“Like you asked when you called in yesterday, had the interns run the name Malachi. They report nothin’ comes up. No one is lookin’ for this kid. Or at least, if they are, they haven’t reported him missing.”
“Could be a fake name,” Chace muttered.
To which Frank asked incredulously, “Malachi?”
“The kid reads four, five books a week, Frank. So yeah, Malachi.”
At this, he felt Faye’s hand press into his chest and he dipped his chin to look at her to see he had her full attention.
Thus he muttered into the phone, “If you don’t have any more, Frank, appreciate the call but gotta go.”
To this, Frank asked searchingly, “Faye still there?”
Jon had opened his big f**king mouth.
Not a surprise but damned annoying.
“Gotta go,” Chace repeated.
“Right,” Frank murmured, a smile in his voice and Chace couldn’t see it but he bet it was knowing.
Jesus.
“Thanks for the call,” Chace told him.
“Not a problem. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday with Faye,” Frank replied.
He definitely would.
And yeah, Frank’s smile had been knowing.
“Later,” Chace gave his farewell.
“Later, buddy,” Frank gave his and Chace disconnected.
“Malachi? A professional?”
She didn’t even wait for him to toss his phone on the table which was what he did before answering.
Once he’d shifted into her, did that and brought them back, he told her, “Asked the interns to run the name Malachi, see if anyone reported him missing. They did. Nothing.”
“What does that mean?”
“It could mean a lot of things, honey. What it means most is that we gotta talk to this kid. He’s not registered in school. He’s not reported missing. He’s like a ghost and kids aren’t ghosts unless serious bad shit is going down. We gotta push the breakthrough tomorrow and get him talkin’. You gonna be up for that?”
She nodded immediately and Chace ran his hand up her back, pulling her closer as he did and dipping his face to hers.
“You gotta go gentle but you gotta get a good result. If you don’t, I’m steppin’ this shit up another way. We need him safe. We need him fed. So, it sucks, baby, but we need him in the system.”
She slid her bottom lip to the side and bit it. She often bit her lip. She often licked her lips. He’d learned to read why she did both. He didn’t see the slide and bite often but it usually meant she was either very nervous, feeling more than her normal shy or a little bit scared.
“He’ll be okay,” Chace assured gently.
She let her lip go and asked quietly, “What does stepping stuff up mean?”
What it meant was setting Deck on the kid. Deck would find him. Deck wouldn’t be outrun because he wouldn’t give up. And Deck would likely scare the shit out of the kid.
He didn’t tell her that.