Chapter 6: The Voice From The Past
The voice on the phone disappeared before I could ask another question.
I called back.
Nothing.
Blocked.
Gone.
But the damage was already done.
Because Leo recognized him.
And my son had spent fourteen months trapped in darkness with people whose voices he was forced to remember.
I crouched beside him.
“Leo.””
He wouldn’t look at me.
“Buddy, who was that?””
His fingers twisted together.
“I don’t know.””
I softened my voice.
“You do.””
A tear fell down his cheek.
“He came before Mark.””
Everyone became silent.
Detective Harris stepped closer.
“Before Mark?””
Leo nodded.
“He was the first person I saw.””
My stomach tightened.
“Tell me.””
Leo looked toward the tunnel.
The darkness seemed to pull at him.
“When I woke up, I wasn’t under Aunt Elena’s house.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?””
“I was somewhere else.””
The words hit me.
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
He shook his head.
“There was a room. A small room.””
Sarah held his shoulder.
“And then?””
“Then Mark came.””
Leo looked at me.
“But before Mark, there was another man.””
Detective Harris wrote quickly.
“What did he look like?””
Leo closed his eyes.
“Old.””
“How old?””
“I don’t know.””
“What else?””
Leo hesitated.
“He had a scar.””
“Where?””
“Here.””
Leo touched his neck.
A cold feeling moved through me.
The voice.
The scar.
The missing children.
All connected.
The police searched the tunnel while Leo sat with us.
Then Detective Harris returned holding a folder.
“We found something.””
Inside were documents wrapped in plastic.
Old papers.
Newspapers.
Photographs.
He placed one photo on the hood of his vehicle.
A child.
Seven years old.
Missing.
The date was seventeen years ago.
“Anthony James Carter,” Harris said.
My eyes moved to the wooden airplane.
A.J.
“No.””
Harris nodded.
“Yes.””
The boy from the tunnel.
The child nobody knew about.
The one who disappeared years before Leo.
“How?””
“We’re not sure.””
He showed me another document.
A missing person report.
The last known location?
My father’s ranch.
I felt sick.
“My father…”
“Your father wasn’t involved,” Harris said quickly.
“How do you know?””
“Because this report was buried.””
“Buried?””
Someone had hidden it.
Someone powerful.
Harris looked at the papers.
“Someone wanted this case forgotten.””
Elena arrived with an officer.
The moment she saw Anthony’s photo, she stopped.
“I know him.””
I turned.
“What?””
Her face went white.
“I’ve seen him.””
Everyone stared.
“Where?””
She swallowed.
“In Mark’s office.””
My anger returned.
“You were in his office?””
“After he disappeared, I searched for answers.””
“And you found this?””
She nodded.
“There were files.””
“Files about children?””
“Yes.””
My voice lowered.
“How many?””
Elena looked away.
“More than I can count.””
Sarah stepped forward.
“And you said nothing?””
Elena started crying.
“I was trying to find proof.””
“You were trying to protect yourself.””
“I was trying to survive.””
The argument stopped when Leo spoke.
“He told me about Anthony.””
We all turned.
“What did he say?””
Leo looked at the picture.
“He said Anthony was the reason.””
“The reason for what?””
Leo’s voice became barely audible.
“He said Anthony proved children could disappear and nobody would find them.””
The words stayed in the air.
Then Detective Harris received a call.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He listened.
Then looked at us.
“We need to leave.””
“What happened?””
He looked directly at Leo.
“The person who called your father wasn’t just nearby.””
A pause.
“They found him.””
My heart stopped.
“Who?””
Harris hesitated.
Then:
“Anthony Carter.””
Nobody spoke.
The impossible became real.
The boy who disappeared seventeen years ago.
The child who should have been an adult somewhere.
The child whose name was written on a toy in a tunnel.
May you like
Was alive.
And waiting.
