I hit him with my best scowl. “Clearly, you’ve never had one of my sandwiches.”
The desperate gleam in his eyes testified to his current state of hunger.
“Ham, turkey, or both?” I asked, making him feel like he had a choice in the matter of my feeding him.
“Both, I guess,” he said with a hesitant shrug.
“That sounds good. I think I’ll have the same. Now for the hard part.”
His brows drew together in concern.
“Soda, iced tea, or milk?”
His mouth slid into a grin as his eyes wandered to the coffeepot.
“How about milk with the sandwich. Then you can have coffee.”
Another shrug of confirmation lifted his shoulders.
“We’ve already figured out Benny Price is the bad guy here,” I said while piling a third slice of ham onto his sandwich. “Can you tell me about the night your friend died?”
He lowered his head, reluctant to talk about it.
“Teddy, we have to get your uncle out of prison and get Price into it.”
“I didn’t even know Uncle Mark had been arrested. The thought of him killing anyone is laughable,” he added with a snort. “He’s the calmest person I’ve ever met. Not like my mom, I can tell you that.”
“Have you seen your mom since you’ve been back?”
“No. Father Federico said he would set up a meeting when we got back where she’d be safe, but we haven’t seen him either. I think maybe Price figured out what was going on and got to him, too.”
“What is going on?” I asked after pouring him a tall glass of milk.
He took a huge bite, then washed it down with the ice-cold milk. “Price sends out scouts. You know, people who look for homeless kids and the like. Kids that won’t be missed.”
“Gotcha. But you weren’t homeless.”
“James was, kind of. His mom had kicked him out when she remarried. He didn’t have anywhere to go, so he was staying in Uncle Mark’s shed.”
“And when he got hurt, that’s where he went.”
“Yeah. James got suspicious of this one scout who kept asking questions, wanted to know if James had any family, if he’d go stay with him. So James and I did our own little investigation.” He put his sandwich down. “We figured out who the scout worked for and snuck into one of Price’s warehouses. It was all very James Bond, you know? We had no idea what was really going on.”
“So they caught you, but you got away?”
“Yeah, but James got hurt pretty bad. We were running and just kind of got split up. I had two guys on my ass. Big guys. I’d never been so scared.”
I sat beside Teddy and put an arm on his shoulder.
He took another bite. “I heard about what Father Federico was doing—”
“Doing?”
“Helping runaways and stuff.”
“Right,” I said. “And you went to him?”
“Yeah. Funny thing was, he knew all about Benny Price. He hid me in his warehouse.”
“Wait, the same warehouse—”
“The same one. Sorry about that again, by the way.”
Ah, finally my chance to find out where everyone disappeared to that night. “Okay, there were two guys in the warehouse packing boxes, but when I reached the ground, everyone was gone. Any thoughts?”
Teddy smiled. “That warehouse has a basement with an entrance that’s almost impossible to find. We hid in there till everyone left.”
Smart. “So Father Federico was trying to hide the kids Price wanted?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t he just go to the cops?”
“He did. They said they were building a case against him. In the meantime, kids were still disappearing. You’ve seen the posters.”
I had.
“They said Father Federico didn’t have enough hard evidence to prove Price was behind any of the kidnappings.”
“So, you’ve been in this warehouse for two years?”
He choked on a bite and took a gulp of milk. “No. You have to understand, Father Federico is a take-charge kind of guy. When the cops couldn’t help, he took matters into his own hands. He started a watch, a search-and- rescue team, and an underground railroad of sorts.”
I bit back my surprise and waited for Teddy to continue.
After popping the last piece into his mouth, he said, “We have all kinds of guys working this thing. Me? My end is Panama.”
“Panama?” I asked, taken completely by surprise.
“Yeah. We got shipping records, invoices, and even buyers’ addresses. They’re freaking everywhere. But Price was constantly on the lookout for me, so Father Federico made sure I stayed hidden.”
“So Carlos Rivera worked for Father Federico?”
“Not at first. He was a scout.
Right. I couldn’t help but wonder why Carlos didn’t just go to the police. Of course, the big fat target he would have become might have had something to do with his decision. Some people think the police are worse than the criminals. Going to them would be like committing suicide.
“So, you’ve been in Panama?”
“Yes. I’ve saved seven kids, in case you’re wondering,” he said proudly. “Well, I helped save seven kids.”
“And you didn’t know what was going on with your uncle?”
“Yeah, I knew. Father Federico kept me informed, but we just kept thinking they’d drop the charges on Uncle Mark. I mean, he didn’t do anything. I couldn’t imagine he’d actually get convicted. We didn’t want to risk our operation to save Uncle Mark, but when he got convicted, we didn’t have a choice. I still can’t believe it. I mean, how did James’s blood get on Uncle Mark’s shoes?”
“I’ve already got that one covered,” I said. “It had been raining. Your uncle took out the trash that evening and must have stepped in a puddle James’s blood had run into. He didn’t see him behind the shed, but someone must have seen James stumble over the fence and called the police.”
“Of course,” he said, taking a long sip of the piping-hot black coffee.
“Are you old enough to take your coffee black?”
He smiled. In that moment, he looked old enough to drink coffee any color he wanted. His eyes had seen too much. His heart had experienced too much fear and grief. He’d probably aged ten years in the last two.
“Why did you come back?” I asked.
“I had to. I couldn’t let Uncle Mark go to jail for something he didn’t do.”
“Even if it meant risking your life?” I asked, pride nudging my heart.
With a shrug, he said, “That’s all I’ve done for two years. I’m tired of running. If Price wants me, he can come and get me.”
My chest tightened. No way was I letting that happen. “We have to call the police, you know.”
“I know. That’s partly why I’m here. Father Federico has disappeared, and we need to hire you.”
CHAPTER 17
