Flash Point - Savannah Kade Page 0,9

mention that he was head of the local unit, as he wasn't sure whether the honor was dubious or not. Though he was the supervisor for the entire area, that were only five rangers—including him. There weren’t enough employees for him to have a full-time desk job. Brendan, the second cadet he had on the phones tonight, didn't even belong in his district.

But as he finished introducing himself, the mother smiled oddly then swiveled her head and yelled up the staircase. “Sterling, you get down here!”

She followed this with another yell. “Did you get warmed up?”

Leo simply stood there with his thumbs hooked into his beltloops and nodded along. There was nothing else to do but be grateful the child was warm again.

Betty Winter didn’t stop talking, though. “Paul, my husband, he's out in the truck right now. And he's picking up Bennett. Ben was with Sterling when they went out. You can ask him anything you want.”

Leo watched as Sterling stepped slowly down the staircase. His bare feet indicated he was a child who didn't notice the cold that crept at the floors of Nebraska homes this time of year.

“Hi.” Leo tried to make contact. Bethany had said the boy was twelve. He looked like he might be by his height, but his face certainly looked young and scared. Right now, he was missing any of the markers of manhood. “Will you talk to me, Sterling?”

Though Leo tried to ask as politely as he could, he immediately regretted it. What if the kid said no?

In fact, Sterling didn't answer at all. It was his mother who said “Yes, he most certainly will,” and motioned them both to the dining room table. Leo tried to sit down, unclench his fists, and not lean forward like a cop running an interrogation.

In under five minutes, Sterling had spilled a lot of the tale. He and Bennett had decided to go camping. The kid had paused oddly when mentioning his brother’s name and Leo thought he might be lying about something, but he didn’t interrupt. The Winters had a four-wheeler, and the boys knew where the campsite was.

Staying out overnight was a test. Sterling at least admitted that they’d failed to make it through their little personal challenge.

Leo looked up at Mrs. Winter, not sure how to ask his question. When he couldn’t find the right words, he blurted out, “You didn’t notice the boys were missing?”

She wiped her hands on a dish towel and glared at the child who looked away. “They said they were taking the four-wheeler to stay over with the Ryder boys. The boys are the same age. So when they packed everything up and climbed on the ATV, I waved goodbye like an idiot.” Then she motioned to Sterling. “Tell them what you told me.”

The kid mumbled the words with the too regular cadence of practiced guilt. “I told my mom I was going to Jason’s house—”

The abrupt cut to the words bothered Leo but he didn’t know what to do about it. His brain was racing too many directions to sort this out, too. How long had the boys been gone? Had the parents not called to be sure they arrived? How had they started the fire and when? When did they realize it was out of control? What had Bethany already asked?

So Leo only nodded. He'd told that lie as a kid, too. What he asked was, “And you decided to go camping?”

Sterling nodded, short and quick, as Leo heard a car pull up out front. Was it Bethany? He could only hope. She was so much better at this than him. Hell, she was better at this than anyone.

But as Mrs. Winter headed for the door and opened it, it wasn't Bethany that she let in, but a man and a small boy. They looked too much alike and too much like Sterling to be anyone other than the missing husband and spare child.

As Leo turned his head, only able to see a sliver of the front hallway from where he sat, he managed to make out the man assuring the small child was wrapped in a sturdy blanket.

Mrs. Winter was having none of that. “If he's warm, bring him in here!”

Leo wanted to get up and examine the child for himself, but he fought the urge. Instead, he called out, “Hey, Bennett. I'm glad they found you. Are you feeling better?”

The child nodded and looked first at his older brother then at the floor.

Interesting.

“Your