Detective Santos stepped forward and touched Vincent's face. It was as if he was looking at a ghost. Vincent was the splitting image of his father and there was no doubt in his mind that it was the right child. Moira invited them all to sit down and made some coffee. She poured some orange juice for Vincent and asked him to sit next to her. He moved his chair as close to her as possible and she could literally see his heart beating in his neck. Vincent was so anxious that he took short breaths and she rubbed his back to help him relax.
"Do you mind if we ask you a few questions little man?" Detective Santos asked.
Vincent shook his head and grabbed Moira's hand under the table. She held it as tightly as she could and whispered to him that everything was going to be okay.
"What is your name boy?"
Vincent answered. The detective ticked off a list on the table in front of him.
"What is your parent's names?"
"My mother's name is Susan Lambert and my dad's name is John."
"Do you know where you live son?"
Vincent blushed. "I can't remember."
The detective assured him that everything was okay and that it didn't matter. Detective Santos continued to ask him several questions and then asked if Vincent wanted to go and play outside a bit while he spoke to Moira. Billy suggested that he go with him as Moira could fill him in on the details later.
Moira waited for them to go outside, and switched on the kettle to make more coffee. Once done, she sat down and told both the detective and the sheriff exactly what Vincent had told her. The detective made notes of everything that she said. He made a phone call to his office and smiled when he put the phone down.
"Mam, I am quite sure that the boy is telling the truth. Just to be safe, we will need to do a DNA test. I don't want to put the boy through any more discomfort. Do you perhaps have a hairbrush where we could find a hair sample to use for the test?"
Moira nodded and fetched the brush from the bathroom. "You can take it with you. What will be the next step for Vincent?"
"I don't want to get his parent's hope up yet, they have been through enough heartache as it is. We will need to do the DNA test and after we get the results I will contact his parents. It might take a day or two but I will fly them down myself to come and fetch him. If it is okay with you he can stay here for a few more days. At the utmost it will be two more days, but then we will have a definite answer."
Moira nodded and smiled.
"This child has a long way to go forward. He missed out on half of his childhood and he is far behind kids his own age. I just hope that he can catch up in due time and become the teenager he is supposed to be. And I hope that the person that kidnap him is going to pay for what he did."
"With all this information that you have given us, I am sure that he will. We will both make sure of it."
Both detective Santos and Sheriff Jones nodded.
"There is a special place in hell for people that do this to a child. He will not get away with anything." Sheriff Jones said.
"I want to make an appointment with a child psychologist later today. Can you make sure that he gets there please?" Sheriff Jones asked. "It might help him a lot with the adjustment he has to make."
Moira nodded. "Just let me know where and when, and I will have him there."
The detective took the last sip of coffee and thanked Moira for looking after Vincent. He offered to take Vincent with him, but Moira refused and assured both the sheriff and the detective that Vincent was better off with her.
Both nodded again. "If there is any further information or if he tells you more, please do not hesitate to contact us immediately."
Moira saw them both off and called in Billy and Vincent. She was glad that it was over but she was dead tired of not sleeping the previous night. She told them everything that happened and Vincent did not seem stressed anymore. She told him that he still had to stay here for two more days, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. Billy could see that she was tired, and suggested that Vincent come with him to the workshop so that she could sleep for a few hours. Vincent was all excited again, and once they drove off, Moira took a tablet for a terrible headache that started to develop earlier and lay down on her bed. She fell asleep and slept like a baby for a few hours. She was awakened by her annoying cellphone a few hours later.
It was the office of the child psychologist and they confirmed an appointment for three o clock that afternoon. Moira confirmed that they would be there, and she was just about to text Billy the time, when she heard his truck pull up in the driveway. Billy and Vincent brought her lunch, and she laughed when Vincent told her everything that they did at the workshop. He seemed to have enjoyed his outing tremendously. After eating their hamburgers, Vincent went to watch some television, which seemed to be his favorite thing in the world. Moira and Billy sat chatting in the kitchen about Vincent and what happened in the last few days. They were both sad to see him go but both of them were very excited for him to see his parents.
Billy took them to the psychologist's office just before three, and they were informed that it would take about an hour. They sat waiting for him in the reception area, and Vincent looked very tired when he finished the consultation. Billy took them for a milkshake at the diner, but Vincent seemed drained and did not talk much. He drank his milkshake in silence and when they were finished, he followed them to the truck. He sat staring out the window and had a misty look in his eyes.
At home he went straight to the living room to watch television and a little while later he seemed a little more relaxed when they heard him giggling at one of the shows.
Billy phoned Vera to close up the shop and he helped her peel potatoes for dinner. She made a salad and Billy showed Vincent how to grill some steaks. They all sat together in the kitchen and had dinner like a normal family. For any outsiders it would have looked normal, but inside were three very broken people. All brought together by fate.
After dinner Vincent helped Moira clean the kitchen and they all went to watch a funny movie on television afterwards. Moira's phone rang and she excused herself. It was Sheriff Jones. He told her that they were able to locate "uncle Allister" and that he was in their custody at the moment.
Vincent had given them enough information to locate him easily and they found some of Vincent's clothes in a room in the basement. He assured Moira that there was enough evidence at the house to put him away for a long time. He shared some of the more intimate details with her, but couldn't tell her everything yet. They were still waiting for a report from the child psychologist and once everything was put together he would inform Moira about the rest.
Moira teared up when she heard the news and couldn't wait to tell Billy. Moira felt both happy and sad all at the same time, and couldn't imagine what the poor child had to endure during his six years of captivity. Vincent fell asleep on the couch and she woke him up gently to go to bed. Once he was safely tucked in, she kissed him on the forehead and closed the door behind her. She went to the kitchen and poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to Billy that was still watching the movie.
She told Billy everything that the sheriff told her. They were both so very relieved that it was over and it was only the DNA test that was holding up the process. They were both going to miss Vincent but they knew that it would be wonderful for him to go home.
Vincent had been locked up in the basement of the house for nearly six years. They were yet to find out the details, but it must have been a terrible experience for such a young child. The sheriff told Moira that "uncle Allister" was an old family friend of the Lambert's, and that Vincent knew him from a very young age. Allister McCarty were friends with Vincent's stepdad and it was him, who arranged for the child to be kidnapped. His mother had long since left Vincent's stepfather and was back with her first husband, Vincent's father. The kidnapping brought them back together and in a mysterious trace of events they were still living in the same house that Vincent grew up in.
Vincent would be able to just walk in where he left off. Sad truth is that it would not be so easy. All the pain and suffering had left it's mark on that poor child and nobody knew what the future held for him.
Moira was still left with her own thoughts when Billy announced that he had to leave. It was getting late and he had a lot to do the following day. Moira helped him out and he drove off. Moira poured herself another glass of wine, and went back to the living room to watch some more television. It was no use to even try to sleep now because her head was so full of ideas and she couldn't turn off her thoughts. She must have fallen asleep in front of the television but was awoken a few hours later by a child screaming somewhere in the distance. It took her a minute to realize that it was Vincent and she jumped up and rushed to his room.
-To be continued-
Chapter 1 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-1
Chapter 2 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-2
Chapter 3 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-3
Chapter 4 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-4
Chapter 5- https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-5
Chapter 6- https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-6
Chapter 7- https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-7
Chapter 8 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-8
Chapter 9 - https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-9
Chapter 10 -https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-10
Chapter 11- https://steemit.com/fiction/@giantbear/the-attic-chapter-11
