“You never said anything about expensive equipment before.”
“I thought I could do this with an old-fashioned stakeout, but the boys have been doing that for several years now to no avail.”
“How do you know they aren’t lying?”
“I doubt these boys have ever lied in their life. I’ve never met finer boys.”
“Then buy the equipment.” Jacobs hung up, and Ethan felt worse than ever.
***
Joshua slipped to the back of the house and sat down on the chopping block trying to make sense of Ethan’s phone conversation. For the first time, he wondered if he’d been wrong when he’d approved of their new tutor.
He entered through the back door and remained in the kitchen so he could avoid Mr. Long when he returned. No! He needed to see Mr. Long’s face. He needed to understand how he could have been so wrong about the man.
Chapter 12
Ethan noticed the change in Joshua the moment he entered the living room. He approached the boy. “Is something wrong?” he whispered.
“Not with the baby.”
“With Sara?” He grabbed the boy’s arm as worry ripped through him.
Joshua pulled away. His eyes looked confused. “No, Ma’s okay. We’re all okay. We don’t need you worrying about any of us.”
Little Tom overheard Joshua’s last statement. He slid his hand into Ethan’s. “I like that Ethan cares about us. Why are you being so mean to him?”
The other boys gathered around and waited for Joshua to reply.
Ethan wondered as well. “Joshua, did I do something to upset you?”
Joshua studied his hands and shrugged.
“Will you tell me what?”
Joshua shook his head. Then he stormed through the kitchen and out the back door.
Colby watched him go and then looked at Ethan. “You really don’t know what you did?”
“No.”
Oscar stepped up. “Well, we still like you. You won’t leave just because Joshua’s got a bee in his bonnet.”
“No. I’m sticking like glue,” Ethan promised.
Relieved, the boys returned to folding clothes.
Ethan caught Colby’s arm. “Any idea where Joshua might have gone?”
“When he’s really upset, he goes to the abandoned mill. He’s probably there. Could you try to bring him home? Ma don’t like him there at night. Sometimes kids go out there to drink. He could get hurt.”
***
Ethan hurried into the dark woods, wishing he owned a light and a taser gun. Better directions would’ve been nice, as well. The evergreen trees blocked much of the light offered by the full moon so he had to watch his feet carefully. Rotting logs and long strands of sticker bush plants tried to trip and entangle him at every step.
“Joshua!” Ethan called out, now concerned he had missed the mill entirely and was lost himself.
A wolf howled in response. Maybe it was just a dog, but in Ethan’s mind, it sounded like a black wolf, five feet tall with snarling white fangs and blood red gums.
He stopped and turned about looking for some hint of the boy. “Joshua, please!” Seeing nothing, he decided to continue.
After three steps, Joshua spoke. “Wait. You’re headed off to the bog.”
Ethan sighed with relief and peered in the darkness, trying to see the boy. He noticed a hint of white hair floating high above the ground. He walked toward it as it bounced about, slowly coming down to earth. A few feet from the crumbling blackened remains of the mill, he waited with trepidation. When the boy made his final leap and landed nearby, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.
The boy had not lost his bee yet. Ethan could see his glare even in the moonlight.
“Will you tell me what I’ve done?”
“Why don’t you tell me?” the boy snapped in return.
“I wish I could, but I honestly have no idea why you’re mad at me.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because I want to fix things between us.”
Joshua kicked a rotted stump and sent shrapnel flying about. “I don’t mean at the mill. Why did you come to our home?”
Ethan frowned. “I came in response to an ad.”
The boy glared at him with fury. “Then explain your conversation on your phone tonight.”
“My…” Dear God, what had the boy heard?
Joshua stepped forward. “What special equipment are you planning to buy? And who’s paying for it?”
Ethan relaxed. If that was all the boy had heard, he could talk himself out of this. “I contacted a guy who’s going to front me money for the equipment I need to solve how your mother’s becoming pregnant.”
Upon considering his answer, Joshua stepped closer. When he spoke again, his voice no longer sounded surly. “What can this equipment do?”
“It can see in dark rooms and catch heat signals.” Ethan rubbed the boy’s back. “I don’t know how this guy is getting in, but this equipment will alert us he’s there and we can jump in and grab him.”
Joshua slowly nodded. “I’ve got a few things to say to the fella when we catch him.”
Ethan gave him a shoulder hug. “You and me both.”
Chapter 13
The next two months passed with delightful ease. In fact, Ethan could not remember a happier time in his life. The boys’ progress in their studies continued to astound him. Either he had a great gift for teaching or the boys were all geniuses in the raw.
Joshua and Colby had already taken their GED tests and passed with perfect scores. The head of the school board, Mr. Dawkins, and the Child Welfare lady, Mrs. Delfin challenged their first exams taken at home, so the entire family climbed into their bus and went to Fayetteville in January so the boys could take the test in a “more rigorous environment”.
After dropping the two boys off at the testing site, Sara and the remaining boys stopped by to see the Hodgkins. Fortunately, little Julius had grown sufficiently to look as chubby and large as any baby his age. So when Harry tossed the baby into the air, Ethan managed to contain his worry.
While Julius seemed to enjoy it, Oscar finally picked up one-year-old Marcus and brought him to Harry. “Here, this one is more of a tossing age.”
Harry roared with laughter and switched out the boys, now tossing Marcus into the air. Oscar returned Julius to Sara and she kissed the boy on his forehead for being such a good big brother.
Donna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we used to have a lot more babies, but Harry keeps dropping them.”
Oscar’s eyes widened, and a few seconds later he returned to Mr. Hodgkin. “Tossing time is over now, Mr. Hodgkin. Thank you.” Oscar’s little hands reached out, waiting for Marcus.
Harry glared playfully at his wife. “Did she also tell you I turn into Frankenstein at night and eat little fingers?”
Oscar did not back down from his heroic task, but the other small boys all tucked their hands safely behind their backs. Sam, who had turned fifteen on his birthday laughed at his brothers. “They’re just kidding, you guys. People often say things they don’t mean. Sometimes for fun, like now, and other times to be mean.” He frowned at Peter. “You’re fourteen now. You should know which is which. You, too, Oscar, since you think yourself so smart.”
Oscar frowned. “How can you tell the difference between jest and threat?”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Do you think Mrs. Hodgkin would be so nice to Mr. Hodgkin if he’d really dropped all their babies and killed them?”
Oscar pulled on his ear and studied the couple. “I don’t ‘spect we’d have met Mr. Hodgkin at all if he’d really done that.”
Donna laughed. “That’s for damn sure. He better not be wasting my efforts—not as difficult as they are to birth.”
Oscar frowned slightly and walked over to Ethan. “She’s joking again, right?” he whispered.
Ethan rubbed the boy’s back and nodded.
Satisfied, Oscar snuggled in beside his tutor and verified with Ethan ev
ery time either Donna or Harry made a joke.
Near noon, Ethan rose. “If you’ll excuse me, I want to pick up the oldest boys and then take them to the college to meet a friend of mine.”
“If you take that bus anywhere near the campus, you’ll have students demanding a ride,” Donna teased.
Harry threw a lethal-size ball of keys in his direction. “Take my car.”
Ethan caught the mass of metal. “Perhaps I should just take the pertinent key. Otherwise, I’ll walk with a limp.”
“That’s a joke!” Oscar declared.
Donna snorted. “Not a very good one. I’ve got a thousand better about that iron football Harry carries about. That’s his mistress ball. Most of those keys are to cars he’s loved and lost.”
***
Before picking up the boys, Ethan stopped by a surveillance specialty store and ordered the equipment he’d need for Valentine’s Day. He then acquired two well-pleased graduates from the testing center and headed to the University campus.
The boy’s mouths dropped open as they drove through the stone gates with life size statues of roaring lions. “This is a school?” Joshua asked.
“It’s not like the school you knew. This is a place of higher learning.” He pointed to the modern looking towers on the left. “The student dorms are there.” He then noted a giant gray stone building with large white columns. “That’s the Mathematics and Science building.”
“What’s that?” Colby asked, pointing to the right.
“The strange sculpture of white ribbons? That’s the entrance to the Fine Arts building.” He continued to point out buildings, but he wasn’t certain if the boys were listening anymore. They seemed more focused on the pretty girls resting on the hills, enjoying the sun on this unseasonably warm mid-January day.
Ethan parked in the visitors’ lot and they walked a half-mile through the campus to the administration building.
Upon speaking to the secretary, they were led into an office that looked like a Victorian library with wall to wall mahogany bookcases, filled with leather-bound books. A handsome carved desk with a black leather inset stood at one end of the room. A stone fireplace surrounded by a black leather couch and two leather armchairs occupied the other half.
A thin, grey haired man in his fifties, wearing a grey pin striped suit, stood up from the desk to greet them.
Ethan hugged his mentor and friend then stepped back to introduce the boys. “Dean Whitaker, I’d like to introduce you to Joshua and Colby Smith.”
***
Darren Whitaker shook each boy’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He pointed to the leather couch. “Please sit, while I have my secretary bring us refreshments. What would you like? Coke, Dr. Pepper, or coffee?”
“Water will do fine,” Joshua said.
Darren looked at Ethan. “Still addicted to Dr. Pepper?”
“You know me well.” Ethan chuckled. “I would dearly love a Dr. Pepper.”
He turned to leave, when Colby spoke up. “I’d like to try a Dr. Pepper, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Darren said and left the room.
Colby looked at Ethan. “If I don’t like it, I’ll give it to you.”
Ethan nodded. “Deal.”
Darren returned a moment later and sat down in the chair to the boy’s right. “My secretary is getting our drinks. Beautiful weather today. Is this your first time to visit the campus?”
The boys nodded in unison.
Ethan leaned forward. “I brought them directly here, so they haven’t had a chance to see much of it yet.”
The secretary entered and set down the drinks. Darren thanked her and passed them out, pausing with the water. “I apologize, but who…”
Joshua laughed and took the water. “No problem. We’re hard to tell apart.”
Ethan patted Darren’s back. “Joshua’s hair is an inch shorter than Colby’s.”
Joshua rubbed his short hair. “Mr. Long couldn’t tell us apart, so he cut our hair different lengths.”
“Only three different lengths.” Ethan turned to Darren. “I could properly identify them if they stood in a line, but if I was just looking at one of them, then their height wasn’t sufficient. I needed a difference in hair length to ensure I got it right.”
Darren’s eyebrow rose in doubt.
Colby chuckled. “I didn’t think it would work either, but he’s got our names nailed now.” He popped the can and took a sip. For a moment, Ethan thought he didn’t like it, but then he turned to his brother. “Taste it.”
Joshua took a sip, blinked rapidly, and smiled. “That’s good.”
Darren rose and left the room, returning a moment later with a can for Joshua.
The boy’s mouth opened in shock and then he grinned. “Thank you, sir. That was awfully nice of you.”
Darren sat down and focused on the young men. “I understand you boys took some tests this morning. How do you think you did?”
“I got all mine right,” Joshua said, then looked at Colby.
“Me, too,” Colby added.
“Would you mind taking a test for me?”
The boys looked at Ethan.
“Do we have time?” Joshua asked.
“Absolutely,” Ethan assured them.
Joshua grinned at Darren. “Then we’ll be happy to take your test.”
Darren had agreed to talk to the boys, but he had not promised anything further. However, to help sway the dean, Ethan had attached his vignettes on both boys to his email confirming the visit. Given the congenial welcome and willingness to test the boys, he was certain Darren had read the stories.
***
After seeing the boys settled in with a monitor to take their tests, Darren and Ethan returned to his office. “Your stories touched me, Ethan. Assuming the boys are half what you claim, I think we might be able to help them.”
“They are exactly as I presented. I wrote fact, not fiction.”
“You wrote literary masterpieces, some of the best I’ve ever read. Do you have more of these jewels?”
Ethan laughed softly. “Well, there are seventeen boys and their mother.”
“Yes…” Darren studied him a long moment. “How long have you been with them?”
“Three months.”
“And how long do you plan to stay with them?”
Ethan’s smile faded. “That’s hard to say.”
Darren leaned forward. “May an old friend and mentor give you some advice?”
Ethan nodded.
“I do not believe you left your paper to become these boys’ tutor, so I must assume you plan to publish these jewels you are writing in the BC Times once you’ve uncovered the man parenting the brood.”
Ethan blinked in shock at Darren’s bull’s-eye.
“Here’s my advice. First, don’t throw pearls to the swine. While your paper is not entirely without literary merit, your writing deserves a better format, something more enduring than a day’s life and then out with the fish. Secondly, don’t value your work obligations over your heart’s desire. You’ll never recover if you do.”
Ethan frowned. “What makes you offer such advice? I, better than anyone, know not to become attached to the subjects of my investigations.”
Darren glared at him. “Are you really going to sit there and try to bullshit your old professor?”
Ethan sighed and looked at his feet. “No. I do care about them. I fail to understand how it is possible to do otherwise, yet the town of Briarville certainly proves it can happen.”
“Are you and the mother…”
Ethan looked up in shock. “I’m not involved with her! She has enough troubles without me worsening the situation.”
Darren nodded. “Have you considered how this assignment will end? You’ll entrap the father and plaster his picture for all the world to see. You’ll reveal yourself as an imposter who took advantage of love-starved children to gain an amusing story for the masses.” Darr
en sighed. “How do you think the boys and mother will react?”
“They’ll be angry—”
“They’ll be devastated!” Darren rose and stared out his window. “Why are you trying to help these boys enter college when you’re plotting their destruction? Do you really believe they’ll care a whit about college when they’ve been so brutally betrayed by someone they love?”
Ethan squeezed the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the tears that threatened to fall. “Please stop speaking the fears that torment my sleep.” Tears burst forth as he gave up all pretense of strength. “I don’t know what to do. My personal life has always been in shambles. All that has sustained me is my professional life. To abandon that terrifies me. And if I do give it up, I don’t think it will change anything. Jacobs will simply make me part of the story. Sara and the boys will still discover I’ve betrayed them.”
Darren handed him a tissue and sat down beside him. “If you were these boys, which future would you prefer? The one in which your new father showed up to do a story, then fell in love with the family, and ditched the story; or one in which a man pretended to love them, got his story, and left them to suffer the fallout?”
Darren rubbed Ethan’s back in soothing circles. “I have never seen you happier or more at peace than when you watched the boys answer my questions. You love them, Ethan. You cannot convince me otherwise.”
“I do,” he admitted.
“Then follow your heart. Choose what is important, not what has been your old standby in misery.”
The phone rang and Darren rose to answer it. After a short discussion, he set the phone down. “That was Irwin. I asked him to evaluate the first section of the boy’s test while they took the later portion. Your boys are as smart as you suspected. They’ll have no trouble getting into this school, or any other for that matter.”
***
Ethan remained quiet on the way to the Hodgkins’ house.
“Did we not pass those tests we took?” Colby asked. “They were odd questions, but I thought I got them all right.”
Ethan glanced in the rear-view mirror at Colby seated in the back. “You boys did great.”
Luck Be an Angel Page 7