Ultimate Fear (Book 2 Ultimate CORE) (CORE Series) by Kristine Mason Page B
Authors: Kristine Mason
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were, and would remain, married until one of them did something about it. She wouldn’t. She could and she should, but she wouldn’t. She’d been the one to file the first time around, and it had messed with her head and her heart. She didn’t want to make that decision again and go through the range of emotions that had left her living in hell for months afterward. Besides, she was too busy.
Refocusing, she said, “The cases that interested me the most were ones that had to do with missing infants, as well as the children who were found. Especially kids thought to be around six or seven.” Her daughter would have turned seven two weeks ago. She immediately pictured the party she would have thrown, but quickly shook the image from her mind. “I’m interested in infants, because I was hoping to find a pattern that matched our case.” She glanced at him. “And you know what I’m talking about, so quit giving me a hard time. My .38 is within arm’s reach.”
He cracked a smile. “Noted.”
“Good. Okay, so last night after our stimulating conversation I came home and checked the program.” She took a manila folder off the card table and handed it to him. “I came across this about a year after I started using it. A little boy, around two-and-a-half, was found outside of a fire station in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was healthy and someone had obviously taken good care of him.”
He opened the folder. “Is this him?”
She looked over his shoulder and stared at the picture of a cute, blond haired, blue-eyed toddler. “No. That’s a different boy. He was found three years earlier. Before I get into his case, let me finish. So this boy found outside the fire station was strapped in an umbrella stroller, drinking from a sippy cup. When the New Brunswick detectives were called to the fire station, the boy was already inside chatting up a storm with the firemen and all excited about their fire trucks. While the kid was busy checking out the trucks, the detectives asked him his name.”
“Would a two-year-old know his own name?”
She rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you read any of the parenting books I gave you? Never mind. Yes, he would know his name. But some kids’ speech development is slower than others.” She pointed to the folder he held. “This particular boy wasn’t on the slow end and knew his name was Elton.”
“Elton? That’s different, but helpful. Were they able to locate the parents?”
She nodded. “Eventually, only his real name was Max, not Elton. And Max had gone missing when he was six months old.”
He leafed through the papers stacked in the file. “And this other kid?” he asked, pulling out a photo copy of another blond haired, blue-eyed toddler.
“Including Max, there’re actually three cases. Each boy was found in an umbrella stroller outside of a place where they’d be quickly discovered. All of them fitting the same description, and all but two called themselves by the same name.”
He met her gaze. “Elton?”
“Right. I found this boy last night.” She motioned to the laptop. “I think he’s connected to the other three.”
When he scooted closer to her, she caught a faint hint of his earthy cologne. As he silently read the Attempt to Identify bulletin, she did, too.
Lamoni, Iowa police were called to Graceland University, 9:47 PM Central Daylight Saving Time, when students reported a male toddler outside of a residence hall. Authorities haven’t been able to ID the boy and his parents remain unknown. He is currently with Child Services. The estimated age of the boy is 2 to 3 years. Description: blond, blue eyes, found wearing a dark blue sweatshirt, Thomas the Train t-shirt, jeans and yellow and blue Garanimals sneakers. When discovered, the boy was in a Roll-Baby brand umbrella stroller and holding a Playtex purple and orange sippy cup. The boy talks, but cannot identify his parents. He claims his name is—
“Elton,” he murmured, sending a chill
Refocusing, she said, “The cases that interested me the most were ones that had to do with missing infants, as well as the children who were found. Especially kids thought to be around six or seven.” Her daughter would have turned seven two weeks ago. She immediately pictured the party she would have thrown, but quickly shook the image from her mind. “I’m interested in infants, because I was hoping to find a pattern that matched our case.” She glanced at him. “And you know what I’m talking about, so quit giving me a hard time. My .38 is within arm’s reach.”
He cracked a smile. “Noted.”
“Good. Okay, so last night after our stimulating conversation I came home and checked the program.” She took a manila folder off the card table and handed it to him. “I came across this about a year after I started using it. A little boy, around two-and-a-half, was found outside of a fire station in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He was healthy and someone had obviously taken good care of him.”
He opened the folder. “Is this him?”
She looked over his shoulder and stared at the picture of a cute, blond haired, blue-eyed toddler. “No. That’s a different boy. He was found three years earlier. Before I get into his case, let me finish. So this boy found outside the fire station was strapped in an umbrella stroller, drinking from a sippy cup. When the New Brunswick detectives were called to the fire station, the boy was already inside chatting up a storm with the firemen and all excited about their fire trucks. While the kid was busy checking out the trucks, the detectives asked him his name.”
“Would a two-year-old know his own name?”
She rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you read any of the parenting books I gave you? Never mind. Yes, he would know his name. But some kids’ speech development is slower than others.” She pointed to the folder he held. “This particular boy wasn’t on the slow end and knew his name was Elton.”
“Elton? That’s different, but helpful. Were they able to locate the parents?”
She nodded. “Eventually, only his real name was Max, not Elton. And Max had gone missing when he was six months old.”
He leafed through the papers stacked in the file. “And this other kid?” he asked, pulling out a photo copy of another blond haired, blue-eyed toddler.
“Including Max, there’re actually three cases. Each boy was found in an umbrella stroller outside of a place where they’d be quickly discovered. All of them fitting the same description, and all but two called themselves by the same name.”
He met her gaze. “Elton?”
“Right. I found this boy last night.” She motioned to the laptop. “I think he’s connected to the other three.”
When he scooted closer to her, she caught a faint hint of his earthy cologne. As he silently read the Attempt to Identify bulletin, she did, too.
Lamoni, Iowa police were called to Graceland University, 9:47 PM Central Daylight Saving Time, when students reported a male toddler outside of a residence hall. Authorities haven’t been able to ID the boy and his parents remain unknown. He is currently with Child Services. The estimated age of the boy is 2 to 3 years. Description: blond, blue eyes, found wearing a dark blue sweatshirt, Thomas the Train t-shirt, jeans and yellow and blue Garanimals sneakers. When discovered, the boy was in a Roll-Baby brand umbrella stroller and holding a Playtex purple and orange sippy cup. The boy talks, but cannot identify his parents. He claims his name is—
“Elton,” he murmured, sending a chill
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