“I’m so sorry, Emma. There’s nothing I can say that will make this better. We can talk about this later, but right now I need to know about Jake. Isheokay?”
Our parents reentered the waiting area. They’d been called out an hour earlier to be briefed on the investigation by a pair of FBI agents. One look at their worn, tear-streaked faces made my heart clenchinfear.
“What happened?” Iasked.
They looked at each other, hesitant tospeak.
“Nooo,” Kyle burst out. Mom went to himimmediately.
“It’s not that,” she soothed him. “Jake’s still in surgery. It’snotthat.”
“What aren’t you telling us?” Keith asked, as if he hadn’t just rejoined our familysecondsago.
Our parents exchanged another nauseous look before Dad spoke. “The guy who kidnapped Jakeisdead.”
It wasn’t what any of us expected to hear. I looked to my siblings. Their confusion matchedmyown.
“Okay. That’s good, right?” Iasked.
“It’s…uh… they think Jakedidit.”
“Did what?” I couldn’t comprehend what my father was saying. It was just toounbelievable.
“They think Jakekilledhim.”
This time the words burned through my chest, nearly stopping my heart. I couldn’t come up with a coherentresponse.
Keith spoke for me. “That’s not… no way could he killsomeone.”
Mom dissolved into tears, and I shook my head in disbelief. Was it really true? I looked to my father forexplanation.
He sighed before continuing. “Here’s what they’resaying…”
“Who’s saying?” Keithinterrupted.
“The FBI. They’re saying that there were only two people inside the house: Jake and his kidnapper. Both had been stabbed. When they found the man’s body, there was only one set of bloody footprints leading away from it:Jake’s.”
“So, you’re saying by the time he called us, the guy was already dead?” Iasked.
“It appears that way,” Dad said,nodding.
A stunned silence followed as we all let the truth sink in. Well, I guess it made sense now why Jake didn’t seem concerned about getting caught on the phone. Keith finally broke the moment of reflection by sinking down into the closest chair and mumbling, “Jesus.”
None of us spoke after that. Shock filled the open spaces. Mom rubbed Kyle’s back as Dad shifted back and forth with that same sick expression he’d had on his face when he’d entered the room. There was a lot more he wasn’t saying. Obviously their briefing had been much more in-depth than what they were sharing with us. How bad could it have been for him to actually kill someone? I mean, Jake… the most mild-mannered kid alive! The reality of what he’d been through was sinking in, and at that moment I knew with certainty that the truth of what he’d endured in those five weeks would be more than any of uscouldbear.
14
Finn: Breakfast OfChampions
“Are you almost done in there?”Emma’s impatient voice drifted through thebathroomdoor.
“Easy there,” I answered back. “Are youthateager to see menaked?”
“No, I just want to see you without thebaseballcap.”
My cap? I swiped my hand over the mirror to get a look at my unrulylocks.
“Why? You got a thing forcurlyhair?”
