28

Oscar

We don’t have that much more than when we started, yet on some levels, we have an incredible amount more. I’m waiting close to the cafe where Dolly is meeting her brother, and when she leaves, she comes straight to me. We talk, and she fills me in, and then we go back to my place.

“He said he’ll come by tomorrow,” she says.

“So, tonight.”

“Probably.”

“If he’s smart, he’ll let you think we’ve got time.”

“He really wants you. He’s still convinced your brothers will pay a ransom for you.”

“It’s deeper than that,” I say.

“Fuck.”

“What?”

She turns and looks up at me.

“Do you think he’s looking for a ransom from someone else?”

“Who?”

“Someone who was adopted,” she says. “Someone who would do anything at the chance to get back at you and your brothers.”

“No,” I say. “This is too specific. If he wanted to capture all of us, there are ways to do that.”

“Then why you?”

That’s the question, isn’t it?

“I think it’s time to call my mother.”