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

get him to open up than asking directly about what had happened to him.

“No,” he replied flatly before picking up a crayon and turning it over in his fingers. That was interesting. It seemed as though he had no trouble with small motor functions, which would indicate that his developmental issues were more cognitive than they were physical. Still, it was odd given how short and skinny he was for his age. How was it that he was so behind in some areas, but not others?

“Well, that’s okay.” Olivia smiled. “What kinds of games do you like to play with your friends?”

“I don’t have friends,” Eddy murmured. “I not allowed.”

Olivia exchanged a perturbed look with Mrs. Abernathy. That was a pretty blatant red flag.

“Well, how about you be my friend?” Olivia asked. “I sure would love to have a new friend.”

The crayon went still in his hand as he looked up at her. He stared at her for a long moment, and Olivia was momentarily stunned by how blue his eyes were.

“Okay.” He nodded after mulling it over for a while. He started to rock gently back and forth, which could have either been a sign of distress or of happiness. Olivia hadn’t spent enough time with him to figure out which it was.

“Really?” She grinned as convincingly as she could, despite how awful the situation made her feel. “That makes me so happy!”

She spent another hour much in the same way, slowly building up a rapport with the boy. She alternated between asking him increasingly meaningful questions and just playing with him, careful not to do anything that might upset or overwhelm him. It was important to have both patience and an abundance of calm when dealing with vulnerable kids, and Olivia had both in spades.

“So, what are your thoughts?” Olivia quietly asked Mrs. Abernathy a little while later, once Eddy had returned to his art. They had moved to sit at a nearby table where they could speak without being overheard while still being able to keep an eye on him. Even though he wasn’t talking much, it did seem like Eddy was listening when they spoke since he always responded to what they asked, even if it was in one-word answers.

“There are pretty obvious signs of neglect,” she replied seriously. “He should be speaking a lot more by this age, and even if we were to just assume that he’s shy, it’s still obvious that he has issues expressing his feelings. What’s more concerning is that usually, kids will lash out and act aggressively when they’re unable to communicate, but he does the exact opposite. He just shuts down and stops talking entirely.”

“I agree.” Olivia pursed her lips. “Do you think he might be on the spectrum?”

“I had my suspicions at first,” Mrs. Abernathy replied. “But I don’t think so. I think a lot of the habits we observed are likely closer to coping mechanisms and a result of lack of social interaction.”

“You think he was isolated?” Olivia asked.

“Well, he did say he wasn’t allowed to have any friends,” Mrs. Abernathy sighed sadly. “Social interaction is extremely important for young children. It could certainly explain the communication issues and his inability to maintain eye contact.”

“That’s--” Olivia cut herself off, unable to find a term that was adequate to describe just how appalling she found the situation.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knocking at the door, and a moment later, Levi poked his head into the room.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt,” he began nervously. “I need to speak with you, Agent Hastings.”

“We were just about finished,” Olivia replied before turning to Mrs. Abernathy.

“Thank you for speaking with me.” She smiled at the social worker. “And for allowing me to speak with Eddy.”

“Of course,” Ms. Abernathy replied. “Whatever I can do to help this little man.”

She looked fondly down at Eddy, and Olivia felt glad that he was in the care of someone who genuinely seemed to care about him.

She followed Levi out into the hallway. “What’s going on?”

“We just got a call from your director,” he explained. “The DNA samples we sent out to your lab are back.”

“Oh, right,” Olivia replied abashedly. “I turned my phone off so my interview with the victim wouldn’t be interrupted. Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine,” Levi muttered. “Um, anyway, it looks like we might have a match.”

“A match?” Olivia repeated, unsure at first what he was talking about. “Wait, a match for the victim? How? Everything came back negative when the police ran a preliminary search. Is it attached to a sealed case or something?”

If the DNA was part of a case that wasn’t public knowledge, it would make sense that it hadn’t come up on a regular police search. The FBI had more than a few cases that required certain levels of security clearance to access.

“Not exactly,” Levi replied. “It actually wasn’t from a police or federal database.”

“Well, where did you find it, then?” Olivia asked, thoroughly confused at this point.

“Maybe you should just look over the details yourself,” he muttered. “I’ve got everything pulled up in my office now.”

“Alright,” Olivia replied. “Lead the way, then.”

3

Ethan

I did my best not to snicker as Holm hauled the massive cork board onto my boat. We’d decided to spend the afternoon going over every clue and detail we’d managed to dig up about the Dragon’s Rogue, and I’d been a little confused when he’d insisted on heading home to pick something up before coming over.

“What the hell is that?” I asked as he propped the bulky thing up on the back of the couch so it could lean against the wall.

“I took the liberty of charting everything we’ve discovered so far,” he replied proudly as he stood back to let me admire his work.

It was funny how suddenly my search for the Dragon’s Rogue had suddenly become our search. I’d been on the hunt for the old pirate ship ever since my grandfather, who’d been just as obsessed with finding it, had passed the