The Boy Who Appeared from the Rain
Page 114
A bus—the church bus!—pulled up to the stoplight at First Avenue and Pike Street, well within Craig's line of sight as he stood with Kara and Officer Garrenton outside the Fish Market, just a step under its roof and out of the rain. The door opened and church members streamed out of it, the first of them jogging through the rain down the concrete sidewalk toward where Agent Nyler and Eddie stood ready to receive them. Those who knew Craig and Kara hugged them quickly and then stepped back to let others have a turn.
Nyler and Eddie had just arrived, and Nyler had been quick to point out the danger that a search like this posed for the church members: what if they found Zach with his kidnappers? A single wrong move and someone could get hurt, or worse. Even so, Nyler had not called off the effort. But he had insisted on coordinating it.
"This way!" he called. The bus passengers spotted the bright yellow "FBI" emblazoned across his jacket and assembled around him, pulling their hoods over their heads for shelter from the rain. They were still exiting the bus; it must have been packed full. Other church members appeared from other directions, hurrying through the Main Arcade behind Craig or jogging up Pike Place to meet the larger group. They must have come in their own cars. How many were there? Had so many been at the church, praying for Zach?
Ben, Lia, and Jasmine hopped off the bus and made eye contact with Craig and Kara. Jasmine gave them a somber wave. They must have kept the other girls at the church or at home with Jayda. Derek and Douglas appeared from another direction and joined the church group.
Even before the last riders stepped off the bus, Agent Nyler began instructing the group. "Stick together—teams of three or four! Nobody goes alone! The kidnappers may still be out there. If you encounter them, do not engage them. Call 9-1-1 the moment you see Zach, even if he's alone." With a couple more admonitions, Nyler sent the search parties in various directions, and they hurried to their task.
"How many people are in your church?" he asked Craig with astonishment as he and Eddie rejoined them a few moments later.
"A few hundred," Craig answered. "I can't believe so many came."
Nyler shook his head. "This is risky. So I've stationed agents in every building for a quick response if someone—er, when someone spots your son. And you"—he turned to Eddie—"keep your eyes out for your father. If you're as good as you say you are…"
"You saw what Agent Mitchell brought in," Eddie returned.
Officer Garrenton looked at Agent Nyler.
The man sighed. "Eddie here has been gathering evidence against a dirty agent," he explained, "enough to get a search warrant earlier today, and…well, Agent Mitchell and a dozen other agents just took him into custody."
"A dozen?" Officer Garrenton repeated with astonishment.
"The guy is good with a gun. Mitchell didn't want to take any chances."
Officer Garrenton blinked a few times. "My, you've had a busy day," she remarked.
Nyler puffed his cheeks out. "How come I never get the easy cases?"
"He wouldn't like it if he did," she told Eddie.
Eddie flexed his fingers in front of him. "So does this mean—"
"Maybe," Nyler interrupted him. "Your chances are even better if you help us catch your father. We've been trying to get him for ten years. We bring him in, I tell the prosecutor how you helped—you may get off without a single charge. If, you understand."
"Yeah, I get it." Eddie scanned the street as the rain poured down.
Kara pointed into that rain. "Craig, there's Grover!" Grover was making his way through the puddles with a cane, his daughter Florence by his side, stretching an umbrella over him.
A minute later he reached them, and he pointed his cane at Kara and Craig. "I may be slow, but I have good eyes," he declared, "so don't try to tell me I can't help you find your boy!"
"Not that it would do any good," Florence sighed.
"Thanks for coming, Grover," Craig said. "The church group just got started…" He passed Agent Nyler's instructions along to Grover, and the old man and his daughter disappeared into the Main Arcade to hunt for Zach.
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