Stolen Lies (Fates of the Bound 2)

“Nothing.”

Lila tilted her head. “Even under the truth serum?”

“No chance. The kidnapper disappeared on scene. How does that happen?”

Shaw poured himself another glass of wine. “Chief Vance said the mother’s story was fishy as well.”

Lila had met Chief Vance, the man who ran the government militia for all of La Verde, the northern American state. He was a lot like Shaw, except younger and a lot more attractive. “Don’t ask this of me, Father. I have better things to do than chase fairies.”

“Like what?”

“Like wash my hair.” Or help rescue Oskar. Or find Reaper’s partner. Or figure out how make amends with Alex. Or spend some time with Pax. Perhaps spend a little time with Tristan after they sent Oskar back to Germany.

“Your hair looks clean to me.”

“The girl’s name is Rebecca,” Shaw said. “Her mother is the Sioux Falls oracle, so none of us can press too deeply. The girl also happens to be a future oracle. Chief Vance will keep investigating that specific case, but we want you to investigate these disappearances more generally. The Bullstow and the La Verde militias are at a loss. Your father wants answers before the next legislative session ends.”

“That’s six weeks away.”

The side of her father’s mouth twisted in a grin. “I thought you liked challenges.”

“Don’t mock me.”

Shaw reached into a satchel on the table and pulled out two files. “Here are the most recent cases, prior to the one in Sioux Falls. One girl died four months ago during a seizure; another was killed in a car accident a few days later. My men are having no luck digging into the cases. We can’t even verify the girls’ deaths.”

“So dig up the coffins.”

“We did. Dr. Booth and the specialist who went along with us thought the ages and sizes of the corpses weren’t quite right.”

“DNA?”

“They both matched.”

“So you’re saying someone broke into the DNA database and changed the data?”

“Maybe. If someone did hack the DNA database, you’d be able to figure it out.”

“Fine. Set up a meet with the Sioux Falls oracle. I want to speak with her personally.”

Shaw eyed the prime minister, and her father looked away.

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

“She’s not talking to us anymore,” Shaw said.

“Why?”

“Because your father put her daughter into foster care.”

Lila’s eyes snapped open. “You did what?”

“It’s for her own good,” her father said. “Someone has—”

“

What on earth were you thinking? You can’t just take away an oracle’s child! These women are the spiritual backbone of our entire society. The oracles might be charlatans, but they’re a placebo for our society, and a necessary one at that. Don’t you understand what sort of press this will bring down on your head if the oracles take it to the media?”

Shaw avoided her glare.