Part 4 (1/2)
She punched up the line.
”Mr. DeVoss?”
”Please, call me Andrew.”
”Andrew. This is Olivia Strauss, special agent in charge of an active missing-persons case involving a child who left your orphanage a few months ago.”
”Oh my,” he said. ”Who?”
”Alice Ringwald.”
There was a brief moment of silence. ”Oh, no.”
”We've pulled our best resources, but I've run into a snag. I'm hoping you can answer a few questions for me.”
”Of course. Anything.”
”What can you tell me about Alice's history? We suspect that someone from her past, possibly a close relative, is involved in the abduction.”
The phone went silent.
”Andrew?”
”She's . . . Oh my . . .”
”What is it?”
”You must find her!”
His intensity surprised her.
”We're trying. But to do that I need to know who from her past might have had any reason to take her.”
”No, no, it's not that. She has no past outside of the orphanage.”
”She had a birth mother and a birth father.”
”Yes. Her father was James Paul Ringwald-”
”The congressman who was killed in the plane crash a few years ago?”
”Yes. He had an affair with a woman right before his presidential bid. When he discovered she was pregnant he cut her out of his life. Several years later, she committed suicide.”
”What was her name?”
”Catherine Miller. But you see, they've both pa.s.sed. As to Alice's missing years . . . I doubt any information I could give you would help you find her.”
”It's my job to determine what information will help us. If I'm going to find her, I have to know more about her past.”
”It's just that . . .”
”It's just what?”
She heard him take a deep breath.
”This is very sensitive information, you understand. No one must know, for Alice's sake as well as the others.”
”What others?”
”The other children. Promise me that what I tell you goes no further.”
She thought about his request.
”I have to file-”
”No files. Just you. Promise me.”
”Okay. Just me.”
”I can trust you?”
”You have my word.”
Another short pause.
”A project was established in the Colorado mountains. Thirteen years ago, thirty-six orphans were legally adopted by a cla.s.sified orphanage, totally isolated from the rest of the world. I'm not at liberty to reveal any specific details about the location or the project . . . It's best for the children, and there's nothing there that would help you find her.”
She doubted that.
”Then tell me something that will help. What happened at this orphanage?”
”You should know that Alice isn't just any girl. She, like the others, is quite special.”
Special. Alice is a very special girl . . .
”What do you mean?”
”Before the project was shut down, some of the children were able to affect the world in ways bordering on the paranormal. Some of it got out of hand, but it was all self-contained. It was why the project was shut down, you understand? Fortunately, none of the children has any memory of their years at the monastery.”
”Monastery?”
”The orphanage was located in an ancient monastery.”
”How did they lose their memory?”