Teri hadn’t told him yet about Gabe, and she wasn’t sure she was going to. You never put it completely out of your mind when you lose a child. One way or another, it was always with you. But some days were better than others, and it sounded to her as if Peter and Drew had managed to handle their loss as well as any two people could under the circumstance. She didn’t want to pop that bubble. And she didn’t want to add any false hopes to it, either.
“You ever see anyone from the old days?” she asked.
“No, not really. Drew and Judy write back and forth, but that’s about it.”
“Who’s your family doctor?”
“Oh, well, there’s someone I guess we still see. It’s Childs. You remember him from college?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“He’s got a clinic out here.”
“Really?”
“It’s a small, general practice that he set up shortly after we arrived.”
“Were you a little surprised to see him out there?”
“Amazed. He said he had some relatives here and had decided the old saying was true: there was no place like home.”
Teri’s pager went off, sending a tingling vibration into her hip. She glanced down at it, wondering briefly if something was up or if Walt was just testing her again. She shut it off.
“I’ve got a call I better take,” she said.
“Sorry you missed Drew. I know she would have loved to talk to you.”
“Well, maybe next time.”
“That would be nice.”
“Peter, one more thing before I go.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you take all your kids to Dr. Childs?”
“Sure do.”
[96]
The phone rang and Walt grabbed it immediately. “Teri?”
“Is everything all right?”
“You’ll never guess where I am.”
“Where?”
He turned and looked out across the gateway. A businessman, dressed in a dark blue suit and carrying a briefcase, passed by. He was followed by a couple of teenage boys who stopped at the newsstand across the way and leafed through the current issue of Playboy.
“The airport,” Walt said.
“What are you doing there?”
“Believe it or not, I’m on my way to Chicago.” He shook his head, and glanced down at the ticket in his hand. It was a 3:30 flight to O’Hare. Absently, he tapped the corner of the document against the metal face plate of the phone. “Ever been to Chicago?”
“No.”
“Me, either. Guess there’s a first time for everything.”
“What’s going on, Walt?”
“I’m not sure exactly.” He glanced across the way at the seating area, where Childs was reading a newspaper and waiting for the boarding call. “Childs knocked off early this afternoon and now he’s on his way to Chicago. I just thought I’d go along for the ride, that’s all.”
“He’s got another clinic in Houston.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No. I just got done talking to an old friend of mine. Apparently, Childs followed them out to Houston and set up a clinic there. He’s been taking care of their kids, Walt. And their oldest one, a girl by the name of Kala – she’s been missing almost as long as Gabe.”
“Christ.”
“I’m beginning to hate this man, Walt.”
“Me, too.”
“He’s been stealing children all across the country and for heaven only knows how long he’s been getting away with it.” She sounded as if she might break down and cry. There was a long pause, then a deep breath. “We’ve got to stop him.”
“We will.”
“No, I mean now. We’ve got to stop him now.”
“Teri, we don’t know enough. Not yet.” Walt stuffed the ticket back into his pocket and checked to see if Childs had moved. He hadn’t, though he had set the newspaper aside and appeared a little anxious all of a sudden. “We still don’t know where he’s keeping Gabe.”
“Well, it’s got to be somewhere local.”
“Not necessarily. For all we know, he could be holding him anywhere in the country. In Houston or Chicago. Anywhere.”
There was complete silence on the other end.
“Teri?”
“Yeah,” she whispered, clearly unhappy.
“Hey, listen to me. I know this is hard, but you’ve got to hang in there. We’re getting closer to him. I’m telling you, his time’s running out, and sooner or later he’s going to lead us right to Gabe. But you’ve got to be patient.”
“I’ve been patient.”
“I know you have, but you’ve got to be more patient. You understand? If we spook him now, we’re risking our only connection to Gabe, and I know that’s not what you want.”
“Of course not.”
“Then hang in with me, all right?”
“I will.”
“Good.” He glanced across the boarding area and noticed that Childs was standing in line now. It was still twenty minutes to take-off. “They’re starting to board. I better get going. Are you gonna be all right?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” He pulled the ticket back out of his pocket, searching for something else to say, something that might help her to hang in there a little longer. But what was there to say? She had been going through this roller coaster of a nightmare for ten long years now. She knew the turns, the ups and downs, and far better than him, she knew how to keep herself on track. “Oh, there is one last thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Your friend, the one who gave you the lead to Houston, did she have anyone living in the Chicago area?”
“Let me check.”
The boarding line stretched around the outer edges of the room. It was going to be a full flight. Walt watched Childs move forward in line, one step at a time, like a good little soldier. That’s what you are, isn’t it? he thought. A little soldier, following orders.
Teri came back on the line. “I don’t know if it’s the Chicago area or not, but Jeremy and Michelle are in St. Charles.”
“Great. You better give me their address and a phone number in case I need it.”
[97]
They landed at O’Hare twenty minutes late due to a strong head wind. Childs didn’t leave his seat the entire flight, and seemed in no particular hurry to get off once the plane had touched down. He calmly collected his briefcase from the overhead storage compartment and stood in line like everyone else.
It was after one in the morning by the time they were both out of the airport. Childs rented a new Buick and took I-90 westbound past Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Barrington and into Elgin, where he exited at Route 25 and drove south into a place called St. Charles. Walt followed along behind, trying to stay awake, in a Ford Taurus.
They ended up on the east side of town off Route 63 on Kirk Road. It was primarily an area of corporate and industrial parks, places like the Coca Cola bottling plant and the DuPage Airport and the Norris Cultural Arts Center. At the very outskirts, set well back from the street and hidden behind a wall of trees and shrubbery, was a building called the Devol Research Institute.
Childs pulled into the lot and parked near the front entrance.
Walt passed by, not wanting to be noticed. He circled the block twice, then came back and stopped near the mouth of the long driveway. A scattering of lights gave shape to the building in the distance. In front, parked under the only light in the lot, Walt spotted the rented Buick. It wasn’t likely the good doctor would be going anywhere soon. He was probably going to spend the night here.
“Which means I need a place to stay,” Walt muttered to himself.