Wednesday morning arrived early and bright, despite the heavy rain the previous night. The humidity promised temps would be high, something typical for the end of winter. It would have been a normal morning, except for the empty bedroom across the hall.
Carol went through her morning routine, prepared coffee, picked random toys scattered around, dressed for work when Darlene, her maid, arrived. The nanny, Maria, after she’d told Carol all she could—which wasn’t much—had been given leave, per her request. She’d called yesterday to ask after Gabe and sobbed uncontrollably when Carol said there was no news.
She’d called again at night, but Carol didn’t answer, lacking the mental capacity to comfort the person who’d allowed her son to be taken. Her nerves were unraveling, her emotions too ra
