WHERE'S MY SON? Read Online Free PDF Page B

varied, despite him making them repeat it numerous times, both together and separately. Officers were canvassing the neighborhood, but so far, they had not come up with any leads. It seemed most people were at work.
    He didn't like his chances of finding the child , but nothing would stop him from doing everything he could.
     
    *******
     
    It had taken nearly six hours instead of the four Zeb had promised, but Benny finally crossed into Oklahoma. He hadn't run into any trouble, but he needed gas, and stopping made him nervous. Someone might hear the kid, and with Texas plates, he’d stand out even more in Oklahoma.
    He tried to concentrate on driving . The baby would cry every half hour or so until it fell back asleep, only to reawaken and start bawling again. He couldn't wait to get this over with.
    He saw a truck stop ahead and decided it was time to use a bathroom and fill up the tank. Pulling in next to the pumps, he filled up and went inside. He grabbed a couple of snacks, and settled up with the clerk.
    “Where's the bathroom?”
    “Just around to the left.”
    “Thanks.”
    As he’d rounded the corner, he saw two Oklahoma State troopers sitting in a booth, finishing their coffee. Benny nearly passed out. He nodded at them and continued toward the bathroom. If the kid cried, he was done.
    When he came out of the bathroom, the troopers were gone. He could see his car, and they weren't there, but they hadn't left, either. The two stood chatting by their patrol car. Benny wasn't sure what to do.
    “Stay and take a chance the kid cries, or go and possibly have them notice your plate.”
    “Pardon?”
    Benny realized the clerk was looking at him.
    “Oh nothing , just thinking out loud.”
    He decided to chance it and leave. Pretending to be on his phone, he kept his head down as he walked to his car. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the troopers getting into their car.
    When he reached the old Bonneville, the baby was still asleep. He got in, fired it up , and drove off. The troopers pulled out behind him, flipping on their flashing lights. Benny's heart skipped a beat. He was about to flee, when the troopers raced around and passed him into the night.
    He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He mopped at his forehead as the baby started crying again.
    “Shut up, kid. Just shut up!”
     
    *******
     
    Benny had gone east and caught I-35 north to Paul’s Valley. He was to meet his contact, Zeb's sister, in the parking lot of the Days Inn, and she would approach him. He just needed to park in back and wait.
    He found it easily enough , and slowly cruised through the lot, parking in one of the last spots. No one appeared to be watching him, so he was startled by a knock on his back window immediately after he’d parked.
    He got out , finding a middle-aged lady with red hair standing next to a van.
    The hair must run in the family .
    What really surprised him was her height. Benny guessed she was no more than four-foot eight or ten, but certainly not five feet. She sported a tattoo of a tiger on her left forearm. “Where's the baby?”
    “Backseat . Where's the money?”
    She slid open the side door of van and motioned at two large duffle bags. He unzipped one, finding bundles of neatly wrapped hundred-dollar bills. The second contained similar piles of bills. He picked up one of the banded piles and ruffled it.
    “Quit waving it around ! It's all there!”
    Benny watched as Susan went to his car , removed the baby, taking both the carrier and the blanket. She went to her van and opened a diaper bag. She pulled out formula, diapers, and clothes.
    Benny noticed the van had Missouri plates and a St. Luke's Hospital parking sticker.
    So that's where you’re from. That might be useful information sometime.
    She changed the baby and heated some formula with a portable bottle warmer she plugged into the van’s lighter socket. When it was ready, she wrapped the baby in a dry blanket and sat to feed him. It was