Caribbean Rescue (Coastal Fury Book 16), Matt Lincoln [best book recommendations .txt] 📗

completely absent. “Unfortunately, conversations like this aren’t all that unusual for the Special Victims Department. I’m used to giving people bad news. Besides, I seriously doubt there was anything you could have done if that’s what you’re worried about. According to the police report, Eddy had mentioned something about his mom ‘sleeping’ on the boat to the kids that found him. She was probably already dead when they got to Miami.”

There was an undeniable edge of sadness in her voice, but how calm and collected she was overall impressed me. She spoke matter-of-factly and exuded confidence, and I was certain she’d be a pleasure to work alongside.

“Ahem,” Holm cleared his throat exaggeratedly.

He was shooting me a smug grin, and I flushed as I realized I’d started staring at her while lost in thought. I had to resist the urge to elbow him again.

Agent Hastings furrowed her eyebrows at us and threw us an unimpressed look before speaking again.

“I think we should try to talk to Eddy again,” she said as she crossed her arms across her chest. “You haven’t spoken to him yet, right? You need to get caught up to speed anyway, and he seems to be opening up more now that Barbara and Christina are here.”

“That’s a good idea,” I murmured as I peered out of the kitchen and toward the living room.

Mrs. Newark was fussing with her grandson’s hair, her hands trembling as she gently pushed the curls out of his face.

The three of us filed back out into the living room. I noticed for the first time that Director Evans was no longer there.

“Barbara,” Agent Hastings addressed her quietly. “The MBLIS agents would like to talk with Eddy for a little while.”

“Oh,” she muttered weakly, her eyes still shiny with tears. “Alright, b-but, I can stay here with him, right?”

There was a note of desperation in her voice, and my heart broke for the poor woman. After receiving news of her daughter’s death, I could understand why she wouldn’t want her grandson out of her sight for an instant.

“Of course you can,” Agent Hastings replied kindly. “We can talk right here in the living room if you want.”

“Well, why don’t Agent Hastings and Agent Marston stay then?” Mrs. Abernathy suddenly suggested. “The rest of us can go have a chat in the other room. I wouldn’t want to overstimulate Eddy, especially since it’s already been such an eventful day.”

She was tactful with her wording, but it was obvious that she was telling everyone aside from Agent Hastings and me to get lost for the sake of not spooking the kid.

“She’s right.” Christina nodded as she stood up off of the couch. “You stay here with him, mom.”

“I’ll leave it to you then.” Holm turned to me and shot me another pointed look before glancing surreptitiously at Olivia.

I made a mental note to get back at him later as he followed Christina out of the room.

Mrs. Abernathy ushered them into the kitchen, though I could see her hanging back and monitoring the conversation from afar. Of course, as Eddy’s social worker, she’d be making sure she was nearby to intervene if necessary.

Eddy had slipped away from his grandmother and onto the floor in the meantime. He was holding a dinosaur toy in each hand and crashing them together in a fierce battle, sound effects, and everything.

“Hey Eddy,” I said softly as I slid off the couch and onto the ground next to him. “My name is Ethan. What have you got there?”

“Dinosaw,” he replied immediately.

“That’s pretty cool.” I smiled at him. “Are they having a fight?”

“Fighting, fighting!” he parroted before emitting a dramatic growl and having one dinosaur bite at the other’s neck.

“Ouch, that’s rough,” I remarked as I watched him play. “I wonder which one is going to win?”

“Stegasawas,” he replied seriously before holding one of the toys out to me.

It surprised me to see that it really was a stegosaurus, but even more surprised that the kid even knew that word, considering how developmentally delayed he seemed in other areas. I glanced up at Mrs. Abernathy, who had drifted a little closer from the kitchen and was now staring intently at him as well.

“Wow,” I replied over-enthusiastically. “You know the name of this dinosaur? You’re pretty smart, Eddy.”

“Tank you,” he replied. “Danny teach me.”

I could feel the tension shift in the air as soon as those words left his mouth. There was a look of confusion on Mrs. Newark’s face behind him, and I lifted a hand to stop her before she could say anything.

“Oh, really?” I asked. “Is Danny a friend of yours?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled as he turned the dinosaur toy over in his hands. “She lives with me and Mommy.”

Mrs. Newark let out a strained, high-pitched choking noise behind him. There was a look of horror on her face.

Agent Hastings eased herself onto the ground next to us but didn’t say anything.

“She lived with you?” I repeated. “Where was that? Where did you all live together?”

Of course, I didn’t have high hopes that the kid would be able to confirm that he’d come here from Turks and Caicos, but maybe he could give us details that would enable us to narrow it down.

“In da big house,” he replied before abandoning the dinosaurs and moving on to a coloring book.

“Did anyone else live in the big house with you?” I prompted gently.

“Yeah,” he replied as he dragged a crayon haphazardly across the page.

“Who else lived with you?” I asked when he didn’t offer anything more.

“Da ladies,” he answered before picking up a different colored crayon. “Nina. Daisy. Jojo. Webecca…”

It took me a moment to realize that he was drawing a different blob on the paper with every name he listed.

“Is that them?” I asked as I watched him continue to add multicolored blobs to the drawing.

“Yeah,” he replied before pointing to a smaller blob in the center. “Dat me.”

Mrs. Newark was silently crying now, tears streaming down her face as she watched our interaction.

“Wow,