The Stolen - Jason Pinter [45]
suspects, no arrests, nada. Then, just like Danny Linwood,
she shows up at her parents' doorstep without the vaguest
idea what happened. No scrapes, no bruises, and police can't
figure out what the hell happened or where she'd been."
Wallace slowly put down the pages. I had his full
attention.
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Jason Pinter
"I thought that whole 'brothers' thing was strange, but
it seemed clear to me that after Daniel was kidnapped, he
retained some information from his time gone. I wanted
to find out if this was a common occurrence for kidnapping victims. Upon running a search, I found this Oliveira
girl, who disappeared in the exact same way. Michelle was
very close to her music teacher, this Delilah Lancaster, so
I figured she might be able to shed some light and maybe
help me understand Danny's case better. During the interview today, it turns out that in between Michelle Oliveira's
disappearance and return, the girl learned an entire new
violin sonata. Somehow she'd had access to both instruments and music books. So not only was she kidnapped,
but she was kidnapped by somebody who knew her well
enough to know she was a violin prodigy."
Wallace looked at me, looked at the recorder. "She
played violin, this Michelle Oliveira?"
"A prodigy," I said. "She's at Juilliard now."
"There's no chance she started studying this sonata
before she disappeared, and simply finished it later?"
I shook my head. "I asked Delilah that. She said they
were using a workbook in which that specific sonata was
not a part of the lesson. When they resumed lessons after
Michelle returned, suddenly this ten-year-old has turned
into Yo-Yo Ma."
"How did Lancaster explain it?"
"She couldn't," I said. "And neither could Michelle.
Delilah asked her where she learned it, but Michelle
didn't know."
"And Lancaster believed her?"
"Without a doubt. Like Danny Linwood, it's an imprint
on her brain, the moves in her muscle memory. Unconscious. I did leave several messages for the Oliveiras but
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haven't heard back yet, and frankly I'm not expecting to.
But something strange is happening to these kids while
they're gone. Obviously somebody took them, and they're
retaining a piece of memory from their time away. It's not
much, but it definitively links Michelle Oliveira and
Daniel Linwood. I don't know how or why, but their disappearances are connected."
"This is stunning stuff, Parker. And where did you get
all this information on Oliveira?" Wallace asked.
"I... Most of it from newspapers. Lancaster was interviewed by the Journal-Record. "
"You just happened to come upon this?"
"I dig deep," I said, thinking of Amanda, not wanting
to get her into any trouble.
Just then there was a knock at Wallace's door. We both
turned. Our jaws simultaneously dropped when we saw the
striking figure in the doorway.
"Gray," Wallace said. I recognized the man immediately, but for the life of me couldn't imagine why he was
here.
The man entered, striding up to Wallace with casual
confidence.
Wallace said, "Henry, you've met..."
"Senator Talbot," I said. "We met just the other day."
Gray Talbot smiled at me. "Hello, Henry," he said. "I
hope I'm not interrupting anything."
15
I stood out in the hall, trying to hear what Wallace and
Gray Talbot were discussing behind closed doors. Though
Wallace had told me to wait by my desk, I wasn't nearly
patient enough. I felt better pacing a tread on the carpet
outside of his office. I wondered what the hell Senator
Talbot was doing in the Gazette offices. Wallace seemed
surprised, and I was pretty sure Gray had stopped by
totally unannounced. Generally not the behavior of most
politicians who throw a press conference to announce
they've voided their bowels.
I felt slightly dirty, like a journalistic Peeping Tom,
straining for quick glimpses. I could only make out corners
of the office--Wallace had drawn the shades. I could see
Talbot pacing back and forth, his face angry. He was
looking in one direction, which inferred