The Stolen

16

I called Amanda as soon as I left the office. The call went straight to her voice mail at work. For a moment my breath caught in my throat. I prayed she hadn't been fired. Then

I tried her cell phone. When she picked up, her voice sounded upbeat, familiar. Not the voice of someone whose life had taken a turn for the worse.

"Oh, thank God, are you OK?" I asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be? Is that asteroid finally headed for earth or something?"

"No, even worse. Gray Talbot came by our office today."

"The political dude?"

"Senator, yeah."

"What was he doing at the Gazette? Doesn't he get enough press?"

"That's the thing, he wasn't there about a story that had already run, he was there to make sure we didn't print anything else about Danny Linwood or Michelle Oliveira."

"That's ridiculous. Why?"

I took a breath. "He knows about the files."

There was silence. Then she spoke. "I assume you're referring to whatever files I definitely had nothing to do with."

"Those are the ones."

"Goddamn it, Henry, you promised you wouldn't say anything!"

"Amanda, I didn't, I swear. But he knew about it and threatened to either fire me or castrate Wallace if we ran any stories about Michelle Oliveira, using the information you gave me. Is it possible someone in your office knows you took the files?"

"It's possible," she said. "I had to log in to our system to print out a lot of it. But if they know I took them, why haven't I been led out by Security?"

"Same reason he came by our office. He wants this kept quiet. You get fired, the press gets hold of that, and he's got much more than Wallace Langston to worry about."

"But why is he taking such an interest in Michelle and

Danny?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But I'll find out."

"I want to find out with you," she said. "I'll meet you at your apartment in an hour."

"Amanda," I said. "I don't think-"

"Right, don't think anything. I want to help figure out what the hell is going on. I work with kids seven days a week. Kids that have been beaten and left for dead because nobody fought for them. And now it turns out two of them are missing pieces of their lives and some stuffed shirt wants to step on it? Not on my watch."

I came this close to saying I love you. I didn't. But it sounded great in my head.

"I'll be at my place in an hour," I said. "See you then."

"Have a pot of coffee ready," she said. "And please,

Henry. Pick up whatever dirty underwear is starting to grow spores in your hamper."

"I have a hamper?"

She hung up.

I caught a cab back home, threw every article of clothing that appeared salvageable into a garbage bag and shoved it into my closet. I was apprehensive about letting her in.

Amanda hadn't set foot in my apartment in six months. Like me, Amanda had the inquisitive gene. And especially now that her ass was on the line, she was going to be a part of this until we figured out what happened to the years

Michelle and Danny had lost. I just needed to make sure my nasty socks hadn't grown a life of their own in the meantime.

Once the apartment was clean enough to present, I poured a glass of water and sat on the couch, thinking about Daniel Linwood and Michelle Oliveira. It had made me sick to read about how heartbroken their families were when they disappeared, how two families could be shattered in seconds. I could only imagine the joy when they came back, as though a hole in their parents' hearts had suddenly been repaired.

I hadn't spoken to my father or mother in two years. The last time was while I was on the run. I called my father one night, holed up in a dank room, waiting for two men who would either be my saviors or my executioners. I called him for two reasons. The first was to say goodbye, in the event that I didn't make it out alive. The second was out of the hope that that bastard would give me something to keep going, a reason to live, to spite him if nothing more. He gave me that, and I lived. And we hadn't spoken since. I never desired to. I didn't wish him dead, but merely hoped he took care of my poor, absent mother the best he knew how. But I was glad to be gone from that home. I was happy to be living a life where I was the only arbiter

of my triumphs or failures. Like Danny and Michelle, I'd been lost, too. The buzzer jolted me out of my thoughts. I went to the window, looked down to see Amanda standing at the door. She looked up, saw me, gave me the finger. Classy as always. I jogged to the intercom and released the door lock, then did another once-over of the apartment to make sure no dust bunnies-or actual bunnies-were hiding from view.

In the minute I had before Amanda got to the door, I considered how to answer it. Suave, with a Rhett Butleresque baritone in my voice? Should I leave the door unlatched, sit on the couch and try to act nonchalant? Maybe greet her with a glass of water, or wine? A plate of cheese?

A half-eaten Snickers bar from my nightstand?

Then I remembered it was Amanda. She wasn't impressed by overdone gestures. She'd spent years of her life sizing people up in mere seconds, a habit brought on by her adoption after the death of her parents. She was a better judge of character than anyone I'd ever known. She could tell who was real and who wanted you to believe they were real. I'd been nothing but real during our relationship. And even though I doubted we'd ever be together again, I couldn't stop being that. She saw past it. And I didn't want her to look any further.

The doorbell rang. I cleared my throat-the least I could do was talk to her phlegm-free-and answered it.

She was dressed in fitted jeans, a gray T-shirt and a thin red cardigan. Her hair spilled gently over her shoulders.

It was a few seconds before I realized how much I'd missed seeing her, cataloging her beauty on a daily basis.

I threw the thoughts from my head, and said, "Hey."

"Hey, yourself." She was holding two cups of coffee, and offered me one. "I figured you'd forget to brew a pot.

Milk and three hundred Splendas, right?"

I smiled. "Perfect. I was kind of hoping my teeth might jitter all night. Come on in."

She entered the apartment, looked around. "Looks good," she said. "It's been a while. I was kind of expecting a bear to attack me, or some sort of underwear monster to run across the room."

"The underwear monster doesn't come out until the sock monster goes to sleep."

"I'm going to ignore you now."

She walked around to the couch, sat down, placed her coffee on the small marble table, already ringed with many old coffee cup stains, including a few that were most likely from Amanda's cups and had never been cleaned.

"This place missed you," I said, then felt silly for saying it.

"Really? It probably has enough festering life forms hiding that it did tell you that."

"Yeah, the comforter and I, we chat sometimes."

"If cleanliness is next to godliness, I think this makes you the Antichrist."

I laughed, took a sip of the coffee. Then we sat in silence for a moment.

"So Gray Talbot," she said, thankfully breaking the tension. "What does he have to do with Michelle and

Daniel?"

"I did a bit of a background check on the senator," I said. "Found a few interesting facts."

"Let me guess. This was after Wallace told you to let it be."

"Naturally. Anyway, in 2001, after Michelle Oliveira disappeared from Meriden, Gray Talbot swooped in like an avenging angel and pretty much scorched the earth. He lambasted the government of Connecticut, the social services offices, the police force, criticized them all for betraying the families that lived within their borders. He said it was a sad day when an out-of-stater had to come in because the job wasn't being done right. And Talbot saved his best blasts for then Governor John Rowland."

"Rowland," Amanda said. "That name rings a bell."

"It should. John Rowland resigned from office as governor of the state of Connecticut in 2004 due to charges of massive corruption. Mail fraud, tax fraud, he even served ten months in a federal prison."

"And this guy was running the state when Michelle disappeared?"

"Kind of like having a crack addict babysit your children. Rowland was skimming money for numerous personal projects that had nothing to do with the state. He took state money and paid for improvements to his weekend cottage, took thousands of dollars in gifts from his subcontractors. Of course, after prison he did the whole rehab-image deal, everything but appear on the cover of

People magazine. Anyway, Talbot came in after Michelle disappeared and tore Rowland a new one for letting the state go to seed. He said the state was not protecting its youth. At the time, Meriden had the second-highest crime rate in the state, and it had gotten worse over the previous few years. Even though Talbot was a New York senator, he was quoted as saying, 'This is a matter so vital to the future of our country that it would be irresponsible to only permit coloring within state lines.'"

"So Talbot ruins Rowland, then what?"

"Talbot institutes a program called 'Not on Our Watch.'

He raises millions of dollars earmarked for improving security within Meriden and other surrounding counties.

More money for police recruiting, neighborhood watches, more incentives for gang members and criminals to become informants. He raises thousands of dollars for the

Oliveira family, basically seals up trust funds for their other children to go to college. Within two years, the crime rate in Meriden drops like a rock. He spent years working to help the Oliveiras move on with their lives."

Amanda said, "And now this guy is knocking on

Wallace's door telling him to let the city move on. It sounds to me like Talbot is a guy who worked his ass off to rebuild a community, then sees some punk reporter, no offense…"

"None taken…"

"…digging around, looking for holes in the masonry."

"Not to mention the most interesting part," I said.

"Michelle Oliveira grew up in Meriden, but guess where she was born?"

"I don't know, where?"

"Hobbs County."

"Like Danny Linwood?" she said. "Holy shit, that's a hell of a coincidence."

"Or maybe not," I said. "Guess where our favorite senator also grew up?"

Amanda looked at me. She said, "No way…"

"That's right, Hobbs County for two hundred, Alex."

"So this guy has taken protecting his own to a whole new level. No wonder as a New York senator he decided to stick his nose into another state."

"What's also strange, though, is that both Meriden and

Hobbs County were essentially cesspools before Michelle

Oliveira and Daniel Linwood were kidnapped. Since

Talbot came in, they've seen unprecedented growth and community support."

"Talbot seems to have done his job well," she said.

"There are certainly enough shitty neighborhoods in

New York, maybe he should take care of his own backyard for a bit."

"That's why he was at Danny Linwood's home the day

I interviewed him," I said. "He is looking out for his own backyard. Literally."

"What are you thinking we should do?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," I said. "But it concerns me any time a politician does something for the alleged good of the community. It makes me wonder what the quid pro quo is."

"Well, how has Talbot's career been affected since

Michelle Oliveira and Danny Linwood came back?"

"Well, he's won by a landslide every time he's run for reelection," I said. "One would assume at some point he'll want to move from the senate to the governor's mansion.

All that good press can't hurt."

"You think we might be a little too cynical?" Amanda said.

"I mean, this guy seems to have legitimately changed lives.

Maybe even saved a few. For all the politicians that talk a big game, this guy actually gets his feet dirty. Yet he ruffles a few feathers at your office and we're ready to string him up."

"I'm not doing anything like that," I said defensively.

"But I need to know why two children disappeared into thin air, reappeared years later with no memory of where they went, and nobody seems to be looking too hard into that fact. I have no idea if Gray Talbot is the greatest

Samaritan of all time or Jack the Ripper in a good suit. I just want the truth. And one thing I've learned in this job is that anytime somebody tells you not to look under that rock, there's something there they don't want you to find."

"And now you're going to lift that rock. Even if it means your job."

"Even if it means your job," I said, looking her dead in the eye. Amanda seemed taken aback, then she took a breath and calmed down.

"Guess I should have expected that."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't be sorry. I want to respect you. If you pulled punches, I wouldn't."

"Sometimes I hit harder than I need to. Against people who don't deserve it."

"Yeah…" she said, eyeing me warily. "I think it's time for me to head home."

"You're sure?" I said. "You want to grab dinner or something?"

Amanda looked at me, sadness in her eyes. "Henry, this is what it is. I'll help you all you need. I want to know everything about Danny and Michelle, too. But this is what we are, now, you and me. And this is a choice you made."

"What was your choice?" I asked.

She looked at me, her cheeks flushing red, anger in her eyes. "I didn't have one," she said. "You made my choice for me."

"I know. And I'm sorry I did that. I wish I could take it back. More than anything."

Amanda took a step closer, her eyes locked on to mine.

For a moment I felt embarrassed, wanted to step back.

"Two years ago," Amanda said, "you came clean about who you were. I had a choice. I could have left you on the side of the road for the assholes who wanted you dead. Or I could help you. I made my choice. And here we are. I didn't leave you then, and I wouldn't have left you ever. You decided to make my choice for me. And since you did that, I'm not going to put myself in another

situation where someone can dictate my future without my say-so. It's my life, Henry, and if you don't like what I do with it, you should have never gotten into my car in the first place."

I finally stepped back, felt like I'd been slapped across the face. Though I had no one to blame but myself. "So what are we, then?" I asked.

Amanda walked forward until I could smell the light perfume that she must have put on before work. Because she sure didn't wear it for me.

"We're friends," she said. "Good friends. I'll help you however I can with this. But just with this. That's my choice.

So either you can deal with it or you can't, but if you can't, say something now. Otherwise don't waste my time."

"I have nothing to say. I appreciate it. So will Danny

Linwood."

I sat back down. Took out the papers Amanda had given me regarding Michelle Oliveira's disappearance. I began to go through them again. Amanda stood there in the hall for a moment, then came and sat down next to me. She looked over my shoulder.

"Do you mind?" she asked. She didn't quite phrase it as a question. She knew there wasn't a chance in hell of me minding. I smiled. Told her I didn't.

Then I noticed something on Michelle's medical reports. She used a pediatrician in Hobbs County for several years before moving to Meriden. I looked at the name on the birth certificate, the signature of the man who delivered Michelle Oliveira.

"What is it?" Amanda asked.

"Michelle Oliveira was born at the Yardley Medical

Center in Hobbs County," I said.

"And?"

"The doctor on this birth certificate is named Dmitri

Petrovsky," I said. "The same Dmitri Petrovsky who treats

Danny Linwood."