Chapter 5 - A Date That Never Happened
Owen stared at the form. His photograph had been lifted from his school identification card. His height was wrong. The signature box was already marked with a shaky version of his name.
"I'm fourteen," he said.
"On this paper, you're nineteen. Paper has consequences."
Greer tapped the desk. "An incident was going to happen in that cafeteria. We needed to know who would stand up for Sol Briggs. You did your job. Now we need names."
"You put me there to find people you want to hurt."
Greer's smile vanished. "Your father stole confidential records. We're trying to get them back before somebody misuses them."
Owen remembered his dad's last night at home. Andrew Finch had stayed up sorting utility invoices, using an old adding machine because he no longer trusted the prison's computer reports. He'd said, "If anybody asks, the numbers don't match." The next morning, his truck was found abandoned on a service road.
"My dad didn't steal from anybody," Owen said.
Greer pushed a pen toward him. "Then prove you're his son. Do as you're told."
Outside the office, a commotion rose. Grant's voice carried clearly down the hall.
"I'm requesting the child's immediate transfer to protective custody. No one here has the authority to hold him."
Greer calmly reached over and switched on a desk fan. The sound swallowed her words.
"She'll be escorted out," he said. "Until then, you're going to tell me what Sol Briggs whispered."
Owen's stomach twisted. He had been terrified since the van came, but the terror was turning into something he could use. Greer hadn't heard Sol's warning. He didn't know about the painted window. He didn't know Owen had recognized the man behind it.
Owen took the pen and drew a careful line across the false date of birth.
"That's not my birthday."
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For the first time, Greer looked surprised.
Then he picked up his telephone and said, "Move Finch before the outside officers arrive."
