would Brody ever get his brother back?
* * *
K YLE KEPT HIS head low as the policeman dragged him from the back of the car and shoved him into the police station.
Dammit to hell. The TBI had him.
A string of expletives rolled through his head. What was going to happen now?
He wasn’t worried about himself.
But the others...
They were counting on him.
Father was already pissed that his face had shown up onthe screen. He didn’t want any suspicion coming back to him. He’d pounded that in him over and over the night that news story had aired.
Today had been his chance to redeem himself.
And he’d failed.
The cop pushed him toward booking where they took his fingerprints. Kyle began to sweat. They would hammer him with questions and want to know about the other kid who’d been with him.Want to know if anyone else was involved.
Want to know about his parents and where he lived.
He had to keep his mouth shut.
Father would kill him if he talked.
No...worse. He’d make the others suffer and force him to watch.
Then he’d bury him like he had the other two boys.
Chapter Six
Brody felt helpless as they followed the police car from the local station to the TBI headquarters in San Antonio. Will—Kyle—had been processed by the police, but Julie had insisted he be transported immediately to the state’s federal facility, claiming jurisdiction over the locals, which seemed to piss them off.
But she’d held her ground, using the fact that Willmight be the victim of a serial kidnapper as leverage.
“What do you think?” Julie asked as they stepped into their break room to get a cop of coffee while Agent Cord escorted the boy to an interrogation room.
“I think he’s Will,” Brody said, going with his gut. “But...dammit, Julie, how can I not know for sure?”
Julie stirred sweetener into her coffee and gave him a sympatheticlook. “It’s been seven years,” she said softly. “Will went missing before he hit puberty so his body and voice changed.”
“But those eyes...” Brody let the sentence trail off as he remembered the distant look on the teenager’s face. Sure, his eyes were brown like Will’s, and he had a cowlick, but Will had always had a mischievous light in his eyes that gave him life.
This boy’s eyes lookedtroubled, cold, flat as if he’d seen the dark side of life and had given up on anything better.
He’d seen that same look in a few of the kids who came to the BBL. Sometimes he’d helped them turn their lives around, but he’d also failed with two of the older kids. Life had
Brody nodded. “I’ve told myself that a hundred times, but it doesn’t make the guilt go away.”
Another pained second passed. “I’ve worked a couple of other kidnappings/missing children cases,” Julie said. “Every parentand sibling, even the friends of the victim, always blame themselves. But the truth is that predators are everywhere. Sometimes it’s a crime of opportunity. They see a kid off by themselves and abduct the child. Sometimes, that person has been stalking the child for a while just waiting on the opportunity to arise to snatch him without anyone noticing.”
“My father went through all that withthe cops back then,” Brody said. “The police questioned all the employees at the rodeo, and as many spectators as they could. Some had already left by the time we realized Will was missing.”
“I know, I’ve studied the files.”
Brody’s gaze latched with hers. “You have?”
Julie nodded, then swung the car into the parking lot of the jail. “But if this case is connected to the Forte boy’sdisappearance, and to those others cases on the wall, then maybe Kyle can lead us to this bastard and we can save the victims he has.”
Brody nodded, although Kyle’s face flashed in his mind.
If Kyle was Will and he’d been abused to the point of not recognizing him or remembering his own name, would he give up his abductor’s name?
Would Brody ever get his brother back?
* * *
K YLE KEPT HIS head low as the policeman dragged him from the back of the car and shoved him into the police station.
Dammit to hell. The TBI had him.
A string of expletives rolled through his head. What was going to happen now?
He wasn’t worried about himself.
But the others...
They were counting on him.
Father was already pissed that his face had shown up onthe screen. He didn’t want any suspicion coming back to him. He’d pounded that in him over and over the night that news story had aired.
Today had been his chance to redeem himself.
And he’d failed.
The cop pushed him toward booking where they took his fingerprints. Kyle began to sweat. They would hammer him with questions and want to know about the other kid who’d been with him.Want to know if anyone else was involved.
Want to know about his parents and where he lived.
He had to keep his mouth shut.
Father would kill him if he talked.
No...worse. He’d make the others suffer and force him to watch.
Then he’d bury him like he had the other two boys.
Chapter Six
Brody felt helpless as they followed the police car from the local station to the TBI headquarters in San Antonio. Will—Kyle—had been processed by the police, but Julie had insisted he be transported immediately to the state’s federal facility, claiming jurisdiction over the locals, which seemed to piss them off.
But she’d held her ground, using the fact that Willmight be the victim of a serial kidnapper as leverage.
“What do you think?” Julie asked as they stepped into their break room to get a cop of coffee while Agent Cord escorted the boy to an interrogation room.
“I think he’s Will,” Brody said, going with his gut. “But...dammit, Julie, how can I not know for sure?”
Julie stirred sweetener into her coffee and gave him a sympatheticlook. “It’s been seven years,” she said softly. “Will went missing before he hit puberty so his body and voice changed.”
“But those eyes...” Brody let the sentence trail off as he remembered the distant look on the teenager’s face. Sure, his eyes were brown like Will’s, and he had a cowlick, but Will had always had a mischievous light in his eyes that gave him life.
This boy’s eyes lookedtroubled, cold, flat as if he’d seen the dark side of life and had given up on anything better.
He’d seen that same look in a few of the kids who came to the BBL. Sometimes he’d helped them turn their lives around, but he’d also failed with two of the older kids. Life had
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