Count to Ten

"So who ultimately threw the boys out?" Westphalen asked.

"Mrs. Blennard said Andrew begged Laura not to send them away. Nearly broke Laura's heart. Penny got them counseling, but Shane did it again, and that time Laura caught him in the act. So Laura told them they had to go."

"So where did they go?" Spinnelli asked.

"It got harder to keep them together, but Penny Hill tried. She found a place in the country, a real rural area. She thought it would settle the boys, fresh air and chores." Mia shrugged. "Cows. This was Bill and Bitsey Young's house. They had two biological sons, older, high school age."

"This is where the records start to break down," Reed said. "It answers questions for us, but it raises a whole host for DCFS. All of this information comes from Andrew's file. Nobody can find Shane's."

Spinnelli's eyes widened. "They lost the file?"

"So it would seem," Mia said uneasily. "The boys were placed with the Youngs about ten years ago, but there aren't any more entries in Andrew's file for a whole year. Not by Penny Hill or anybody else. They were essentially abandoned."

"Abandoned by another woman," Reed added.

"Penny Hill forgot about them?" Westphalen's gray brows shot up. "That doesn't sound like the woman everyone described as dedicated to a fault."

"No, it doesn't." Mia frowned. "Penny's daughter said she worried about dropping the ball, that a kid would get hurt. Maybe they weren't foundless worries. At any rate, the next entry in Andrew's file is a year later when he's transferred to another foster home. Andrew was noted as a quiet kid, very withdrawn. Straight As." She lifted a brow. "Math club in high school. But after placement at the Youngs' there isn't another word about Shane in the state's social services files."

"We don't know what happened in the Youngs' house." Reed pulled a photo from his folder. "But we do know the house ended up looking like this."

"Burnt to the ground," Westphalen murmured. "When?"

"After the boys had been there nearly a year," Mia answered.

Murphy leaned over and picked up the photo. "How did you find this?"

"The fire was documented in insurance records." Reed shrugged. "It was a hunch."

Mia shook her head. "It was better than a hunch. I found Shane Kates's death certificate listed in the county's database. Cause of death was respiratory failure."

"From the fire," Aidan said.

Mia nodded. "Exactly. Reed looked up Shane's death date in his insurance database and cross-referenced the Youngs and found they'd filed a claim the following week for their house which had been destroyed in the fire."

"This picture was from the local fire department," Reed said. "They're pulling together the firefighters that responded that day so we can get more information, but it was almost nine years ago."

"So," Westphalen mused, "Andrew set the fire and his brother died."

Mia nodded. "The brother he'd gone to great lengths to protect."

Westphalen's eyes had narrowed in thought. "It's a significant trauma."

"One a person might bury for nearly ten years?" Mia asked.

"Possibly. A compulsive personality might chew it to death or deny it entirely."

Spinnelli frowned. "I'm still missing something. Why is ten the magic number?"

"That looks like the easiest question to answer." Mia slid two faxed pages to the middle of the table, side by side. "Shane's birth certificate from Michigan and his death certificate from Illinois. I overlooked the death date in the computer the first time I searched because the numbers are nearly identical to his birth date. One digit off."

"Shane Kates died on his tenth birthday," Westphalen murmured.

"In a fire," Reed confirmed.

Mia sighed. "Count to ten and go to hell."

"So what next?" Spinnelli asked.

"Track down the Youngs and their sons," Reed said.

"He's done things in order as much as he can. It makes sense the Youngs are next."

Spinnelli nodded. "First thing in the morning I want you in… what's the town, Mia?"

"The Youngs lived in Lido, Illinois."

"Get down to Lido and find them. Murphy and Aidan, you're on call. Dismissed."

Chapter Twenty-two

Saturday, December 2, 7:25 P.M.

Mia was searching the Internet for the Youngs when Reed leaned his hip against her desk, closer than was wise. She'd keep it professional. "The meeting went well."

"Yes, it did. It's coming together. We should have him soon."

"You go on home to Beth. I need to work a little longer."

"You didn't go apartment hunting today." His voice was a smooth murmur.

She gritted her teeth against the shiver that prickled her skin. "No, but my bag's in my trunk. I'll stay with Dana. Percy has food till tomorrow. I'll come and get him then."

"Use Lauren's place one more night, Mia. I won't bother you, I promise."

From the corner of her eye she saw Murphy alone at his desk, watching in that quiet, shrewd way of his, then she looked up at Reed. She kept thinking shed be prepared, but every time she looked at his face it still hurt. She kept thinking she could look at his chest without wondering if he still wore his ring on the chain. Without some small part of her hoping he'd take it off. That she'd be enough to make him want to.

Which was as pathetic as it was stupid. "Reed, stop. It's not fair."

His shoulders sagged. "Call me when you get to Dana's, so I know you're okay."

She waited until he was on his own side of the desk before speaking again. "When you get home, make sure you talk to Beth."

He frowned. "Why?"

Mia hesitated. "Just tell her you love her, okay?"

Uncertainly he nodded. "I will." He gathered his things and left.

"You're sure you don't want me to mess up his face?" Murphy asked.

"No." She turned back to her computer. "I'm going to find the Youngs, then call their local PD and warn them. For now that's all I can do."

"You know, Mia, that little kid today. Jeremy. You were good with him."

So was Reed, she thought. We made a good team. "Thanks. He's a nice boy."

"I bet he's feeling scared right now. I bet you could find out where they took him."

She thought of Jeremy, scared and alone. "I found out in case I got done early."

Murphy came over and turned off her computer. "There, you're done early. I'll look for the Youngs. You see Jeremy, then go to Dana's. I'll call you if I find something."

"Thanks, Murphy." Her throat closed up at the sympathy in his eyes. "I have to go."

By the time she made it down the stairs she was back in control. Which was a good thing, because a woman with a blonde braid waited outside the main door. "Do you want anything else, Carmichael?" she asked acidly. "Like maybe my kidney?"

"I know where Getts lives."

Mia stopped. "Where?" And how long have you known?

Carmichael handed her a piece of paper on which she'd written the address. "I didn't mean for your address to go in the paper. I'm sorry."

Mia almost believed her, the girl was that good. She took the paper anyway. "Stay out of my way, Carmichael. And you'd better hope you never need a cop."

Carmichael's eyes narrowed. "I'm serious. I didn't know. Mitchell, you're as close to a meal ticket as I could hope for. I would no more try to get you killed than fired."

Now Mia's eyes narrowed. "What? What do you mean, fired?"

"I was there the night of the Adler fire. I saw Solliday come out of your place. It would make good gossip, but if you're fired my meal ticket's gone. I really didn't put your address in that story. My editor did. He thought it would spice it up. I am sorry."