"You found him?" Dean's face breaks into a smile.
"We need to make sure it's him. Sometimes when there's been a lot of media coverage like there's been in this case, people pretend to be the missing person as some kind of joke."
"You know what he looks like. You have pictures."
"We're pretty sure it's him but we want to make sure."
"So what do you need?"
"I got a photo to show you." He gets his phone out. "He looks different than the photos you gave us."
"What do you mean by different?"
"His face is thinner. He probably hasn't had much to eat since he left. And his head is shaved, which I'm guessing your father did so people wouldn't recognize him."
"Let me see." Dean takes the cop's phone and stares down at the picture. "Yeah, that's him." Dean blows out a breath. "Thank God you found him."
"Can I see?" I ask.
Dean hands me the phone. From first glance, it doesn't even look like Jake. With the bald head and bony face, I wouldn't even recognize him if I passed him on the street. I hand the phone back to the officer.
"So what happens now?" Dean asks him.
"They'll take him to a hospital, make sure he's in good health, and then we'll transport him back here. When he's back, we'll want to question him about what happened."
"Can it wait? I want to be there when you question him."
"We could probably make that work. Any idea when you'll be out of here?"
"Probably the middle of next week."
"Until then, do you have a relative in the area who could take the boy?"
"He could stay with me," I offer.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Dean says, and he's probably right. My mom wouldn't allow it, especially now, when she's trying to talk me out of dating Dean.
"Danny's family would take him," Dean says to me, then he looks at the cop. "Danny's a close friend of mine. His family's known Jake since we were kids. I'll give you their number but I'd like to see Jake before he goes there. When will he be back?"
"Depending on how his medical evaluation goes, he should be back tonight or tomorrow. I'll let you know when we find out."
"Where has he been staying?" I ask the officer. "Do you know?"
"He said he hid out on a farm outside of Indianapolis. He didn't know we got his father. He was worried his dad was looking for him so he stayed there and hid out. A kid went in the barn and found Jake sleeping in the hay. The kid told his mom and she called the police."
"Do you know if he's okay?" Dean asks. "Did my dad..." his jaw tightens, "do anything to him?"
"As far as we know, your brother is fine. They're taking him to the hospital just as a precaution." The officer's phone rings. "I need to take this." He goes out in the hall.
"They found him," Dean says, breathing a sigh of relief as he lays his head back on the pillows.
"And he's okay," I say, holding Dean's hand.
Dean glances at the officer in the hall. "I'm not sure I believe him."
"About what?"
"About Jake being okay. I need to see him myself before I'll believe he's really okay."
