The Boy Who Appeared from the Rain
Page 108
Agent Nyler strode quickly to Dr. Lerwick's car parked in the now-pouring rain on the west side of Alaskan Way, right on the waterfront. He had just arrived with Kara, Craig, and Eddie, and immediately he ordered the vehicle searched inside and out. Within seconds, the search had turned up something.
"Craig." Kara nudged her husband.
"Hold on, Ben," Craig said into his phone as he turned and looked. Ben had called to check on the progress of the search. "The church is calling a prayer vigil," he informed Kara in a low voice. "Twenty-eight people came to the church to pray for Zach on their own, so they put out the word that the church is open for anyone who wants to join in."
Kara bit her upper lip. "Tell them to pray hard." Her son was nearby—she wanted to believe it. He had to be. They would find him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Fleming!" Agent Nyler called.
"They've found something, Ben," Craig told him as he and Kara hurried toward Dr. Lerwick's car. "I'll call you back." He disconnected the call.
As they reached Agent Nyler, the man held up a photograph in latex-gloved fingers, shielding it from the rain with his other hand. "Your son?" he asked Kara.
She examined it closely and frowned. "Maybe. It's hard to tell. We didn't know him when he was a baby."
Eddie came up behind her and looked at it. "That's my parents' house at the time," he told her. "The rug, the paneled wall… That's him all right."
Kara took another look. It was Zach, maybe six months old, in diapers. Those were his blue eyes, that was his expression of wonder.
"It was on the floor of the back seat," Nyler said, "just like the photograph they found on Bainbridge. He was here."
Craig swallowed. "And he's leaving us a trail?"
"It would appear so." Nyler raised his eyebrows. "Clever." He turned back to the car, looking it over, immersed in thought. Two agents worked inside it, checking for fingerprints and searching under the seats and through the glove compartment.
Covering her mouth with the back of her hand, Kara stepped away to the railing that lined the sidewalk a few car lengths from Dr. Lerwick's vehicle. Beyond the railing, the ground dropped several feet and met Puget Sound, which sent small waves splashing against the rocks below her. She watched the rain pelt the water, forming a million circular ripples as far out as she could see. If Zach had been free at this moment, he would be playing in this rain, soaking it in, drenching his shirt, splashing through the puddles with Paws. She prayed that he was okay, wherever he was, and that he might at least get to see the rain.
"Agent Nyler!" a young agent called from behind Kara as he ran up to Nyler. "Pike Place Market, three minutes ago—a boy matching Zach's description, pursued by two men!"
"Asian men?" Nyler asked. He was already moving toward his car.
"Or Hispanic, depending on who you ask. At the Fish Market. The officer on the scene is getting mixed reports of where the boy went from there."
At a gesture from Nyler, Eddie, Kara, and Craig leapt back into his car. "I want all available personnel to sweep the market immediately!" Nyler ordered. "If he's in one of the buildings, clear it out!" He jumped into the driver's seat, turned on his siren, and glanced at Craig and Kara in the back seat as he pulled into the street. "We're going to find your son!"
*****