Another secret was that Spud had been sneaking away from the shack to check his emails every day. His cell phone had lousy reception—zero bars at the shack. The burner phones had connectivity there, but no data package. Reed’s phone worked just fine at the shack, but Spud couldn’t use Reed’s phone to look at his email account. Reed would blow a gasket if he knew what Spud was doing. It wasn’t part of the plan. So Spud took to sneaking away once a day.

It had been easy at first. Pip went down for a nap every day after lunch. He was such a well-behaved boy. Spud would stay in Pip’s room until Pip fell asleep and then slip out of the house.

He and Reed had parked Spud’s car at the shack the day before the kidnapping. From there, Reed had driven Spud and his bicycle into town to the motel where Spud waited until it came time. Spud’s car hadn’t been driven since—or so Reed thought. But after Spud put Pip down for his naps, he would drive toward Grand Rapids until his phone picked up a signal. There he would pull onto a trail that had a small turn-around and check his emails for word from the lawyers. When he returned to the shack he was careful to park his car in the exact same spot and at the exact same angle as it had been before. Reed never noticed.

But now that Reed was staying at the cabin, Pip took his nap while Reed read magazines in the living room.

So Spud waited for Reed to leave for work that night before sitting Pip down. “You know what a secret is, don’t you, Pip?”

The boy nodded.

“So if we do something, can you keep it a secret from everyone—even your father?”

Pip didn’t respond. It was as if Spud’s words didn’t quite make sense.

“If we do something like go for a drive, could you keep that a secret?”

Pip nodded.

“Even from your dad?”

Again the boy nodded.

Spud smiled. “I thought so. We’re buddies, right?”

Now Pip smiled as well. “Yeah, we’re buddies.”

Spud held out his fist and at first Pip just looked at it. Then he raised his own hand up for a bump.

They kept Pip’s car seat at the shack, as it would be hard for either Spud or Reed to explain why they had one in their vehicle. Spud strapped Pip in and headed to the small turn-around about ten miles south where his phone finally got reception. Once there, he parked and opened up his email app. No message yet from the lawyers.

Disappointed, he put the phone away and edged back up to the highway. An SUV approached from the left and Spud waited for it to pass, but as it drew closer, he saw the light bar on top.

Damn it! A cop!

He glanced at Pip sitting in the back. Were the police looking for him? The front seats were probably tall enough that Pip would be hidden, but the gap between was a problem. Spud casually laid his arm across the back of the passenger seat, his elbow bent, his sleeve taking up as much space as it could. Down the tree line, he saw what looked to be the edge of a sign nailed to an oak tree. A No Trespassing sign? His pulse quickened. Was he on private land?