AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This is the third time,” she said in anguish.
“What?” He couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“This is the third time he has gone missing. Twice, since Wilder and I divorced, he has taken Rhys—”
“Taken? Does he have custody?”
She shook her head so hard her hair swung back and forth. “I have sole custody, but his father had access to him. He saw him from time to time, while we still lived close enough. Then he started to get more demanding; he wanted to take Rhys to do things he hated. When I put my foot down, he got angry.”
“How angry?” Corbin began to feel a dangerous heat building inside him, a territorial, protective anger that surprised him with its ferocity. “Did he ever hurt either of you?”
“No. Not like that.” When she glanced at him, he prayed that she was telling the truth. So many women who suffered abuse in their relationships felt compelled to protect their abusers. He hated the possibility that she might be lying, and swore to himself, that if she was and he found out about it, he was going to do something.
He didn’t know what, but… something.
Melanie went on. “But he started complaining that he wanted to see Rhys more often. He accused me of trying to withhold contact, even though I wasn’t. I just wanted to make sure their contact was appropriate. That it didn’t frighten my son. Wilder had other plans.” She twisted her face at the memory.
Corbin felt that dark thing inside him begin to coalesce. He gripped the steering wheel tighter with one hand, and her fingers with the other. He let her go on talking, even though he knew that whatever she had to say would make him cringe.
“One afternoon, I turned up after school twenty minutes late, because I’d been held back at work. The teachers all gave me this confused look. They said Rhys’s dad had already collected him. I nearly lost my mind. I called and called, but Wilder sent the calls straight to voicemail. They didn’t turn up at the house until after nine, when the mall closed. His dad had taken him on a shopping spree. New clothes, a video game console, and a new phone.”
Corbin nodded. “Rhys cherishes that phone.”
She made a face. “Because gifts from Wilder are few and far between. The same man who bought him all that stuff was the same man who missed two birthdays and took a cruise to Jamaica on our last Christmas as a family. Claimed he’d gone alone just to clear his head, but I knew that he’d gone off with girlfriend number nine or ten or whatever her place in line was.”
All Corbin could do was listen. There was nothing he could do to comfort her, he knew. Eventually, he asked, “And the second time?”
“By then we’d left town. I decided to get as far from him as I could. I got a job waitressing at a diner in Florida. My cousin owned it, and I figured we’d be fine there. But he found us a couple months later. Or at least, that was when he turned up. I always had the sneaky sense he knew we were there all along….” She was lost in her thoughts for a moment, and then said, “That time, he took Rhys for the weekend. Right out of the apartment. I was in the shower, washing my hair, and when I got out, the apartment was empty. I thought I was going to die. All I got was a text from Wilder, saying not to worry, not to call the cops, that Rhys was safe. That they were having a good time. Father and son bonding time, he said.” She laughed harshly. “No killing animals, he promised.”
Corbin frowned, puzzled. “Killing animals?” Under what circumstances would that even come up?
She shook her head. “Long story.”
He wished she could be persuaded to continue that story, because it didn’t sound like something that should be left to fester but drew on what little patience he had left and waited until she felt able to continue.
“Know where Wilder took him? Disney World!” She spat out the words as if they were toxic. “For three days! The only reason I didn’t completely lose it was that Rhys had such a wonderful time. He came back looking tanned and happy with his arms full of souvenirs. As much as he fears his father, he still loves him. Craves his attention and approval.”
“Children will always do that,” he said, struggling to let rational thought govern his mind, which was veering into a state of upheaval. This man sounded like he needed a good pounding. And given the chance, Corbin was sure he wouldn’t mind being the one to administer it.
They were approaching the marine park. He had to ask, “This man, this… Wilder….” He had never heard such a name before but felt deep down that it sounded appropriate. “Do you think he would do such a thing? Take your son once more?”
“Today? Here in France?” She chewed on her lower lip, struggling with the question. “He has the means to get here. He owns a casino, so he has a fair amount of money….”
And yet he allowed his ex-wife and child to struggle to make ends meet working in a diner,Corbin thought. What manner of man is this?
He pressed her. “But do you think he would do this? Take the child?”
She took her hand from his grasp and rubbed her brow. “It’s no secret that we’re in France. He just needs to turn on his computer. But how would he know they were at the park today? He would have had to plan in advance to even get there, to that particular spot. I don’t know.”
Corbin felt his heart sink. As much as this man sounded like trash, right now he was the safer option. If Melanie said that so far he hadn’t hurt Rhys, then the devil you knew was less frightening than the one you didn’t. What would happen if the boy had encountered someone else? One of those predators who prowled places like these, where there were families, happy children too caught up in the delicious sights and sounds around them to be more wary?
Corbin noticed that his hands were shaking and forced himself to steady them. He was less lucky controlling his breathing. If someone had done something to Rhys….
They tore through the entrance, finding the closest parking space they could. Melanie was out of the car and running before he even had time to switch off. Not bothering to lock the car, he ran after her, towards the ticket booths.
Zanifa was there, and for the first time since he had meet her, her headscarf was askew. Her eyes were wide and frightened, and she flapped her hands in anxiety until Melanie was close enough to launch herself into her arms. She began sobbing. “I’m so sorry! He asked me to get him some fries at a stand. I turned to buy them and when I got back he was gone! I looked all around. I called his name. I called his cell, but it is off!” She let Melanie go and began flapping her hands again. “Dieu, Dieu…!”
“C’est bon, Zanifa,”he tried to comfort her. “This isn’t your fault.” He quickly paid the entrance fee and hurried after the two women, who had dashed inside ahead of him.
