Part 22

"There's been some time, too," Alexis was telling V. and Hannah as they all leaned over Hannah's shoulder and the computer records again, "Maybe they've mellowed out. Think of what their son running from them and their not being able to find him could have done to them. Taught them a good lesson."

V. said, "How bad is the medical issue? Could we take a little time to observe them from afar?"

"A good idea," Alexis answered. "Though I think it would still be hard to persuade Zander they are mellowed out, even if we thought so. Still. Get for him a history of their past few years, without alerting them; he may see things differently."

"Fortunately," said Hannah, "law enforcement agencies are required to put children who are subjects of parental abduction in the same database we've been looking at."

"The case might not still be open," Alexis pointed out. "That case could be considered solved. And I have a bad feeling these are people who take the law into their own hands."

"And if that were so, there could be no custody order," V. said. "If they never got a custody order, even the one who took the child out of the country wouldn't have been considered a fugitive."

"Let me run over to the law library," Alexis said. "No wait. I'm sure it's got to be a federal crime without even looking. Taking the child out of the country without a US passport. They got him the foreign passport, and took him out. From what Cheryl told me, it almost certainly came up. Trouble is, the defendant would have been the parent, and we don't have any idea who to look for."

"Maybe it's uncommon enough to start with the list of people who've been charged with it," V. said.

"About 500 cases in a year of internationally abducted children," Hannah said, "that makes about 40 from Florida. There are about 1200 open cases now. So," she waited for the computer to bring up the records. "Eighty from Florida."

"Try Daytona," Alexis said.

"I can do Volusia County," Hannah said. They waited. "None open."

"Try closed. Especially two to six years ago."

Hannah typed again. "OK. Here we go. Four cases total. Two girls. Two boys. Same last name for the two boys."

"Peter Ka, kansch, Kashineb, Kansheb, what?"

"Kanishchev," Alexis read, "Peter, and Alexander. Bring up Alexander, Hannah!"

"These things take forever," V. commented.

The computer worked. "Finally!" V. said.

"Eureka!" Alexis was like a kid who had found a hidden birthday present. "My boy! And the perpetrator!"

They were looking at a missing child poster. "Sergei," V. said. "parental abduction and voila! Unlawful flight to avoid prosecution and taking a US citizen child from the US in violation of a custody order!"

Alexis practically jumped up and down. "And without a US passport! This is the guilty party!" V. gave her a pat on the back, saying, "There was never any doubt we could outsmart Zander Smith!"

"Older guy," Hannah observed. "Practically old enough to be Zander's grandfather. Now we can find out all kinds of stuff," Hannah went on. "What do you want? Whatever it is, it's all yours! FBI, Interpol, IRS or Immigration and Naturalization? Federal prisoner number 23-4388-78."

"Gee, maybe you can even get a health profile without his knowing!" V. said. "Which prison?"

"Got out last year, did two years for, of course - international child abduction and taking US citizen children from the US without a US passport. Moved him around like they always do. They don't want them to make connections with other white collar criminals, and they often treat this like white collar stuff, if there isn't violence involved."

"Maybe he's still on parole," V. said.

Hannah read for awhile. "Still on, and reporting officer in Daytona."

"Well, I'll be!" Alexis said. "Who turned him in to the feds? Maybe we will find the mother."

"Let me print out some of this stuff for you," Hannah said. "You've got birth dates here, and the spelling of the names, and some other names his father used to hide him."

"Can I look at the Peter record really quick?"

"Sure, want to make sure it's a brother?"

It was a picture for a missing child with the same perpetrator. "And still a minor," V. said. "But no open case that he is missing, at least, not from Volusia County."

"With Mom, is my guess. Dad has been in the federal pen, so Mom has custody without interference. And surely there's a restraining order against Dad getting into contact with him."

"Now with the name, let's go back to the missing. See if he was one of those 360."

"Yes!" V. said. "So she did report him missing! Read that, Alexis."

"Oksana Kanishcheva. West Palm Beach. So she's moved south, probably with the younger boy. I've got to get a tail on her. See how civilized she is. But a mother's a mother. She must be worried sick."