Bred in the Bone (Widow's Island #4)(17)

Mickey and his dog sat on the ground a few yards away, the boy cuddling Bishy. Henry wondered if it was for warmth as much as security. Mickey had stopped staring at them with suspicion and now seemed to want to stick close, his gaze constantly searching his surroundings as if he expected a demon to jump out.

Is that fear of the commander?

Nothing was going to scare that boy again. Henry would see to it.

Kids were resilient. He believed with the right environment and support, Mickey would be just fine.

But what about Samantha?

Twenty years. She’d been a prisoner for twenty years. He couldn’t comprehend losing that big of a chunk of his life. Twenty years ago he’d been in high school. What if he’d been denied every life experience since then? And left in a shed with books for company? Would Samantha recover? She’d spent more of her life in captivity than out.

Mickey’s red hair caught his eye, and comprehension nearly drove him to his knees.

Samantha had given birth to a son. Here in the middle of nowhere.

Rape. Twenty years of rape?

Henry shuddered.

He thought Mickey looked about six but wouldn’t be surprised if he was eight, if his diet was poor. “Mickey, can you show me where you set up the explosion?”

The boy considered the question and then stood, leading his dog toward the back of the house.

Four other deputies had responded to Gunderson’s call for support and had split up and were now walking the property. Gunderson was on his phone, no doubt calling his supervisors. The discovery of a woman who’d been held captive for two decades would need careful investigation.

Henry followed Mickey behind the house and found a firepit with wisps of smoke still rising from its ashes. The air smelled like fireworks. Someone had put effort into creating the explosive and then had taught Mickey how to set it off.

“Do you have more of the things that you blew up?” Henry asked.

“They’re in the house.”

“Where in the house?” He stores explosives inside his home?

“The tall cupboard in the kitchen.”

Henry waved over the closest deputy and informed him of the danger in the kitchen. The deputy immediately made a beeline for Gunderson.

Will they need an explosives expert to remove them?

“Mickey, you said you lit the explosive because we had arrived. Are you supposed to do that when anyone comes?”

“No, only when I’m ordered to.”

Ordered? So the man was here.

“What did the commander do after he gave you the order?”

The boy kicked at the bricks of the firepit with his toe as Bishy sniffed at the wet grass.

“Why would he leave you behind?”

Mickey frowned. “Because I’m safe. People don’t care about kids and ignore me. The commander has people who want to hurt him.” He tipped up his head and eyed Henry suspiciously.

“I don’t hurt people. I’m a doctor; I help people when they’re hurt.”

The boy considered that statement, his face thoughtful. “The commander says doctors make up stuff to get people to pay them money for help.”

“I’ve never lied to someone who was sick. I do my best to get them feeling better.” He paused. “Samantha seems a bit sick. Is she always tired?”

“Who?”

“The woman in the shed. What does the commander call her?”

“Kristin, but I call her Mommy. She is sick. That’s why the commander keeps her in there, so she won’t get us sick.”

As his mind tried to accept what Mickey told him, Henry steered him back to the original point of the conversation. “We need to let the commander know that Kristin is going to the hospital to get better. Where can I find him?” Henry didn’t like manipulating Mickey, but this man needed to be found. Mickey mulled over the question, his little eyebrows coming together as he thought.

“Don’t you think he’ll want to know where Kristin goes so he can bring her back?” asked Henry.

Mickey’s face cleared. “He always needs to know where she is.” He tugged on Bishy’s leash and headed away from the buildings. Henry took two steps after him, realized he shouldn’t go find a felon alone, and called a deputy to follow him.

“What’s up?” the county deputy asked.

“Mickey has agreed to lead me to the guy we’re looking for.” Henry pointed at the boy, who had stopped and was patiently waiting a few yards away.

“Holy shit.” The deputy spoke into his mic, asking for more men. Three came running, including Sergeant Gunderson.

Mickey watched the group form with a frown on his face.

“You need to stay here,” Gunderson told Henry.

“No,” said Mickey. “I want the doctor to see.”

He’s no longer terrified of me. Progress.

“What are we going to see, Mickey?” asked Henry.

“The hole.”





7


Twenty yards from the back of the house, Mickey showed Henry and the officers some hidden boards. Below the boards they saw a tunnel. Henry stared down into the dark, narrow pit. He wouldn’t crawl inside even if it would create world peace. The thought that someone had physically dug it out made his insides clench.

“That’s so cool,” said one of the deputies, his eyes lit with excitement. “I’d totally check that out.”