Symphony of Bones by L.T. Ryan (little bear else holmelund minarik .txt) 📕

She shifted the laptop into a more comfortable position and brought up the search engine, but couldn’t bring herself to type anything out. Waiting for Viotto to vouch for her was more agonizing than she’d anticipated. She wanted to keep Anthony Lewis from going down for a crime he didn’t commit, and she wanted to bring Connor’s actual killer to justice.

She also wanted to hear from Agent Viotto.

Her phone, which she’d strategically placed right next to the laptop, lit up. It wasn’t Viotto, but the name made her heart spike anyway. Jason Broussard. She clicked on the message without trying to conceal her smile. They hadn’t spent that much time together, but there was something magnetic about him. Something that made her want to take a chance.

It’d been a long time since she’d had that feeling.

Hope your morning is going well. Caught Tonya stealing sugar packets again.

Cassie laughed. Did you say anything?

Nah. Figured if she has to steal it, she needs it more than the rest of us. But if she starts stealing the coffee pods, then it’s game over. I need a minimum three cups to function.

Me too. How’s everything else going?

Good. Magdalena says hi. And that I should ask you out to lunch again.

Cassie blushed. Did you tell her you’re too afraid I’ll sucker punch you again?

Nah, I’m not afraid. I’ll just bring my pads next time.

Cassie’s cheeks hurt from smiling too much. But she wasn’t sure what to say next. She should keep flirting, make sure he knew she was interested in a next time? But she was afraid, too.

If I survive my mother and live to return to Savannah, I promise I’ll behave.

Why had it been so easy to ask Viotto to lunch, but she struggled with grade-school flirting with Jason? She was attracted to Viotto, liked his personality and respected his vocation. Her body reacted when he flirted with her, but her mind didn’t go silent like it did when she was with Jason. Was that a sign?

And if so, a sign of what?

Don’t make promises you can’t keep. ;)

And there it was. Cassie’s entire brain shut down, and she didn’t know how to respond. There were a million different ways she could interpret that, and different parts of her body had their own ideas of what he meant.

Instead of responding, she opened up her texts with David. He hadn’t answered her last message.

How’s it going back home?

David wasn’t the best with technology—or remembering to check his phone—but he typically answered her by the end of the day. Something in her stomach twisted, but she tamped down the anxiety. Savannah kept him busy, and she wouldn’t bother him if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

Still, the little boy’s case wasn’t unimportant. Part of her knew she was reaching out just to see if she could get a response, but the other part knew David was a resource she could tap into. She wouldn’t be doing Sebastian justice if she didn’t exploit all her options.

Hey, I’ve got a quick question. Found out the name of the little boy who’s been hanging around. Sebastian Thomas. Laura did some digging but didn’t turn up much. Was wondering if you’d have anything else on file? Hope everything’s okay.

Cassie hit send. The normally blue bubble turned up green with a note that it had been sent as an SMS text. Cassie’s first instinct was that something was wrong, but she chided herself. David could take care of himself. More than likely, he was out doing his job, away from any towers with a signal. Once he got back into range, he’d see her text and answer.

After tossing her phone to the side, Cassie hunkered down over her computer screen. So far, she only knew the basics: Someone had kidnapped Sarah Lennox when she was ten. The authorities had arrested Henry Fitzpatrick, and though he’d been a suspect in Sarah’s case, they’d only convicted him for kidnapping one kid and sentenced him to fifty years. Someone had also kidnapped Sebastian Thomas, but the police had been unable to solve his case. The only proof the two cases intersected was that Sebastian had said Sarah’s name.

That wouldn’t hold up in a court of law.

It was heartbreaking to find so many websites dedicated to missing children. She clicked on one named Never Forgotten, dedicated to children who had been missing for ten years or longer. They were gone, the website said, but never forgotten. And perhaps, with your help, we can find out what happened to these little angels.

Cassie took a deep breath before clicking on the first field box. She typed Savannah. In the next box, she wrote Georgia. She chose the year 1994 from the drop-down menu. That’s when Sebastian had gone missing. It was a good place to start. She clicked Search.

The website reloaded, and seven faces stared back at her. She read them in order. Angelica Reyes. Omar Wilton. Jessi Briar. Sebastian Thomas—

Cassie’s breath caught. She clicked on his name. It had his date of birth, the date he went missing, his age and a brief description of what he looked like. Then: Age today–35.

Cassie felt tears prick her eyes. Sebastian’s entire life changed twenty-six years ago. That’s when he became more than just a kid, he became a missing person’s case. A file sitting on someone’s desk in Savannah.

But Cassie knew it was worse than that. He’d spent the last twenty-six years existing in limbo, forever trapped as a nine-year-old boy, until one day, a few months ago, he found someone who could see him, who could help him. And she’d spent weeks on end ignoring the fact that he even existed.

Tears spilled down Cassie’s face, and she swiped them away with the back of her hand. She had a million excuses for why she hadn’t dropped everything to help him as soon as he’d shown up in the corner of her bedroom one fateful night—he wouldn’t speak to her; she was afraid; she needed a break; she was