what’d happened to Ethan, and an almost equally desperate hope that it had nothing to do with Neil.
“I didn’t say that.”
“It hasn’t,” said Neil, shrill with the need to be believed. “I swear on my life. I love you, Susie. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I know I’ve messed up big-time. I know I should’ve told the police, but I panicked at the thought that I might lose you.”
“You were right, you might have lost me,” said Susan. “But now you definitely have.”
More tears bubbled up and ran down Neil’s face. He clutched at Susan’s hand like a drowning man. “Please don’t do this. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll make this up to you.”
Susan shoved Neil’s hand away. “You can’t. Not unless you can bring back my little boy.” She leaned forward suddenly, her eyes like needles. “Can you do that?”
Neil’s voice matched the intensity of Susan’s gaze, as he said, “No, but I can try. I’ll do everything I can to prove how much I love you. Just give me a chance. I swear to God, I’ll either make this right or die trying.”
Seemingly stunned by the force of Neil’s words, her inner turmoil and uncertainty written in the shifting lines of her face, Susan hesitated to reply. She flinched at the shrill ring of Harlan’s phone. He snatched it out, and seeing Jim’s name on its screen, he said, “I’ve got to take this.” Giving Neil a warning look, as if to say, don’t even think about moving, he got out of the car. “I’ve been trying to call you,” he said into his phone. “Why aren’t you answering your phone?”
“I’ll tell you in a moment,” said Jim, sounding utterly worn out. “First you tell me why it’s so important that we get Price off the streets.”
Harlan told his ex-partner about Neil’s debt.
“Interesting.”
“I’d say it’s more than interesting.”
“Where’s Price now?”
“In my car.” When Harlan’s reply elicited a hiss of displeasure, he added, “And before you start getting shitty with me, I’m not forcing him to be there, he approached me to talk.”
“And what’s he told you?”
“Nothing much I didn’t already know. He claims he lied because he was afraid Susan would leave him.”
“That’s most probably true.”
Harlan’s eyebrows came together in a frown. “What makes you say that? Come on, Jim, out with it. What the hell’s going on?”
“First things first. Where are you?” When Harlan told him, Jim said, “Stay there. I’ll send someone to pick Price up.”
“Why can’t you come yourself?”
“Because I’m in Manchester.”
Harlan recalled that the police had been searching for connections between Ethan’s abduction and a boy who’d gone missing in Prestwich. What was his name? Jamie Sutton. Yes, that was it. He’d gone out riding his bike and never come home. “You’ve found the Sutton boy.”
“No. Another boy’s been abducted just a few miles from where Jamie Sutton went missing. His name’s Jack Holland, and he’s seven-years old.”
“Jesus. What happened?”
As though the words were heavy weights that had to be hauled out of him from a great depth, Jim said, “Jack and his fourteen-year old brother, Mark, were at some shops near their home. Mark went into one, leaving Jack playing on his scooter outside. When Mark left the shop approximately five minutes later, the scooter was still there but Jack wasn’t. Mark saw a white transit van driving fast away from the shops.”
“Did he get the reg?”
“No.”
“Did anyone else see anything?”
“If they did, we haven’t talked to them yet.”
“So you don’t know for sure that the kid was abducted. He could’ve just wandered off.”
“He could have, but I don’t think he did. I think he was abducted. I’ll go even further than that and say that I think he was abducted by the same person who took Ethan Reed.”
Harlan puffed his cheeks. “That’s a pretty big assumption to make based on what you’ve told me.”
“If it was based on that alone, yes, it would be. But there’s something I haven’t told you yet. Something about Jack Holland. Actually, maybe it’d be better if I just show you.”
“What do you mean, show me?”
“I’m sending you a picture of Jack Holland.”
Harlan’s phone beeped as the picture came through. When he saw it, his mouth fell open. Jack Holland had the same pale, delicate features, the same faraway blue eyes, even the same wavy, straw-blond hair as Ethan Reed. There were differences between the boys — Jack had a dark mole on his left cheek, and his face was perhaps a shade chubbier. But at a glance they could’ve been mistaken for identical twins. “Are they related? Jack and Ethan, I mean.”
“No.”
“So…so…” Harlan trailed off as his mind scrambled to make sense of all the possible implications of what he was seeing.
“So either this just a monumental coincidence or someone out there has very specific tastes.”
“There’s no such thing as coincidence.”
Jim grunted in agreement. “Now you understand why I think Price is more than likely telling the truth. This isn’t about money. This guy, whoever he is, is a predatory sexual deviant of the worst kind. And, as you know, scumbags like that usually operate alone.”
“Usually, but there’s a chance this one doesn’t, right? I mean, Jamie Sutton was a good few years older than Ethan and Jack. So either this perverted fuck goes for older boys as well, or he’s got a partner with different tastes.”
“That’s a possibility, assuming Ethan and Jack’s cases are connected to Jamie’s, which we’re not convinced they are. But even if they are, it doesn’t put Price in the frame. In fact, I’d say it does the opposite. Think about it. Assuming Price does have a taste for boys like Jamie Sutton, how come he’s never tried anything on with Kane Reed?”
“Maybe he has.”
“If that were true, do you really think Kane wouldn’t have spilled to us by now?”
No, Harlan didn’t think so. He glanced into the car. Susan was staring at him as if trying to read his lips. Neil’s head hung forward, eyes closed. He could’ve been mistaken for a corpse. Just one more casualty in the trail of desolation that lay in the wake of all such crimes. Harlan heaved a sigh. “So who are you sending for Price?”
“Don’t worry. It’s someone you can trust not to tell Garrett about your involvement. Listen, Harlan, I can’t talk anymore now. Things are pretty hectic here. I’ll call you if there are any new developments.”
“Good luck.”
Harlan hung up. He stared at the photo of Jack Holland a moment longer. Then, with a sick and weary look in his eyes, he got back into the car. “Who was that?” Susan asked anxiously.
“A friend. A policeman. There’s been a development.”
“I knew it! I knew something was going on.” Susan’s voice grew hesitant, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to her question. “Have they found Ethan?”
“No. There’s been another abduction.” Harlan showed Susan the photo. She sucked in her breath, putting a trembling hand to her mouth as he briefly filled her in on the details.
Neil craned his neck to see the phone’s screen. His eyes widened, horrified, yet with a spark of wild hope mixed in. “Don’t you see? Don’t you see, Susie? This proves none of this has got anything to do with me.” He turned to Harlan. “Tell her. Tell her I’m right.”
“It’s hard to say what this proves right now.”
“But if this sicko’s snatching other kids, then-”
“Shut up, Neil,” broke in Susan, glaring at him as though she might slap him again. Transferring her gaze to Harlan, she asked in a quiet, almost tender voice, “Do you think your friend could get a message to Jack’s parents? Just to let them know they’re not alone. That I know what they’re going through.”
