Kara and Craig sat down with Officer Garrenton at the dining table Wednesday afternoon, Kara leaving dinner half-prepared on the stand-alone counter.
"When I heard you had called on Monday," Officer Garrenton told Craig, "I offered to look into the situation for you, since I had met your wife and son. I didn't find anything unusual, though—no one claiming custody of Zechariah. I also called down to the county courthouse, but they had no record of anyone disputing custody."
"Good," Craig sighed, relieved. "See, my cousin—she's mentally unstable. On the phone the other day, she insisted that Zach is her son. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't causing any legal trouble. Or any other relatives, either. We have some suspicions. Hopefully there's nothing to them."
"Hopefully not," the officer nodded, but she watched Craig closely, as though gauging his credibility. Kara gulped. Was Officer Garrenton on to them? Not that they had done anything wrong. Zach was their son, they knew now. They had a birth certificate to prove it—a fraudulent one, granted, but the results of the DNA tests were legitimate. Even so, this line of questioning could turn awkward quickly.
Officer Garrenton shifted in her chair. "How is Zach, by the way?"
Craig gestured to the picture window, through which they could see him lying in the grass, Paws nuzzling him with his nose. Zach sat up and gave the dog a vigorous rub. "He's doing well. He and Paws have been spending a lot of time together."
"I see that. No more wandering around the city, then?" Officer Garrenton asked good-naturedly, but her eyes betrayed her watchfulness. Kara got the sense that she was checking up on them.
"We've been keeping him close to home," Kara answered. "So far, so good."
The side door opened and Zach backed into the kitchen, one hand on Paws' head to keep the dog outside. Closing the door, he turned toward them. "Hey, Mom, did you know Paws can—" He spotted Officer Garrenton at the table and cut off abruptly. He went rigid, eyes becoming saucers. "No," he whispered. His eyes darted first to Kara, then to Craig, then back to Officer Garrenton. His surprise grew into panic, and he ran suddenly to the hall. A moment later they heard his bedroom door slam shut.
"What was that?" Craig asked, turning to Kara and sharing a bewildered look. Officer Garrenton looked to both of them with concern.
Kara stood. "I'll go check on him."
She reached his door and knocked before entering. "Zach?" She opened the door slowly, but he wasn't there. She checked the closet—he wasn't there, either. Where did he go? She heard a muffled whimper and knelt to peer under the bed; he was hiding there, curled up in a ball, his eyes moist.
"Zach, what's the matter?" She stretched a hand toward him. He edged away from her. "Zechariah, why are you hiding?"
He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. "I don't want to go."
"Go where, Zach?"
"I don't want to go anywhere! I want to stay here, with you and Dad."
He saw a police officer and thought— "But you are staying," she assured him. "No one's taking you away. That's what Officer Garrenton came to tell us. She checked, and no one is trying to take you away from us. That means you can stay here."
He looked at her, but didn't move.
"So you can come out, Zach. It's okay."
He remained curled up under the bed. That really scared him, she thought. And now he's embarrassed. She didn't want to drag him out by force. Maybe a different approach would help.
She returned to the dining table. Craig was showing Officer Garrenton the photo they had printed of Zach in his baseball uniform; beside it on the table was the old picture of Craig as a Little Leaguer. Both adults looked up at her expectantly as she rejoined them. "You should go talk to him, Craig," she said. "He's scared to death. He saw Officer Garrenton and thought she was going to take him away."
Craig gave her a puzzled look for a moment, then grimaced and left the table.
"Sorry," Kara told the other woman. "He's never done that before. I don't know what got into him."
Officer Garrenton offered her an understanding smile. "Your husband and I were just comparing these pictures." She turned her eyes back to them. "Amazing, the likeness—same dimple, same eyes, except for the color…"
"They do look very similar," Kara agreed. "I see it more everyday. How is your new granddaughter?"
The officer grinned appreciatively. She slipped a phone out of her pocket, opened a photograph on the screen, and handed the phone to Kara. "Here she is, doing great. Isn't she a cutie?"
"She's adorable." Kara smiled at the picture of a baby girl, eyes bright, resting in the arms of a man, probably her father.
"I just love baby pictures," Officer Garrenton went on. "I'll bet Zach was a beautiful baby, with that dimple of his."
Uh-oh. How was Kara to respond to that? She had only one printed photograph of Zach, and Officer Garrenton was already looking at it. "I'm probably a little biased," she said, thinking quickly, "but I thought he was beautiful from the first time I laid eyes on him." Yes, that was a good reply.
Officer Garrenton opened her mouth to ask another question, but was preempted as Craig brought Zach out from the hall and directed him to the table. He and Craig stationed themselves on either side of Craig's chair.
"There you are, Zechariah!" the officer said to him. "Are you all right?"
He managed to nod. His eyes were red, but he had wiped the tears from them.
"Why did you run away when you saw me?" she asked.
He dropped his eyes to the floor. "I was scared."
"Have you done something wrong?"
"No," he answered.
"There's no need to be afraid if you haven't done anything wrong." He didn't respond. "Zach," she prompted, and he looked up at her. "Your father was just showing me these pictures of you and him in your Little League jerseys. I think you look just like him. What do you think?"
Zach's eyes flitted to the photographs. "I'm a lot like him," he answered quietly. "And like Mom, too. We're both left-handed."
"So you take after both sides of the family." The officer looked at him for a long moment, then smiled and stood up from her chair. "Well, I should get back to the station."
Craig escorted her to the door. "We appreciate you checking on that for us. It's nice to not have to worry about it."
"My pleasure," she replied. Her eyes swept across Kara and Zach briefly. "If you need anything else, don't hesitate to call. That's what we're here for."
"We won't," Craig promised.
He watched her go, then returned to the table. Zach had taken a seat and put his head down on it, hiding his face in his arms. Craig placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, pal. You got caught off guard. It happens."
"Just talk to us before you run and hide, kiddo," Kara added. Zach needed something besides fear and shame to think about. "Hey, I hear you can cook a little. Come help me finish dinner. We're having tacos."
He hesitated a moment, then stood and accompanied her to the kitchen.
*****
The Boy Who Appeared from the Rain Page 46