The Stolen - Jason Pinter [17]
Danny rolled up his right pant leg, exposing his calf.
Shelly inserted the vial into the pen until it clicked. Then
she unscrewed the cap from the rubbing alcohol, tipping
just enough onto the gauze pad to wet it. She rubbed the
pad on Danny's calf until it shone. Then she took the pen,
pressed it against his skin and depressed the plunge. Danny
winced slightly.
Shelly removed the pen, wiped down Danny's leg with
a towel, then took the materials back into the kitchen.
Danny rolled down his pant leg as Shelly returned.
"Sucks," he said. "Dr. Petrovsky says I have to take it
three times a day."
"Petrovsky?" I said.
"Dmitri Petrovsky. He's Daniel's pediatrician," Shelly
answered.
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I nodded. "You should listen to your doctor. This
medicine helps to keep you healthy," I told Danny.
"Still sucks."
"Do you mind if I stay during the, the interview?" she
asked.
"Not at all. If it makes Danny more comfortable, I'd
prefer it."
"Honey," she said, "do you mind if Mommy stays?"
"No, I don't mind if Mommy stays." "Mommy" came
out with a slightly sarcastic bent. I smiled. I kind of liked
Danny Linwood.
Shelly, satisfied, nestled into a love seat, holding a lace
throw pillow on her lap.
"So, Danny," I said, "how are things going here? Are
you having a hard time adjusting?" He shrugged. "I need
a little more than that, buddy."
"It's okay, I guess. I'm supposed to start school in two
weeks, but I don't really want to."
"Why not?"
"I don't know anybody. They're all going to think I'm
some sort of freak."
"They do know you, Daniel," Shelly interrupted. "You
started out in grade school with most of them. Like Cliffy
Willis, remember Cliffy? Or Ashley Whitney?"
I listened.
"No, Mommy, I don't remember Cliffy. Or Ashley. I
don't remember anyone."
"Mrs. Linwood?" I said. She looked at me. Nodded.
Got it. She held the pillow tighter.
"Danny, tell me about the day you came home. You
came to this house, knocked on the door." Danny nodded.
"Can you tell me what happened right before that?"
Danny shifted in his chair. "I remember lying down,
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then suddenly waking up. I was on the ground, like I'd
fallen asleep or something. I recognized where I was."
"And where was that?"
"Doubleday Field," Danny said. "I played peewee
baseball there."
"What position?"
"Third base."
"Like A-Rod," I said.
"No, he's a shortstop for the Rangers."
I was about to disagree, when I remembered that in
Danny's mind, he was correct. The year Danny disappeared, Rodriguez hadn't yet become a Yankee, hadn't
yet changed positions. I wondered how much else of
Danny Linwood's world had changed unbeknownst to
him.
"What happened then?"
"I remember hearing a siren. Like a police car or an ambulance. And then I just started walking home."
"You knew how to get home?"
"Yeah, I used to walk home every day with..." Danny
searched for the rest of his sentence.
"Cliffy Willis and his mother," Shelly offered quietly.
Danny looked at her angrily, then the reaction slipped
away.
"Where did you walk?" I asked.
"Home," he said. "Past the corner store and that brick
wall with the graffiti of the boy that got shot a long time
ago. I got scared for a second when I saw the police car
pull up at the field I just left, but I didn't think I did
anything wrong so I just went home."
"Were you hurt?"
"No. Maybe a little tired, s'all. The doctors said they
found something in my system, dia-something."
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Jason Pinter
"Diazepam," I said. "It's a drug used to sedate. The police
report said it was administered a few hours before you woke
up. When you woke up, that's when it wore off." I said this
as much to Shelly as Daniel. "I'm sorry, keep going."
"So, anyway, I walked home, knocked on the door. James
opened it. I knew it was James, but he was, like, three feet
taller than I remembered. And all of a sudden everyone is
squishing the life out of me. Mom, Dad, Tasha, my brothers."
I saw Shelly smile, the pillow gripped tight in her arms.
"Brothers?" I said.
"James," he said,