The computer chimed suddenly and made the tech jolt up out of his slouch. Plastic rattled as he hammered at the keys with stiff fingers.
“He’s logged in,” he said as he wrinkled his nose to push his glasses up. “Let me….”
He stopped abruptly, his fingers frozen in awkward poses as the computer trilled. His glasses slid back down his nose, and he looked up at Javi with wide eyes.
“They’re trying to connect.”
Javi grabbed his shoulder, hauled him out of the chair, and gestured for Billy to move in front of the computer. Billy hesitated and then slowly slid across and moved as though he expected the chair to give him a shock as he sat down. He reached for the mouse and then hesitated and looked at Javi for permission.
“Get them to meet with you,” Javi said quickly as he hooked up the speaker-headset and passed it to Billy. He pulled on a pair himself and left one earpiece tucked behind his ear. “If they sense anything is wrong, blame it on your brother. We talked about this. You know what to say. If you get worried, just pay attention to me. Don’t go to video.”
While Cloister ducked outside to get Lara, Billy took a deep breath and accepted the call.
“B… Bri, is that you?” he choked out. “Did you see the news?”
Once you knew the voice belonged to a man, it was obvious. You could hear the strain on the vocal cords, the smoky hint of a lower register—although still tenor—trying to get through. If you didn’t know, it could pass as a shy teenage girl keeping her voice down to avoid attracting a parent’s attention.
“I saw,” he said. “I can’t believe it. Are you okay?”
“No,” Billy said. He didn’t need to be prompted. It was an obvious answer. “I’m not. We still haven’t found Drew.”
“I thought you were angry at me.”
“No,” Billy said. “Why would I be?”
“I didn’t turn up. My dad caught me sneaking out, so he grounded me.”
“That… that sucks. It’s not fair. I really wanna see you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I miss you.”
There was something aching in his voice. It sounded almost painfully true. Despite everything, he did miss the person he thought he’d known. Javi felt a pang of sympathy but squashed it. There was no response from the other end of the link.
“Bri?”
Javi glanced away from the conversation to check in on the tech, who had dragged the keyboard toward him and was clattering away on it. He briefly freed up one hand long enough to give Javi the thumbs-up and then got back to work. The door to the backyard opened slowly, and Cloister quietly ushered Lara back inside. Her hand was clenched in his sleeve, and she twisted the black fabric into knots as she watched.
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
“W… what?” Billy stammered. He gave Javi a panicked look. Holding up his hand, Javi gestured for Billy to keep going. “Of course not. You’re the smartest person I know.”
The voice cracked down a register. “I’m not stupid. Just because I didn’t go to a fancy school, I’m not fucking stupid.”
Billy flinched back from the table, and the legs scraped over the floor. The headphone lead pulled taut, and the jack popped out of the splitter. The angry voice spilled out of the computer’s speakers, sounding harsh against the domesticity of kitchen cupboards and twee tin containers.
“…spoiled rotten brat. You think you can fool me? Use my own trick on me? I’m smart. I’m smarter than you.”
Lara let go of Cloister’s arm, threw herself forward, and grabbed the computer with her fingers. Her knucklebones pressed tight against her skin as she clutched it.
“Where is he?!” she yelled, her voice cracking. “Where’s my son? What have you done with my son, you bastard?”
Cloister caught her wrists, pulled her back into a restraining hug, and grimaced as she stamped a bare heel down on his boot. The commotion had disturbed the dog, and she barked once and moved back and forward along a short, anxious fulcrum.
“I’m sorry.” It was like someone had turned off the anger in the suspect’s voice. It had gone mild, almost meek. “You seem like a nice lady, but you don’t understand what they did.”
“My boys never did anything,” Lara yelled. She struggled as Cloister tried to calm her down. “Drew’s just a baby.”
