Adopted: Family in a Million

The detective leaned back in his chair, steepling his hands. “Mother appears to be doing the best she can. It was a comedown from the lifestyle they enjoyed when the husband was alive. He was an attorney and made a good income. Since his death, they’ve moved to a less affluent neighborhood. She’s gone back to work. Still, from what I could see, the mother takes good care of the child and he seems happy enough. Quiet, not as boisterous as other little kids I’ve seen. But, hey, everyone has a different personality.”

“But he’s got a good mother, right?” Zack couldn’t remember his own mother. The best foster mom had been Allie Zumwalt. He hoped Daniel had a mother as sweet as Allie.

Ben nodded. “Doing the best she can.”

“What do you mean by that?” Zack asked quickly.

“She has to work, leaves the child with an older woman in their building. The apartment building is old, a bit run-down. The neighborhood’s not the best place to be after dark.”

“Should they move?”

“Takes money to live where they did before. New York’s not a cheap city.”

The one thing Zack had was money. He spent little, had amassed a small fortune working overseas with the extra hardship pay. Judicial investments had the money growing steadily. The detective had delivered, and the cost had been nothing Zack wouldn’t have paid three times over or more to find out about his son.

He looked at the photograph again. Would he recognize the child if he tripped over him in a crowd somewhere? Shouldn’t there be some kind of tie between biological parents and children? Some sort of instant connection? To Zack, there was nothing but wonder that he could have fathered this little boy.

Railing silently against Alesia once again, he closed the folder and stood. “Thank you,” he said, offering his hand.

“I’ll be here if you want anything else,” the detective said.

Zack carried the folder out with him. He was staying in a small hotel near Central Park while he finished recuperating. He could walk without the limp as long as he didn’t overdo it. His shoulder was still stiff. Maybe he needed to get back to work to loosen those muscles. But he was on medical leave and still doing his physical therapy routine each day.

When he reached his room, he settled down to read every word in the report the detective had compiled. Even if he never got to meet him, Zack knew he’d left a legacy to the future. Thinking about it, he could do more. On Monday, he’d make an appointment with an attorney to leave his estate to his son. They may never meet, but someday Daniel would know his father had cared about him.

CHAPTER ONE

SUSAN JOHNSON was frantic. She could scarcely think as she rushed down the crowded New York sidewalk, dodging pedestrians, searching for her son. How could one small boy disappear so quickly. Why wasn’t someone looking for his mother? When she found him, she’d never let him out of her sight again!

Of course that was impossible, but she was so scared she couldn’t think straight. Where was Danny?

“Please, God, let me find my baby,” she prayed as she searched the crowded sidewalk in front of her.

“Do you think he’d try to cross the street alone?” the teacher’s aide next to her asked, already puffing slightly from the fast pace Susan set.

“No. I don’t know. If he thought he saw his father across the street he might, though I’m always careful to make sure we stop and look both ways even when the light is green. But he’s only four.” And always after tall dark haired men thinking they were his daddy. Ever since Tom had died, Danny had been searching. Children his age didn’t understand death, she’d been told.

How could the preschool have let him get away? The play yard was fenced and the front gate should have either been latched so a little child couldn’t open it, or monitored by an adult. Had the teacher turned her back? For how long? Where was Danny?

Were they going in the wrong direction? Had he turned right when exiting the preschool? Or left? She’d opted for left because it was in the direction of their apartment. Familiar territory to a little boy. But what if he’d gone the other way? If he’d darted out to follow some stranger, he wouldn’t have cared for direction—only his goal to find his father. She could be increasing the distance between them, not closing it. Panic closed her throat. Fear seized her heart. Her precious son was out on the streets of NewYork and could get into who knew what kind of trouble.

Susan stopped and looked ahead, then behind her. Indecision. Seconds were ticking by. Where was her child? Fear increased. New York was a dangerous city. And her son was adorable. What if someone snatched him up? What if she never saw him again?

She moaned softly at the thought.

Her child was missing. Was there anything worse for a parent to face?

“What?” the aide asked.

“I’m thinking he could have gone the other way. Tell me again how long ago it was until you noticed he was missing?” Susan had been given all that information when she had arrived at the preschool. But she’d scarcely listened, dashing out to try to find her son.

“Less than five minutes before you showed up. Mrs. Savalack was busy with the little boy who had a bloody nose. She didn’t know Danny would leave before you arrived. She went the other direction as soon as one of the other teachers came to watch her children. She’ll find him if he went that way.”

“Maybe,” Susan said, her eyes searching. She didn’t see a child anywhere.

Glancing around, she noticed a man walking slowly along the street. He looked out of place in the midday crowd—ambling along when everyone else was walking briskly, with places to go. Tall, with dark hair and a deep tan, he looked competent and reliable. His casual attire blended in with the men and women on the sidewalk at the lunch hour, but were of higher quality than the cheaper clothing more common in this neighborhood. What a stupid thing to notice, she thought as she approached him.

“Excuse me. Have you seen a little boy? He’s four and should not be out on his own. We don’t know if he came this way, but we need to find him!”

He shook his head. “I haven’t seen any kids. Wouldn’t they be in school at this time of day?”

“He’s in a preschool and wandered away.” Susan bit her lip, her heart pounded, fear increasing with every heartbeat. “Maybe I’m going the wrong way.”

“Which way is that?” he asked, glancing at the aide and then scanning the sidewalk behind him.

“No one saw him leave, so we didn’t know if he came this way or went the other way. The preschool is back there.” She pointed to a small building at the end of the block. “I just hope he didn’t try to cross the street.” The traffic was lighter than midtown, but still heavy. A small boy might be overlooked by a motorist in a hurry—until it was too late.

“Someone would have stopped a small boy from dashing into danger,” the man said. He glanced at the aide. “Is someone looking in the other direction?”

“Yes, the teacher.” She glanced back up the street. “I don’t see her, so I guess she hasn’t found Danny.”

“Danny?” the man asked, his voice odd.

Susan looked at him, her eyes holding appeal. “My son, Danny. He’s missing. I’ve got to find him. Oh Lord, I can’t lose him, too!”

“I’ll help look. Name’s Zack Morgan. Where did you lose him?”

“I didn’t lose him. He left his preschool without an adult. I can’t believe he’s run off like this. New York is so dangerous for a little child if someone isn’t right there with him every minute.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Mrs. Johnson,” the aide said, her worried expression belying her words.

“We’ll find him,” Zack said.

“Unless someone’s taken him,” Susan said, voicing her worst fear. What if someone had kidnapped her son? She swayed with horror at the thought. Zack reached out and took her arm gently, seeming to give her strength.

“No one’s taken him in this direction. I’ve been on this street for several blocks. No little boy. And I’m sure no one would let him cross the street by himself, so let’s try the other direction.” His reasonable tone calmed her.

“Okay.” For a split second she felt as if the burden had lifted slightly and been placed on the broad shoulders of the stranger who held her arm.

She swallowed and turned, wanting to race the wind to find her son. He was so precious to her. He could not have been taken. He was just searching for Tom.

Less than five minutes later they saw Mrs. Savalack heading toward them, Danny’s hand firmly held in hers.

Susan burst into tears and raced to her son. “Danny, you scared me to death.” She swooped him up in her arms, hugging him tightly, her heart still pounding. “Don’t ever run off like that again.”

He struggled a bit with Susan’s tight hold, and she set him on his feet, taking his hand firmly in hers. “You know you are not to leave the school until I get there.”

“I thought I saw Daddy.” He looked sad. “But it wasn’t him.”