29. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
No right answer
Matt
“W here did Hutton go?” I’ve asked everyone else, but Eden may be the only person he confided in.
She hangs her head, voice strained. “He didn’t tell me where he was going. He’s looking for Wes.”
I guessed as much.
The fear I had yesterday is either he or Eden is the ultimate goal for the Realists. They’re using Weston to lure them in. It has to be a trap. Why else would they take him?
An hour ago, it all turned upside down.
Now, I’m looking at it all differently.
One of the special agents working on the copycat killings had a short list of suspects…people who are alive, aware of certain details the public wouldn’t know, and are currently not serving time in prison. There are only three people that fit. If we aren’t missing another element of these crimes, then our suspects are: me, Agent Donna Schieve…and Hutton.
It’s not me, obviously, Donna is retired and living in Iceland last I knew, and Hutton…
Could he, or would he, ever do this?
I vehemently denied it being possible, until I remember he was groomed to be a super soldier his whole life; he is arguably the most intelligent person I’ve ever met, and the most secretive. The agent calling had explained each murder coincides with Hutton being out of town on business. He was also here the morning Wes went missing, and he trusts his dad…Would Hutton hide him somewhere as a “game” and return to him later?
Staging all this…
Could the mind-fucking he had cause him to act out this way? He was built for destruction; he says it all the time. What if it’s caused him to become a cold-blooded killer?
It just doesn’t sound right. I’ve lived with him for years and, even if he keeps to himself, I don’t see him being capable.
I’m missing something.
Eden is distraught. We’re all losing any shred of hope, because too much time has passed. I needed to walk away earlier when Harrison and Bristow went through the timeline again, dry heaving behind the barn until I thought I would collapse. My heart clenched in my chest. It didn’t help noticing the picture Weston drew of Petunia that he stuck to tack nail on the side of the barn.
Leaning back against the barn while trying to get my breath, I hear Blaine walking closer. “Big Gulp, you’ve just got to walk into the room like God sent you.” Blaine’s and Caleb's footsteps move farther away, not knowing I’m only steps away at the back of the barn. Blaine is giving me the cold shoulder, deciding to blame me for Weston not being found immediately. It’s not fair, but we’ll deal with that later. I don’t have time to convince him I’m trying to do everything I can.
My son, our son, needs us, but we’re at a standstill. Starlit Fleet confirmed the blacked-out SUV was assigned to the bureau’s New York office. However, there is no video of the driver picking up the vehicle, and I can’t find records of any agent using anything other than their assigned squad.
None of the volunteers noticed the note stuck in the gate.
Then there’s the blackout of the security recordings. He’s meticulous when it comes to the security of our property.
With each piece of information we have, Hutton’s involvement becomes a more real possibility in my mind. I don’t want to think that way. And I know he’d never hurt Weston, not in a million years. In my mind, him having Wes would be the best scenario, because he’d be somewhere happy and safe.
It’s the last hope I have.
The Realists don’t value life, especially the lives of children. Memories of statements taken about experiments turn my stomach.
I find Eden sitting at the kitchen counter, with a dazed look on her face. Wrapping my arms around her tightly, I say, “If you hear from Hutton, I need to know. I really need to talk to him, sweetheart.” Keir walks past us to rinse out one of Zeb’s bottles. He pauses briefly before he shakes his head, moving out of the room again.
I didn’t want to call a code sixty-seven, effectively forcing him to keep a secret from the rest of our family. The call from my ex knocked me sideways. What I’m forced to do next isn’t going to be understood by Eden, but it’s a risk I have to take.
For Weston.
A call earlier today with the state patrol discussing what we currently know passed the torch to them. My superior had already ordered me to step aside since it’s my son missing. It’s standard procedure, because our family will be investigated. The state police detective wasn’t told anything from me they didn’t already know.
Except that there is an FBI tie.
Three of my special agents are going over the volunteer list again in the living room with local police, a state officer, and Harrison when I come to stand in the doorway.
It’s another rehashing of dead ends.
Clearing my throat I say, “State’s taking the case over.”
Everyone looks at me, and I hear Eden’s gasp behind me.
Keir steps back into the room. “What did you say? I don’t think I heard you right.”
My patience is dwindling as a drumbeat of dread pulses up my throat.
Everyone I love is at stake.
One wrong move will end it all. Lines are being drawn right now, but I can’t stop the inevitable fracture forming between us. All my training dictates the next decision I have to make. “You heard me correctly.” My chest tightens with anxiety as I say, louder and with authority, “The FBI is standing down.”