Free What Follows After: A Novel by Dan Walsh

their field office in Orlando had hinted that some kind of D-Day invasion of Cuba might happen before the week was out.
    Vic couldn’t fathom it.
    “Look, son,” Nate said, “this is a little more complicated than that. The information we got said the bus driver who left you here didn’t even know which bus it was or where it was going, except it was heading south. Isn’t that right?”
    “Yes, sir,” Colt said.
    Vic wished Nate would lighten up a little. The boy was definitely hiding something, but his little brother really was missing. “And I’m sure you’ve seen all those tanks and trucks going by today,” Vic said. Colt nodded. “They’re causing all kinds of problems, car accidents, traffic jams, all kinds of things. A lot of law enforcement officers have their hands full right now. We might be handling this case without a lot of help. So, we need to ask these questions so we know what we’re dealing with. You understand?”
    Colt nodded again. “I guess.” He glanced out the window. “You know what’s going on out there? Are we going to war?”
    “Let’s not worry about that now,” Vic said. “I got just a few more questions, then we can call your aunt. What was her name again?”
    “Rose.”
    “Right, Rose. Okay . . . so what time did your mother drop you off at school this morning?”
    “The same time she always did.”
    “But didn’t you just say,” Nate interjected, “your parents gave you the day off school to visit your aunt and uncle in Savannah?”
    “What? Oh yeah,” Colt said. “They did. I meant what time they dropped us off at the bus station.”
    “C’mon, Colt. Be straight with me,” Vic said. “You were telling the truth the first time, weren’t you? Your mom dropped you and your brother off at school this morning. Then you guys left school for some reason and got on a bus going to Savannah. Isn’t that what really happened?”
    Colt’s mouth hung open. Tears filled his eyes.
    “I’ll bet your folks don’t even know you got on that bus, you and your brother. Do they?”
    Colt shook his head no.
    “Did your aunt and uncle even know you two were coming for a visit?”
    Again, he shook his head no.
    Vic leaned forward on the table, tried to form a gentle look on his face. “Why, Colt? Were you guys running away? Is that what was going on here? Some problems at home between your mom and your dad?”
    Colt put his face in his hands and burst into tears.
    Vic hated being right about stuff like this.

15

    At this point, Colt just wanted to run. Go anywhere, be anywhere but here.
    But how could he? The two FBI agents were standing right behind him. Somehow, they had figured out his whole scheme. It was shot to pieces now. Nothing had gone the way he’d planned. He should’ve listened to Murph, his best friend. Murph lived across the street. He’d told Colt not to do this, said it could never work. Colt thought he was just being negative. He could be that way sometimes.
    This time Murph was right.
    Colt looked at the telephone. How could he tell Uncle Mike and Aunt Rose what he had done? He was supposed to show up there with Timmy. They would’ve been upset at first, because of the surprise, maybe even get a little angry. But he figured since they were so nice, they’d get over it quickly and shift their focus to the reason he and Timmy were there. They’d start asking them questions about how bad things had gotten at home between Mom and Dad. The way they were treating them now, and had been for months. Colt’s parents would be the ones getting in trouble.
    But now Timmy was gone, and it was all his fault.
    “You know the number?” It was the FBI agent who smoked, the meaner one.
    “I wrote it down.” Colt pulled the napkin out of his pocket, unwrinkled it, and set it on the counter next to the telephone.
    “Take your time,” Vic, the nicer one, said. “You know how to reverse the charges? Want me to handle that?”
    “No, I can do it.” Colt dialed