As Eddie wrapped up his tale, Craig eyed Agent Nyler, who rubbed his hands together in thought. "That's the strangest story I've heard in a long time," Nyler finally managed. He turned to look at Officer Garrenton.
"Beats me," she told him. "I never saw any of these folks before I picked up Zach that night."
"Almost at the Pacific Medical Center," Eddie put in.
Officer Garrenton nodded and shifted her eyes from him back to Agent Nyler. "He's right. That's where the boy found me."
"I don't believe his story either," Craig said to Agent Nyler. "An artificial womb, and nobody knew about it? You can't keep something like that secret."
Agent Nyler scratched behind his ear. "I didn't say I don't believe him," he replied. "Actually, it would explain the types of medical supplies Dr. Lerwick was gathering when I was investigating him. It all had to do with his field of expertise. Some of it fit what he was working on publicly at the time. The rest of it I couldn't figure out." He nodded solemnly to Eddie. "No, as strange as it sounds, I suspect young Mr. Lerwick here is telling us the truth."
Craig's stomach sank. The possibility that Eddie's story could be true struck another blow to him…but why? Zach wasn't any less human for being conceived in a test tube and born from a box or whatever the artificial womb had been. But there was something discomfiting about knowing his son had been the object of a grand and dangerous, not to mention illegal, experiment—without his parents' knowledge or permission.
"A question, though," Agent Nyler addressed Eddie. He laid one arm across his chest and rested the other elbow on it, placing a finger across his mustache. "Your father intended to keep Zach hidden. So why send him to school?"
Eddie smiled ironically. "It wasn't what my father wanted. His investors demanded it. For all the risk involved, they required that my father demonstrate Zach's ability to be socially and academically normal. They didn't feel that homeschooling would be sufficient confirmation of his capacity—too controlled. They nearly pulled their funding before my father gave in."
"But why public school?" Nyler wondered. "Surely your father would have been more comfortable with a private school."
Eddie shook his head. "He considered it, but it was actually simpler to hide Zach's uniqueness in a larger school with a broader mix of children. Fewer awkward questions to answer that way. Besides, private schools expect more parental involvement. At public schools, you always have some parents who don't want to connect, or can't. Zach wouldn't seem as out of place there."
"And your role at the school was to manipulate information about Zach so no one would realize anything out of the ordinary was going on."
"Or at least anything illegal. Unordinary was unavoidable." Eddie met Agent Nyler's eyes again. "As for my role there—I'm pretty sure that information falls under the category of self-incrimination."
Agent Nyler grunted. "I'm guessing you could break into the computers by night and alter Zach's information as needed, pick up notes to be sent home, even forge his parents' signatures on forms."
"One might imagine so," Eddie answered with a smirk.
"Hmph." Agent Nyler switched the positions of his arms, placing his other index finger across his mustache. "So, where will your father be now?"
Eddie looked out beyond the balcony toward the downtown skyline, frowning. "Your guess is as good as mine. You could check his house, I suppose, but—"
"He has a house? Where?"
"Edmonds." From the pocket of his sweatshirt, Eddie pulled out a scrap of paper and handed it to Agent Nyler. "He keeps it and this apartment. And he moves around a lot—changes homes every year. It makes him harder to track if anyone catches on to what he's doing."
The agent scanned the address on the paper. "Jackie?" He handed the paper to her.
"I'll have the station contact Edmonds PD," Officer Garrenton responded. She stepped to the living room to radio the dispatcher.
"You're coming with me," Agent Nyler informed Eddie, who merely sighed in resignation. "Care to join us?" he asked Craig and Kara.
"Absolutely," Craig confirmed.
Agent Nyler stepped back inside the apartment. "Ernie!" he called. An agent stuck his head out from the bathroom. "Do what you can here. We have a house to check in Edmonds."
"You got it, boss," Ernie replied and ducked back into the bathroom.
"Agent Bentley?" Nyler yelled.
An agent who had been at Craig and Kara's home earlier cleared her throat from behind him.
Nyler turned and saw her. "I'd like your team to come with us."
She answered him with a quick nod.
"Let's go, then," Agent Nyler said to Craig, Kara, and Eddie.
Officer Garrenton passed the address along to Agent Bentley, then caught Kara's arm as she and Craig strode by her. "Hey," she whispered, "he'll be okay. Zach's an intelligent boy. He fooled me that first night. I raised two crafty sons, and he still fooled me. And he managed to call you this morning. He's going to make it through this."
Kara, who had been so strong through this whole ordeal, wiped away a sudden tear. She hesitated, then hugged Officer Garrenton unabashedly. Taken aback for a second, the officer returned the embrace, then sent Kara off with an encouraging pat on the back.
Craig followed his wife downstairs and out to Agent Nyler's car at the curb. Eddie was already in the front seat with him, waiting for them. As soon as they were inside, Nyler activated his siren and lights, and they sped away toward Interstate 5.
*****
The Boy Who Appeared from the Rain Page 98