Chapter 9 - The Boy With His Father's Eyes
Matthew sat on the carpet in the safe apartment, lining up toy trucks by color. He had barely spoken since we brought him away from Mrs. Alvarez's house.
I sat across from him.
"Your dad liked trucks too," I said.
Matthew looked up. "He told Mom that when I was little. He said big trucks could carry things away, but they couldn't carry memories."
I smiled despite myself. "That sounds like Nicholas."
"Did you know him?"
The question hurt more than I expected.
"He was my little brother. I loved him."
Matthew pushed a blue truck toward me. "He said you were the brave one."
I shook my head. "He was wrong about that."
The boy studied my face. "Are you going to find him?"
Before I could answer, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a folded drawing. It showed three stick figures beside a lighthouse. One was tall, one was small, and one wore a red cap.
"Dad gave me this," Matthew said. "He told me if the bad lady came back, I should remember the lighthouse."
"Did he tell you where it is?"
Matthew nodded. "He said the light only works when the tide is low."
Grace searched the map on her laptop. There were three old lighthouses within a day's drive, but only one had a maintenance light that operated on a low-tide switch.
Omar leaned over her shoulder.
"We have a location."
Then Matthew whispered, "Uncle Alex?"
May you like
"Yes?"
"The bad lady said my dad was dead. But I saw him last week."
