Summer's Stolen

Chapter 2

Two

South Station was one of the busiest travel hubs in Boston, save for Back Bay Station and Logan International Airport. It housed not only two branches of the transit system, but train and bus services, too. I stood above ground near one of the entrances to the station when a tall, caramel-skinned woman approached me.

“So, you want to tell me what we’re doing here on our day off?” Jacquie DeWitt, my partner, asked. We’d been partnered for almost five months now. When she’d first been assigned as my partner after earning my Detective’s shield, I hadn’t known that she knew my magical secret. There’d been some tension and hurt feelings on my part when I’d learned the truth three months ago. Now, I couldn’t imagine the world without her having my back even on all things magical.

“Belladonna Montes thinks her son, Adrian, is missing. I said I’d look into it for her. We tracked his cell to this general area,” I explained.

Most people were oblivious to the existence of magic in the world. We were all safer that way. I counted myself lucky every day that Jacquie wasn’t most people.

“Well, where do we start? T, trains or bus?” She replied.

“Avery said she had pinged his cell near Atlantic Avenue. So that makes me think trains or bus terminal,” I said before heading down the stairs to the underground connection of the subway trains to the upper level that served the trains and buses. I took the stairs two at a time, popping up in the heart of the food court.

I scanned the crowds of people milling about waiting for their trains or getting lunch. I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed Adrian’s number. It rang four times before going to voicemail. I ended the call. “The phone’s still on.” I passed Jacquie my pad with the number on it. “I’m going to have Avery track the phone. Call it when I tell you.”

Avery’s line rang only one time before she answered. “Did you find who you were looking for?”

“Not yet. We’re going to try calling their phone now that we’re closer. Can you try to get us a more precise location?”

“I’ll do my best.”

I took off at a brisk walk out onto the train tracks. My instincts told me that trains weren’t the right answer. If he’d hopped a train, his phone wouldn’t still have a signal near the station. I moved on to the bus terminal building at the far end. I gave Jacquie a nod to place the call.

“We’re calling now,” I told Avery.

I stepped through the door to the first level of the terminal and took a slow breath. With my free hand, I touched the sandalwood charm at my throat, clearing Avery’s magic from my senses. Crowds weren’t the best place to hunt down magical signatures, but I didn’t have a choice. I could smell the remnants of fast food and the general body odor of the masses in 80 degree weather, but nothing that screamed magic.

“Okay, I’ve managed to pull up a schematic of the terminal. Looks like the signal is above you,” Avery said.

“Got it. Thanks.”

I ended the call and barreled toward the escalator for the second floor, Jacquie hot on my heels. A few people gave us irritated looks as we bolted up the escalator. I flashed my badge and they stepped aside. I came to a halt in the hallway leading to the actual bus bays.

“I’ll try again,” Jacquie said, setting her phone to speaker.

The line rang again and this time, I picked up the faint sound of a ringtone nearby. It could have been a figment of my imagination, but I wanted to believe that we’d found Adrian and could set his mother’s mind at ease.

“This way,” I said, motioning for Jacquie to follow me toward the escalators up to the top level.

The sound grew louder as we approached a trash can. My heart sank as we both stopped and stared down at the edge of a cell phone haphazardly buried under fast food wrappers. Jacquie pulled a glove from her back pocket and fished out the phone. She held it up for me to see the display, her number on it with two missed calls.

“That’s not good,” I breathed and glanced around our surroundings. If Adrian had decided to run away, there were plenty of places to pick as a destination and at least three different bus lines, too.

“Are you able to pick up anything unusual around here?” Jacquie asked, alluding to my signature-scenting ability.

I closed my eyes letting the sweet scent of strawberries bloom around me, fueling my magic. I poured my intent out into the world around me, seeking out any foreign bits of magic.

Nothing.

“It’s looking like he ran away. Even if someone did take him, they didn’t use magic to do it,” I answered. Belladonna had been right to worry. Now I just had to hope I could find a kid who possibly didn’t want to be found.