“They could have captured him after he emailed me,” Tyler pointed out.
“Yes they could,” Michelle agreed.
Sean said, “There’s something else you need to know.”
Tyler looked at him apprehensively. “What?”
“A friend of mine who gave me the information about your dad was shot today at a local mall. Michelle and I were actually there. There were three gunmen. We managed to subdue all three.”
“We managed to kill all three,” Michelle corrected. “Before they could kill us.”
“You killed people?” Tyler said, looking astonished. “At the mall?”
“I’m afraid so. And a police officer was also killed.”
“And you think this had something to do with my dad?” Tyler said slowly.
Michelle said, “We don’t have any other a
ctive cases. And the shooters did look like, well, like former military although they carried no ID.”
Tyler looked at Sean. “That bruising on your face? Was that from what happened?”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about,” said Sean quickly.
“Will they be able to find out who the men are?”
“If they’re in some database somewhere, the answer is yes. If they’re not, there’s no guarantee.”
“So they came to the mall to get you and Michelle?”
“They wanted us to come with them. We just politely declined,” said Michelle.
Tyler looked back at her, his face pale as cream. “I’m sorry. I never wanted anything like this to happen.”
Michelle gripped his shoulder. “It’s okay, Tyler. It’s not your fault. It comes with the territory.”
Tyler glanced anxiously at Sean. “I hope your friend gets better.”
“Thanks,” said Sean. “Me too.”
They all sat in silence for about a minute.
Finally, Tyler said, “I’m not sure what to do now.”
Sean said, “Well, the most pressing issue is, with Jean gone, what happens to you? You’re sixteen. I don’t think you can live on your own.”
“But nobody knows that Jean is gone, not really,” said Tyler.
Michelle said, “An excellent point.” She looked at Sean. “He can stay with one of us.”
“I have to go to school,” said Tyler.
“That we can manage,” said Sean. He looked at Michelle. “I think we need to double-team this. My place with both of us there. When Tyler’s in school, we can do our job.”
Michelle nodded. “Sounds workable.”
Tyler said nervously, “Move in with you guys? Hey, maybe I could stay with Kathy’s family?” he added hopefully.