Lost(31)

“No, I’m sorry. Shouldn’t you have scheduled this better? At the moment, as I said, the children are busy.”

I just ignored him and walked straight ahead through the unlocked double doors. The man almost fell off his stool trying to get to his feet and stop me. He followed me down the hallway, yammering at me as we walked. “Don’t make me call the police,” he said.

I looked over my shoulder and smiled. “I’ll save you the trouble. Step outside your front door. There’s a cop standing right out there. See if she’ll do anything.”

Before we could further cement our friendship, I heard a child yell, “Tom, Tom!”

At the end of the corridor, beautiful little Michele stood staring at me. She had a wide grin on her tiny face. She ran down the hall and leaped into my arms.

A moment later, Olivia darted from another room and jumped into the hug without a word. That caused a stir of excitement, and before I knew it, all six of the kids were involved. I felt like I was in a friendly rugby scrum.

After a few minutes of all of us hugging, one of the teachers gave me permission to talk with them in a classroom. That should please the officious little prick at the front desk, I thought.

Most of the kids had some piece of hopeful news. Joseph from Poland was very excited that the police had finally talked to him about his missing sister. One of Jacques’s relatives from Belgium had invited him to live with their family.

The only one without an update was the Finnish girl, Annika, who was quiet. She looked down, her long blond hair hanging into her face.

I put my arm around her and pulled her close. That earned me a smile.

Annika said, “My mother was my only living relative. The social worker says she’ll find a family for me to live with. I’ll be okay.”

I said, “You’ll be better than okay. You’re smart and beautiful. You’re going to do special things.”

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely. You can always call me if you need someone to talk to. And Marie will still be here in Amsterdam.”

That brought a broad smile. I felt better. The kids were safe, and that’s what mattered. When I had to leave, we had another group hug.

I had to take a quick break to compose myself before I stepped out to join Marie. This goodbye had been harder than I’d expected it to be.





CHAPTER 44





FORTY MINUTES LATER, Marie and I stood facing each other in front of my plane’s gate. She checked the crowds moving around us every few seconds. You can’t take the vigilance out of a good cop.

She said, “I look forward to hearing from you.”

“I’ll stay in close touch with you about everything.”

She smiled and said, “I promise to check on the kids until all of them are back where they’re supposed to be.”

“Especially Annika?”

“Especially Annika.”

“Thank you.” I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to show her how I felt. I swept a strand of hair away from her face and carefully tucked it behind her ear. I knew we had a connection.

I sprang back to reality and said, “We’ll probably see each other again soon. This case is going to heat up in more ways than we can imagine. If they do try to run a load of people to Miami, just call me and I’ll take care of everything. Maybe we can even scam a trip for you.”

“I’d love to see Miami. I’d also like to meet your mother and sister. They sound wonderful.”

“My mom’s wonderful. I’m reserving judgment on my sister.”

Marie smiled again and said, “I hope this visit didn’t give you the wrong idea about Amsterdam, considering you caught a fleeing felon and almost stumbled into a fatal gunfight with the Russian mob. We really are a friendly city. Writers say we are a tribute to the ordinary man. You just got to see the worst part of ordinary men.”

I said, “There’s nothing about Amsterdam I didn’t enjoy. Even our crazy first and second dates. And I never thought I’d say this, but I have to get back to the relative safety of Miami.”

The man at the ticket counter called over to me. “You’re the last one. You need to hurry, sir.”

Marie patted me on the chest, then pushed me away. “Hurry, you don’t want to miss your plane.”





CHAPTER 45



Miami


SOMEHOW, THE PLANE ride back to the U.S. didn’t wear me out like the flight to Amsterdam had. Probably because I was able to sleep better when I wasn’t worried about six kids.

That doesn’t mean I wasn’t tired when I fumbled with the key to get into my house in Coral Springs. When I stepped inside, my mom saw me, and a smile washed over her face. I was glad to see her, and she was happy to see me too. She said, “Hey, Chuck.” It was casual and friendly. But Chuck was my dad’s name. This was not a good sign.

“How was work today?” Mom continued. “We really should have a family dinner because there’s so much to catch up on. Tommy has decided to go to the University of Miami, and Lila is the top student in the fourth grade.”

I wasn’t sure how to handle this. Usually, Mom didn’t go into this kind of detail when she slipped into the past. I just stood there, stuck. I was hurt. It hurt every time this funny, intelligent woman who raised me slipped out of reality.