A Son's Tale

“We have Frank and Caleb Whittier in custody,” she said, elbows on her thighs, hands clasped.

Morgan’s heart leaped, whether from fear or some other indefinable thing, she didn’t know. “They’re here?”

“Not yet, they were picked up at home. They’re on their way down. I’ll be questioning them in a bit.”

“Has Frank said where Sammie is?” she asked.

“Neither of them are saying anything. They’ve asked for an attorney.”

“Is their attorney on his way, as well?” George bit out. “We can’t wait all day to get information out of these bastards.”

George’s new security team had been fired. They had no explanation for how the boy had gotten by them.

Morgan didn’t know what to think about anything anymore. Except that her son was missing.

“If Frank was at home, where’s Sammie?”

Elaine Martin’s eyes softened with compassion as they met hers. Her professionalism was easier to take. “We’ll find your son, Morgan.”

And here they went again. They’d find him. But alive?

“They never found Claire Sanderson.”

“I’ve got a call into Detective Ramsey Miller. He’s w

orking the Claire Sanderson case.”

“Still? A twenty-five-year-old case?”

“Apparently there was some new movement in the case a couple of months ago. Miller’s been in contact with Cal Whittier. And from what I’ve been told, he also ran a check on Frank.”

“What did he find?” Grace asked.

“That’s what I have to find out.”

She needed answers.

“Coach Safford said that Sammie had a call not long before he asked to go to the bathroom,” Martin said, glancing between the three of them. “He didn’t think anything of it at the time. Sammie was on break and took the call. He didn’t seem upset. The coach assumed it was you.” She looked at Morgan. “He overheard Sammie tell another kid something about his mom. They’re going to question the kid now.”

Her stomach tightened.

“Did you call him?” Martin was looking at her.

“No.” Morgan shook her head. She’d been with Cal. Telling him they were on to him. And then she’d been sitting in her car.

“What about you two?” Elaine looked at her parents. “Did either of you call Sammie this morning?”

“No,” they answered in unison.

“We’re checking Cal’s phone records for recent calls,” she said next. “If Frank has a personal cell, it’s a pay-as-you-go.”

“I told Cal that we knew who they were,” Morgan said, wondering when this would all end. She just couldn’t take any more. “He might have called Frank, who called Sammie. Maybe they were having him meet them somewhere and were just getting ready to leave when the police showed up.”

“We’re checking on that,” Elaine said. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything. In the meantime, sit tight.”

“Wait,” George said. “What about ransom calls? Shouldn’t we have lines set up?”

“Should I go home?” Morgan asked.