Page 42 of Rectify

Natalya sat numbly on the sofa in Rogan’s living room, her gaze fixated on the large television across from her. A phone rang, and someone spoke quietly into it. Someone else coughed. A door opened and shut. She blocked out all these sounds as she concentrated on the news reporter standing in front of Lake Medina.

“It looks like the remains found in Lake Medina are, in fact, human. The police divers have been searching Lake Medina for a small boy who was supposedly sighted near the lake yesterday morning.”

“Do they think the remains are the child?” the newsreader asked.

“No, the initial reports we’ve received indicate that these remains are most likely an adult and have been there for years. Police are not releasing any more facts at this stage. Divers will continue searching, but it is increasingly unlikely they will find the missing boy. So far, there have been no missing persons reports matching the child’s description.”

“Thank you, Susie,” the newsreader said.

Rogan turned off the television.

“Mateo wasn’t there,” she whispered.

“No, it doesn’t appear that he was.” Tanner sat in an armchair next to her. “The police still have to finish checking the lake, but it looks like the woman who reported seeing Mateo there lied.”

Aedan walked into the room, she hadn’t even noticed him leave, and handed her a mug of hot chocolate. “Here, baby. Drink.”

She took the mug, but just held it between her hands, warming them.

“What do we do now?” she asked. “I feel like I’ve been thrown completely off course. I’m so relieved that I can’t even seem to process it. But, at the same time, it feels like we’re getting nowhere.”

“My people haven’t stopped searching for Mateo. We’re following up on every lead we have. Stanton is trying to track down your cousin. We will find something soon.”

And if they didn’t? She was too scared to voice the words aloud in case that gave them strength.

“Stanton just faxed through a sketch of the guy your cousin was seen with.” Levi brought it over to her.

“Do you recognize him?” Tanner asked her.

She stared down at the man, praying she’d know him. But his face meant nothing to her.

Natalya shook her head, too upset to even speak. Rogan came up behind her, looking over her shoulder.

“What about this?” Another piece of paper was shoved in front of her. “The witness saw part of a tattoo on his neck. This is our artist’s interpretation of what she remembered.”

“It looks like . . . ”

“An ELO tattoo,” Rogan said grimly. “It’s a dragon’s head on a serpent’s body.”

“The ELO were aligned with the Fuerte Cartel,” she explained to Tanner, Aedan, and Levi. “But then, about two years ago, they had a huge falling out. They’ve been at odds ever since. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it was the only time I’ve ever seen Diego lose his temper. I think some of his men died. Do you think the ELO could have had something to do with Mateo going missing?”

“Could be their way of getting revenge,” Tanner guessed.

“But how did they find us? I’ve been using my mother’s maiden name, Diego isn’t on Mateo’s birth certificate, and I never met anyone associated with the ELO! Besides, it’s been two years since they fell out with the Fuerte Cartel. Why come after us now?”

“How they found you isn’t important. The fact that we have a lead is,” Rogan told her. “It’s looking increasingly likely that Diego didn’t take Mateo.”

Which wasn’t good. It had been the one thing keeping her sane, the thought that surely Diego wouldn’t hurt his own son. But the ELO wouldn’t care about Mateo.

Panic clawed at her, threatening to overwhelm her. “I need to do something. I’m going crazy just waiting.” She clenched her hands on the mug she still held to stop herself from yelling. She was tired of crying and feeling useless. Her pain and her fear had to go somewhere, and it was morphing into a deep, burning rage. How dare someone take her baby? How dare they do this to her?

When she found them . . .

“I want them to pay.” She scanned the room. “When we find them, I want them to suffer like I have been. I want them to feel just an ounce of the terror and fear I’m going through. Can you give me that?” She could hear the challenge in her voice as she glared at Tanner.

Tanner raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a long moment. “I’m sure something can be arranged. In the meantime, we just have to wait?—”

“I am sick of goddamn waiting!” she yelled. Everyone around her paused and stared. Yeah, that’s right. She had a temper. She’d been waiting, she’d been patient, but she’d reached the end of her limit. The hours she’d spent thinking that Mateo was in that lake, that her baby was gone for good, they’d been too much. It was more than someone should have to bear.

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