The Stolen - Jason Pinter [20]
"That's what'll happen to me, right? People will think I'm
some freak weirdo when they don't even know who I am."
"They'll think that for a little while. Then it's up to you
to prove them wrong."
"I don't see why they need me to prove anything," he
said quietly. "It's not like I'm a different person or
something."
I couldn't say this to Danny, but no matter what he or
Shelly wanted to believe, he was a different person.
Scandals resonated for a long time. Perceptions died hard.
Danny took a celery stalk, munched on it, leafy threads
stuck between misaligned teeth. Shelly watched approv-60
Jason Pinter
ingly. Danny would need braces, that was for sure. No
escaping that part of adolescence.
"I don't remember the house being so clean," Danny
said. "And the color on the walls outside used to be gross."
"I had it repainted a few years ago," Shelly said. She
turned to me. "I wanted things to be clean in case...in case
my boy ever came back. I wanted him to know things
would be different."
"You never lost hope, did you?" I asked.
"Never."
"Do you think things will be different?" I asked Shelly.
"For Danny and your family?"
She gave me a smile, weaker than she likely thought
it came off.
"Yes, they will. For the first time I truly know my babies
will be safe."
Danny and I both looked at her, wondering just how she
could be so certain.
5
I listened to the recording of my interview with Daniel on
the ride back to the city. I tried to focus as much on Danny
Linwood's cadences, his voice inflections, as what he
actually said. I'd spoken to abducted children before, as
well as men and women responsible for kidnapping children.
The children were always withdrawn, as if a piece of their
soul had been sucked out. Only they never knew why. The
luckier ones, the ones that were found quicker, had withdrawn into a shallower hole. Eventually they could rejoin
society, restart their lives. The ones like Daniel, who were
removed for years, they weren't so lucky. It was fortunate
enough they beat the tremendous odds to survive, but more
than likely they'd be stuck in that hole their entire lives. They
would spend as much time scrabbling for footing as they did
living. With Daniel Linwood, it was as though four-plus
years had simply been lopped off clean. No ragged edges to
be caught on. Just a gaping hole that left barely a trace.
When Stavros dropped me at Rockefeller Plaza, I
entered the Gazette and headed to my desk. First I would
have the tape duplicated, then transcribed. I couldn't
promise Daniel and Shelly that they would see my story
before it ran, but I had given them my word that Daniel
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would be treated with respect. Right before I left, Shelly
Linwood told me that Paulina Cole had been calling every
fifteen minutes, begging her to reconsider giving me the
exclusive. Apparently Paulina promised to set Shelly up
with the Dispatch's parent company, which had subsidiaries in television, film and publishing. News would be the
beginning. Film deals and book deals would follow. The
money would come rolling in.
According to Paulina, "The Linwoods will no longer be
victims. They'll be a brand name for survival."
Shelly said their family wanted no part of it. Once my
story ran, what she wanted more than anything was for her
children to lead normal lives. Shockingly, Haley Joel
Osment cast as Danny didn't fit in.
I sat down at my desk, checked my messages. There
was one from Wallace asking me to stop by as soon as I
got back. There was another from Jack O'Donnell asking
if I wanted to grab a beer and a shot after work. Both
sounded like great ideas.
I walked into Wallace's office, found the editor-in-chief
balancing the phone in the crook of his neck while simultaneously typing on his keyboard. The receiver fell twice,
and finally Wallace gave up, slamming it back in the cradle
and offering a string of colorful profanities.
"You know they make earpieces for people just like
you," I said.
"No way. Next thing you know I'll have a chip implanted in my cerebellum