Page 44 of Protecting Silver
“Damn, better you than me. But, what are these papers?”
“Oh, remember when Silver was attacked? She gave me the name, social security number, personal cell phone, and badge number of the man who beat her.”
“She knew her attacker? And had all that information? Wait, what do you mean badge number?”
“He’s a cop based out of Chicago. I hired that guy that helped Grady with the man he sued, and it’s taken all this time to gather information. That’s what he came up with. Well, at least on this case. He’s still working on the initial reason why I contacted him,” Patch explained as he continued cooking his dinner.
“What was the first reason you contacted him?”
“You knew I grew up in the foster-care system. I’ve been having dreams about my past, but for the life of me, I had no memory before I went to live with the Fosters. I remembered something in one of those dreams, and I want it looked into.” Patch shrugged.
“What did you remember?”
“The day Merrick, my caseworker took me out of school, and we drove for hours, he told me that my foster dad called him to say he had lost his job, and they couldn’t afford me any longer, so to take me to another foster family, which I now know was a total lie. I contacted Tex to look into Merrick. If he did that to me, who else did he do it to? How many other foster kids are out there missing out on the opportunity to grow up with loving parents who want them?”
“Oh, wow, but besides taking you from school, what else did he do to you?”
“Oh, the day he took me, we drove for hours, and I mean hours. Remember, I was only six, and in kindergarten, we had just lain down for our nap, and when we got up, we were supposed to have lunch. When we arrived at our destination, it was well after dark, and Merrick talked to the woman for several minutes. I recall she handed him an envelope, and he pulled out a wad of cash, counted it, then came and got me.”
“Holy shit, he sold you?”
“Yes, and since hooking up with the Fosters again, I’ve learned some new information.”
“Like?” Finn asked as he watched Patch put his meal on a plate, and join him at the island, before he finished his conversation.
“Mr. Foster, his name is Max, and Mrs. Foster is Carole. They told me that when they asked Merrick for my original birth certificate, the one with the raised seal, for the adoption to go through, he disappeared, along with me. Two days after they asked, he pulled me out of school.”
“Shit, so there’s something wrong there.”
“Exactly, that’s why I contacted Tex, to see if he could look into it. When he called me for a complete story, it was the day of Silver’s attack, and I had the information she’d given me. She had only woken long enough to demand some paper and a pen, then she wrote down a name with several numbers. She was awake long enough to explain what they meant.”
“And those are what you gave to Amos?”
“They were.He told me he’d look into it, but I think he wanted to see what Tex came up with first.” Patch used his fork to point to the papers before Finn. “That’s the report he called me about earlier. I printed it off before I went to shower. That’s only on Silver’s case, he’s still looking into my case.”
“Damn,” Finn said, and laid his hand over the papers. “This doesn’t look good.” Together they read them word for word as Patch ate. When they were done, they looked at each other in absolute shock.
“Holy fuck,” Patch said, while looking at Finn with wide eyes. “This asshole beat seven women, and left them for dead?”
“That’s what I read.” Finn shook his head in confusion. Before either of them could say anything else, Patch’s phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, and nodded his head toward Finn.
“It’s Tex.” He answered his phone. “Hey, Tex, you’re on speaker, and my best friend, Finnegan Larson is with me.”
“From the Larson Foundation?” Tex asked, and the two men exchanged looks with raised brows.
“Yes,” Finn said.
“Okay then, did you get a chance to read over what I sent you?”
“I did, and you’re positive that Freedman beat seven women and left them for dead?”
“I am. I won’t reveal my source, but let me tell you they work closely with the FBI in the Chicago area. There are two agents that are taking the case. Apparently Freedman’s last victim only got out of the hospital last week. She was beaten in her own apartment and left for dead. Still unsure as to how she got to the hospital, but when the hospital staff tried to call the cops, she went apeshit crazy on their asses, and told them a cop had beaten her. That’s how the FBI became involved.”
“Wow,” both Patch and Finn said as they exchanged looks.
“Yeah, the reason I’m calling is, again, I won’t reveal my sources, but it’s understood that Freedman is on his way back to Montana to have a little chat with Silver Roundtree. My source is saying that him beating his last victim is her fault, and he’s going to set her straight. Again, according to my source, he’s leaving Chicago in two days and driving out. I’m calling to warn you to get Silver somewhere safe.”
“She will be,” Finn spoke, ignoring Patch’s look of confusion. “She’ll be at a location where there are no cell-phone signals. I’ll hook it all up. If all goes well, she and Patch can be there by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll talk to Bronson and tell him what’s going on?”
