Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
She gestured to Rex to follow her into the kitchen, where the rest of the sushi was, her bearings returning as they walked. She and Cyrus had gone a little crazy with the volume of food, but Cyrus had looked so delighted about pulling boats of rolls from the river that encircled the sushi counter at her favorite restaurant, and so she’d let him choose far more than they could eat in one sitting. “It seems like he’s decompressing,” Rex said. “That’s normal. And positive.”
“Thanks for saying that. Yes, I think so too. He needs it. He’s been on guard in one way or another for a long time.” Even before that room with the bars, from what it sounded like, he’d been the only one watching out for himself in the three years since his parents died and he went into foster care.
“Kids are resilient. He’s got your genes, and he was raised by good people. He’s going to be fine. He’s going to be better than fine.”
His words brought relief. She trusted him too. She believed to her core that he wouldn’t say anything unless he fully believed it.
She sat down and then handed him a paper plate and a pair of chopsticks. She inclined her chin toward the phone on the side of the table that was all set up and charging. “I bought him a cell phone so I could always reach him or vice versa. I figured that would help him feel as safe as possible no matter where he is. Then I scheduled an in-home visit from a social worker today and put a call in to a child therapist too. After that, I visited the school in my district and picked up paperwork. It’s all”—she shook her head as he put a few rolls on his plate—“it’s a lot.”
“One thing at a time,” he said.
“Yeah. Hey, do you want a beer?”
“Sure. We need to cheers to that matching DNA.”
That matching DNA. God, the words made her want to cry happy tears. She wanted to repeat the phrase again and again like a mantra to convince herself that it was real and that he was hers and no one could separate them again.
She got up and grabbed two bottles from the fridge, used an opener to flip off the caps, and then handed one to him. She extended her bottle and he clinked his to hers. “Cheers,” she said with a smile.
She sat back down at the table and made a plate for herself too. Despite the volume of food, once Cyrus had started checking out emotionally, his words and his appetite dwindling, she hadn’t been able to eat much herself.
“You could download an app to track the phone, too, just for ease of mind.”
“That’s a great idea. I will.” She didn’t want to be too much of a helicopter parent right off the bat, but . . . she also figured she had good reason to be one, at least for a little while. And she didn’t think Cyrus would mind some hovering.
Rex took a sip of beer. “Speaking of which, I called a buddy earlier and asked him to pull the geolocation data for that cabin and do some research based on what he finds. I would have done it myself, but Erik has access to more technology than I currently have available, and I don’t want to miss anything.”
She squinted one eye. “What’s geolocation data?”
“It uses apps to provide data that identifies the physical location of a device or user.”
“A device? Meaning a phone?”
“Right.”
“So you can tell who was at the cabin?”
“Not necessarily, but it might provide information on where a user went in addition to that cabin.”
She nodded before tipping the beer to her lips. “Is that legal? Tracking cell phones to a location?”
“Yeah. The gathering of it is at least, the usage may or may not be. The police might use it in the investigation, too, or they might not. Also, I hacked into Hollis Barclay’s campaign website today.”
She paused, bottle at her lips. She took a drink and then lowered it slowly. “You’ve been busy. What about that? Is that—”
“Legal? No.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.”
He smiled. “I know.”
“What did you find?”
He told her about finding the email from Cyrus. And about it being read, but apparently not answered, at least not from that account.
“He might not even be the one who opened it. He probably has campaign staff manning general emails, right?” she said.
“Yes. It hadn’t been forwarded, but I’d think staff would at least alert Hollis to a message like that.”
“You’d think. And if they did print it out for him or something that doesn’t have a digital trace, I guess he might have answered from a more personal account. Or been planning to. But even if he was aware of it . . . I wouldn’t be surprised if he just decided to ignore it completely.”