NINE

Aloysius was already wearing his own circles in the carpet as we reached him. His usually calm features turned into those of an angry old man. “What’s going on?” I asked.

“That was the hospital calling to ask why we took Jose Luis home without their permission.”

“What?” I yelled as Christian wrapped a concerned arm around my waist.

“Obviously it wasn’t us.” Aloysius sat on the edge of the sofa and ran his fingers nervously through his hair. “Someone snuck in and took him without anyone noticing.”

My knees unlocked and Christian tightened his grip, keeping me from hitting the floor. “I don’t understand this. Why? Why an innocent child?”

Aloysius shook his head, his eyes not meeting mine. “How did they even know where he was? We were so careful.”

“Do you think we’re being watched?” Christian led me to the sofa before going to the window and pulling the curtain aside. He opened the window and stuck his head out, scanning the street below.

“Do you see anyone?” I asked.

“Nothing unusual, just walkers who look like they have a destination and a few cars here and there.” He stepped away from the window but left it open. “Can either of you hear any thoughts?”

I looked at Aloysius before answering. “It’s worth a shot.”

The three of us remained silent while we focused our thoughts on the street. Even Christian looked frozen in concentration. After a few minutes, I threw my arms in the air, defeated. “I hear all kinds of stuff but nothing we need.”

“Same here,” Aloysius replied. “I was thinking, if they already have him, then they are probably not watching us anymore. They got what they were after.”

“You have a point there,” Christian answered. “So, what now?”

“We need to get to the hospital. Maybe we can find out more there,” Aloysius said as the front door opened. Fiore walked in with a few shopping bags in her hands.

Before we could say anything, she said, “I heard your conversation as I came up the hall. Let me throw these in my room and I’ll join you.” She disappeared up the stairs.

We arrived in Jose Luis’s ward about a half hour later. As soon as we turned the corner within view of the nurses’ station, we saw them. “Shit!” I said before I could stop myself. Everyone stopped short.

“What’s wrong?” Fiore asked as all raised their eyebrows at me.

“I don’t know that we should talk to the police.”

“Why not?”

“Well, remember what I did at the beach?”

“Oh, right,” Fiore said. “What you did was warranted, remember? Those guys were going to rape you and God knows what else. You had no choice but to kill them.”

“I have a feeling that wasn’t even reported. Those men weren’t exactly law abiding citizens,” Aloysius replied. The three of us nodded and I felt a bit more relaxed.

“You’re right. This is about Jose Luis,” I answered as we started walking toward the three officers who were talking with a doctor and two nurses at the counter. A bouquet of flowers with a birthday balloon tied to it sat on the counter.

Aloysius walked up to one of the officers and introduced himself in flawless Spanish. After speaking for a few moments, he turned to us. “The doctor said we can use his office to talk.” He led the way as we, the doctor, and two of the officers followed. As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice that the two nurses standing at the counter with the remaining officer avoided us. They averted their eyes every time we glanced their way.

The doctor opened the door and led us to a round table at the corner of his office. Once we were seated, the conversation began, in English for Christian and Fiore’s sake. “I am in charge of this case. My name is Mateo,” the officer said with absolutely no Spanish accent. It wasn’t until that moment that I noticed he was blond with blue eyes, his skin as pale as mine. As I looked at him, something in him stirred a memory in the back of my mind, too far back to reach.

“How did this happen?” Aloysius asked interrupting my thought.

“It’s one of the nurse’s birthdays today. They checked on all the patients before moving to the conference room to sing to her and have some cake,” he paused, staring at me for a moment before continuing, obvious confusion on his face. “They left the nurses’ station unattended.”

Christian looked from my face to Mateo’s, making me aware that I was staring. I looked at the floor, trying to ignore the foggy memory that was trying to make its way to the front of my mind. “So in the time that they were singing and eating cake, someone came in, unhooked Jose Luis’s machines, took out his IV, and carried him out of the hospital with no one noticing?”

The doctor’s face suddenly flushed, the warmth of his blood obvious in his cheeks. Christian gasped and I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, sliding my chair closer to his. I’m ok…Christian thought. Mateo turned toward Christian as if he heard his thought.

“I am so sorry that this happened. I do not know how nobody saw them going out of the hospital. We were only gone for about fifteen minutes, maybe twenty,” the doctor explained.

“Are there cameras in the hallways?” Aloysius asked.

“Sorry but no. They are only at the exits and we already checked those. We found nothing. Whoever took him went out another way,” Mateo explained.

“Is there another way in and out of here?” I asked trying to focus on Jose Luis and not on the confusing signals I was getting from the officer.

“There are service entrances. They are used mostly for deliveries,” the doctor offered. “But no cameras there.”

“One moment, please. I’ll be right back.” Mateo left the room.

“What’s going on, Lily?” Christian whispered as soon as the door closed behind Mateo. The others were talking to the doctor and the other officer, paying no attention to us.

“I don’t know. I feel like something is off with that cop. I get the feeling I know him but don’t know how. It’s weird.”

“Hmm… And did you notice he looked right at me when I sent you that thought?”

“Yeah, that’s another thing. Do you think he’s one of us?” I asked.

“I thought so for about a second, but then I heard his heart.” Before we could say more, Mateo entered the room.

“I sent the officers to the service doors. They will check that out and talk to anyone who was working at the time the boy was taken.” He still focused only on me while he explained. Annoyed that I still couldn’t place him, I turned to Aloysius.

“I need to go see his room.”

“Why?” the doctor asked. “We’ve already looked and there are no clues. The police also looked.”

“It doesn’t matter. I want to see for myself. And besides, I want to take his things home.” I explained.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Christian asked.

“Of course. We won’t be long,” I said to the others and left before they had a chance to protest. I was not exactly sure what I was trying to gain from examining his room but it was worth a shot.

“Why would he take his comic books?” I asked as I opened and closed his nightstand drawers.

“What? Are you sure about that?”

“They’re not here, or anywhere. Someone also took the time to put his sneakers on.”

“That seems more like he left on his own. Do you think he was really taken?”

“Unless that’s what somebody wants us to believe. I can’t think of a reason why he would leave on his own. Where would he even go? He wasn’t happy with Arturo and he has no family.” I sat on the edge of his bed and ran my hands through my hair, thinking.

“What is that?” Christian asked approaching the head of the bed. The corner of a piece of paper stuck out from beneath the white blanket.

“Open it,” I said when Christian pulled it out and I saw it was a folded piece of lined paper.

“It’s a note from him,” Christian sat on the chair next to the bed and started reading. “According to this, he left. He thought it was best that he die alone and not burden all of us. He apologizes and thanks us for everything we’ve done for him. He doesn’t want us to look for him.”

“That’s ridiculous! Why would he do such a thing?” I grabbed the paper from his hands and read it myself, as if the words would change in front of my eyes.

“Is that even his handwriting?” Christian asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s ever written anything that I’ve seen.” I turned the paper over and held it to my nose. I inhaled, hoping.

“Well?”

“Nothing, just him. He is the only one besides us who touched this paper.” As I realized what that meant, my stomach dropped. “He really did leave.”

“We need to take the letter to Mateo. They will want to examine it themselves I’m sure.” He stood and walked toward the door.

“You go ahead. I need another minute here, I want to gather the rest of his things,” I waved him away as I went to open the cabinet door. The only thing left in there was his windbreaker. That’s odd. Why would he leave in the middle of the night, when it’s coldest, without his jacket? Deciding that question could wait until later, I grabbed the bag and left the room.

Turning the corner in the hallway stopped me short as I slammed into someone’s hard chest. “Mateo, sorry I didn’t hear you.”

“That is the one thing I remember best about you, Lily. You were always so distracted.”