Never Tell Them, N.L. Hinkens [unputdownable books txt] 📗

positioning it as she’d found it. It was time to go home and check on Henry. After all, she was the one who’d been entrusted with his care while Ray was incapacitated. She couldn’t depend on her elderly mother or her eight-year-old daughter to keep him safe. Although exactly what danger he was in, and from whom, remained to be seen.

After locking the back door, Sonia replaced the key in the planter and pulled her car into her own driveway.

“We’d almost given up on you. I was just about to make the kids some grilled cheese sandwiches,” Evelyn chided, the minute Sonia walked into the kitchen. “How’s the patient?”

“Doing surprisingly well. No apparent physical injuries, other than bruises,” Sonia replied, pulling open the junk drawer where she kept the takeout menus for local restaurants. “He has a concussion, but he’s perfectly coherent—other than the fact that he can’t remember anything from before the accident. He didn’t know who I was, and he didn’t remember he had a son. His doctor doesn’t seem overly concerned. He’s optimistic it will resolve itself in a matter of days.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Evelyn said. “I was fretting about having to give Henry more bad news. He’s suffered enough as it is.” Her piercing gaze locked with Sonia’s as she pulled out a chair and sat down at the farmhouse kitchen table. ”Jessica said you were over at Celia’s house.”

Sonia gave a vague nod as she scoured the menu options. “I asked Ray if it would be all right to pick up some overnight things for Henry.”

Evelyn tilted a quizzical brow. “Was Jessica right about Henry not having any toys?”

Sonia hesitated, deliberating whether to share her findings with her mother. She didn’t want to alarm her unnecessarily, but she could use a second opinion on what she’d discovered. “Yeah, but it gets worse. Let me call in this order and then I’ll fill you in.”

After she hung up, she slumped down in a chair next to her mother. “Are the kids okay?”

“They’re fine.” Evelyn said. ”Although they wolfed down a few extra cookies this afternoon. That little Henry acts like he’s never tasted sugar before.”

Sonia pulled her hair back from her face and twisted it thoughtfully. ”I can’t help wondering if Ray’s wife is really dead. I mean, what if they were getting divorced and Ray abducted Henry or something? He hasn’t unpacked a single thing in the house. He hasn’t even hung up his clothes in the closet.”

Evelyn blinked a few times. ”I … don’t understand. I thought Ray was unpacking that afternoon Henry came over to play.”

Sonia grimaced. “He lied about that. He’s living out of moving boxes and plastic bags, almost as though he wants to be prepared to bolt at a moment’s notice. He also has a backpack with a change of clothes and a map of the mountains in it. I suppose it could be for hiking, but it looks more like something you’d put a laptop in. And I have no idea where any of Henry’s stuff is. The only clothes Ray has for him are some items he purchased at Target.”

Evelyn was quiet for a moment. “Maybe Henry’s things are still at their old house.”

“But why would he leave his son’s stuff behind—important things like his birth certificate?”

Evelyn hesitated, a perturbed look on her face. “I don’t know—it’s all very strange.”

“Yes, it is. And that’s what worries me.” Sonia shot a darting glance in the direction of the door as the kids ran by, chasing each other and shrieking. Lowering her voice, she continued. ”I found something peculiar in the family room.”

Evelyn reached for the pearls around her throat, twisting them nervously. ”Were you snooping around in Celia’s house?”

“It wasn’t trespassing, if that’s what you’re worried about. Ray gave me permission to go in there, remember?”

“To pick up Henry’s things, not to poke around,” Evelyn huffed. “If Ray abducted his son, then the whole house is a crime scene. You shouldn’t have touched anything—“

“Relax!” Sonia cut in, patting her mother’s arm. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. I’m just bouncing my wild theories off you for a little perspective.”

Evelyn pursed her lips. “What did you find that was so odd?”

“It was a newspaper article from the local paper—the story they ran recently on the five-year anniversary of Katie Lambert’s disappearance. Remember you were watching it on the news a couple of weeks ago?”

A befuddled expression flitted across Evelyn’s face. ”Why’s that so odd? Ray’s a journalist, isn’t he?”

Sonia shrugged. ”Honestly, I don’t know what to think. I don’t even know if he’s really a journalist. Maybe he’s a private investigator. The family could have hired him to look into Katie’s disappearance. It would explain why he keeps his distance—he’s probably treating everyone as a potential suspect.”

Evelyn looked doubtful. ”Who would have hired him? Katie’s parents are dead, and her grandparents are in a memory care facility. I can’t imagine them engaging an investigator to look into her disappearance.”

Sonia picked at her finger. “What if he was reading up on Katie’s story because he has a personal interest in child abduction? What if Henry’s mother—“

She broke off at the sound of the doorbell. ”That’s our food. Don’t say anything in front of the kids. And don’t bring up the accident either. The last thing I want to do is traumatize Henry any further by telling him his dad doesn’t remember who he is.”

Seated around the kitchen table, Sonia divvied up the cartons of Chinese food. Henry stared wide-eyed at the orange chicken, fried rice, and egg roll she set on the plate in front of him.

Picking up on his hesitancy, Jessica leaned over. “It’s yummy,” she said encouragingly. ”Just eat it like this.” She proceeded to pick up her egg roll and demonstrate, making increasingly exaggerated sounds of enjoyment until Henry started giggling. Sonia and Evelyn exchanged cautious smiles. With enough prodding from Jessica, he was starting to open up. It was almost as if she gave him the permission