Chapter 21
Zach slid into the back seat of Officer Garrenton's patrol car. He had ridden in it once before, on the night she had brought him home to meet his parents. Now Mom and Dad took seats on either side of him, squeezing him between them. Mom slung her arm around Zach and hugged him close again; Dad put a hand behind Zach's head and patted it affectionately. It felt weird, their hands on him—but good, too… Safe—it felt safe. As Officer Garrenton sped them away, Zach pulled in deep, refreshing gulps of air.
"You were sound asleep on the bus," Mom said. "You must be so worn out."
He was. He sagged wearily against her. "Are we going home?"
"Soon, kiddo," Mom replied sympathetically. "They need us to go to the FBI office first so you can tell Agent Nyler what happened."
"Who's he?"
"He's been helping us find you. And he's trying to catch the kidnappers."
"It was two Asian men, Mom," Zach described. "One's taller than the other, and the shorter one is missing a tooth." Officer Garrenton glanced at Zach through the rearview mirror. He hesitated. "Mom?"
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Did you and Dad—did you sell me?"
Mom shifted to face Zach. "Zechariah Fleming, at this moment you are the most—well, you know the rest of it, don't you? Why would you ever think we would want to sell you?"
He explained what Hugh had told him, and Mom exchanged a dark look with Dad, then looked back to Zach. "Is that what you meant on the phone this morning, Zach? You thought we sold you to them?"
Zach fidgeted under her gaze. "I don't—Mom, I—I'm trying to be a good kid, honest! But I was mean to you, and you didn't ask me to come find you. I did that on my own. And—" Zach looked at her and then at Dad. "Grandfather said it was true. That's what he told me when he rescued me."
"Oh, Zechariah," Mom answered, her face growing dark, "he told you a terrible lie! We would never, ever—"
"Wait a second," Officer Garrenton interrupted them from the front seat. "Did you say he rescued you?"
"He found me in a shed in the middle of the night," Zach replied, "by a mansion where Hugh lives, the guy the kidnappers were working for."
"Are we looking for the wrong person?" Officer Garrenton mused.
Dad rubbed his chin in thought. "But Eddie said…" His voice trailed off.
"Then they found us again," Zach continued, "when we were on the—" He stopped and heaved a sigh. "Dad, he took me on the ferry."
Dad patted Zach's leg. "I know, pal. The police saw you on the security video."
"I didn't like it, Dad. He made me stay in the car the whole time. I hardly got to see anything…and it was all inside."
Mom spoke again. "The police found the picture you left on Bainbridge Island."
"I have another one, Mom!" Zach remembered suddenly. He brought it carefully out of his jacket pocket and held it where she and Dad could both see it.
Dad frowned as he studied it. "I didn't want to believe it," he said in a low tone. "It's so…completely bizarre…"
Mom saw the photo and bit her upper lip. Zach had intentionally saved this picture for last—the picture Grandfather had shown him of himself in the clear box when he was not yet ready to be born.
"Mom," Zach said softly, "I know I didn't come out of your tummy, but Cayden is adopted, and his mom and dad really love him—"
Mom cut him off with a look. "Zechariah," she said, her voice trembling a little, "I don't know what this Dr. Lerwick who calls himself your Grandfather told you, but you are mine, and your dad's, and nobody else's—nobody! He may have brought you into this world, but he had to steal you from us to do it. And I don't care if you came out of my tummy or not, young man. You were born to us the day you came into our house all wet and dripping on my floor." She gave him a stern look. It made warm goosebumps creep up his arm.
He found himself grinning. "That's what I thought. That's why I got on the bus to come home."
Mom nodded. There was a gleam in her tired eyes.
"Where did you look for me?" Zach asked.
"All over the neighborhood," Mom told him, "and then at the school, and then…"
"…and then the police and the FBI started looking, too," Dad finished.
"How many, Dad?" Zach inquired. "How many people were looking for me?"
"A lot, pal," Dad replied. "Most of police officers in Seattle, and pretty much everyone we know. It was Rita who saw you get on the first bus." Dad suddenly looked sad. "I bet it seemed lonely to you, though, huh? You were pretty much on your own until we found you."
Zach looked down at his hands in his lap. A lot of people had been looking for him the whole time—not just Mom and Dad, but Rita, the police, even the FBI…
He looked up at Dad. "It's safe now, right, Dad?"
"You're with us, now," he answered. "You're safe."
"Okay," Zach replied. He leaned over and put his head against Dad and closed his eyes. He might have slept just a little before they arrived at their destination.
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