Chapter 2 - Three Empty Days
By the time Rowan reached Calder Street, two police vehicles and an ambulance blocked the narrow road.
Rainwater rushed along the gutters.
The old boardinghouse leaned between two empty buildings, its windows dark except for a weak light on the second floor.
An officer stopped Rowan at the entrance.
“My children are inside.”
“They’re being brought down now.”
“Is my daughter conscious?”
“The medical team is evaluating her.”
Rowan tried to pass.
The officer held out an arm.
“Sir, give them room.”
Then Micah appeared at the top of the stairs.
He wore blue pajamas beneath a police blanket. His hair was tangled, and his face looked smaller than Rowan remembered.
Micah saw him.
“Dad.”
Rowan climbed the stairs two at a time.
He dropped to his knees and pulled his son into his arms.
“I’m sorry,” Rowan said. “I’m so sorry.”
Micah held on for only a second before twisting toward the bedroom.
“Elsie.”
Two paramedics carried her out on a small stretcher. Her teddy bear rested beside her shoulder. A clear oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, but one paramedic spoke calmly to her as they moved.
“Her heartbeat is steady,” the paramedic told Rowan. “She needs fluids and medical assessment, but she responded when we called her name.”
Relief almost dropped Rowan to the floor.
He kept one hand on Micah’s shoulder as they followed the stretcher outside.
Near the front door, two officers escorted Celia toward a patrol vehicle. Her wrists were restrained in front of her.
Rowan stopped.
“Who are you?”
Celia studied him as though they had met before.
Up close, she looked older than she had sounded on the telephone. A faint scar crossed one eyebrow. Around her neck hung a small silver key.
“You really don’t remember me,” she said.
“Where is my wife?”
Celia glanced at Micah.
An officer stepped between them.
“Do not address the child.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
Celia looked back at Rowan.
“Mara trusted the wrong person.”
“Where is she?”
“You should ask the man standing behind you.”
Rowan turned.
Julian stood at the edge of the police lights.
His coat was open, and rain darkened his shirt. He must have followed Rowan from the office.
Julian looked genuinely shocked.
“What is she talking about?”
Celia laughed once.
“Still arriving just late enough to look innocent.”
The officer guided her into the patrol vehicle before Rowan could question her again.
Julian approached.
“Rowan, I have never seen that woman before.”
“She knew you were here.”
“She saw me standing behind you.”
“She told me to stay in my meeting before she knew I’d left it.”
Julian’s face tightened.
“Then Mara must have told her about Northstar.”
The ambulance doors closed.
Rowan lifted Micah into the back beside Elsie and climbed in after him.
Julian stood outside.
“Call me when you know something.”
Rowan said nothing.
At the hospital, doctors confirmed that Elsie was weak from dehydration and lack of food, but her condition was treatable. She would remain under observation. Micah refused to leave her room.
A child protection specialist named Nina Keller spoke to him gently from a chair near the door.
“Can you tell me when you last saw your mother?”
Micah looked at Rowan before answering.
“Three nights ago.”
“Did she say where she was going?”
“She said she had to meet someone.”
“Who stayed with you?”
“Miss Celia.”
Nina kept her tone steady.
“Did Miss Celia bring you food?”
“The first day.”
“And after that?”
“She said we were being punished because Mom stole something.”
Rowan’s chest tightened.
“What did your mother steal?”
Micah looked toward the teddy bear beside Elsie.
“I don’t know.”
Nina noticed.
“Did your mother give you something before she left?”
Micah lowered his voice.
“She said the map was under the moon.”
Rowan frowned.
“What map?”
Micah shook his head.
“I promised not to tell unless you came.”
Rowan moved closer.
“I’m here now.”
Micah looked directly at him.
“No, Dad.”
May you like
His voice was quiet but painfully clear.
“You weren’t.”
