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Regina sat with Valdez and Waltz in her room again. This time, they've forgotten to bring the friendly smiles and anecdotal stories. They're hard and vicious in their questioning. It's been eight weeks since her entrance into the hospital. While most of her wounds have scabbed over, her legs and feet are still covered in bandages. The worst part of her recovery is when they clean and change them. It's worse torture than when the wounds were inflicted.

The baby no longer requires monitoring and she can sleep on her side which is a relief. Her arms are still covered in scabs, but her skin is free of the gauze and tape. An IV port is placed in her left hand along with a shiny pair of handcuffs keeping her wrist tied to the bed. As if she'd be able to walk away. It would be hard to get up. As it was, it was a production just to use the bathroom.

Regina had been answering the same questions for the last week. She knew it was a tactic to get her to stumble and change details. She never wavered and answered the same questions the same way. Valdez was a little nicer than Waltz, but they were both relentless now that she didn't require sedation.

As she sat and answered questions about Syd, again, she counted the hours. Six this time, she thought. It was nearly seven hours of rigorous questioning. They didn't even stop when her lunch was brought in. No, they pestered, and they kept going. Now, she was eating her dinner and the questions continued.

"You said the finances were handled by your husband, is that right?" Valdez asked with his mouth full of green beans. The hospital staff were courteous enough to give the detectives trays from the cafeteria.

"Yes, he handled the credit cards and the bank accounts." Regina took a bite. "I was given cash when I went to the market. There were a few times, he let me have the card to pay for groceries and gas. Mostly, he held onto them."

Waltz's voice was becoming soothing to her even in its roughness, "When you had the cards, did you keep the receipts?" He'd asked this one before, she recollected.

"Always. Simon wanted to see itemized receipts and if I deviated, I'd get punished. I once bought Sammy a candy bar and I paid for it later. We kept the receipts in a drawer in the kitchen. Each month had its own Ziplock bag. It had to correspond with the checkbook each month."

Valdez asked, "Where did Simon spend his days when he wasn't home or searching for missing hikers?"

Regina stopped the food to her mouth and looked up at him. For once, a question stumped her. She put her spoon down. "I…I don't know." She thought about it as they stared at her. It was the first thing they'd asked she didn't have a quick answer to. "I know he used to go on trips with his buddies. Gun shows, hunting, ball games, and the like. When I worked from home, I always thought he was in the garage. I never thought to ask why the car was gone."

"You didn't ask?"

"No. I didn't want to get smacked for being nosy. Sammy and I were always busy with our own things and I spent most of my time inside. He…" Regina went still, and she closed her eyes. "Travis Smalls," she whispered.

"Who?"

"Travis Smalls was an older man who lived about six miles outside of town. He didn't like to be disturbed. I remember going there with Simon once. We stayed in the car while Simon ran in. I can't remember why only that he threw a bag in the trunk and we'd gone to dinner. I didn't ask and I never saw him take the bag out."

"Did you ever see him again? Stop by?"

She picked up her spoon and started eating again, "No."

"Any other things that would jog your memory? Stops like this that didn't seem normal? Change of routines? Travels? Purchases?" Waltz put his food aside and picked up his pen to jot down notes.

"I can't say about the purchases, but Simon did take two trips in the year before I left. He told me he was going with a buddy. I never questioned it. It's possible, he lied. I'd check there."

"Where would you think he'd have gone?"

Rolling her eyes, she sat back and pushed her food away, "I don't know. He never told me anything and I never asked. How many times are you going to ask me questions that produce the same answer?"

Valdez put a hand on hers, "I know you're upset and agitated having to spend all day in this bed, but we're just doing our jobs."

"I know that. I'm tired and my head hurts. I miss my son," she said.

Waltz took her other hand gingerly in his, "I know. We're nearly ready to let you see him, but we'll have to question him once we're done with you. A few more days, is my guess and you'll be done."

"Fine," she said. "I'm sorry for being huffy. I'm just tired and irritated by the badgering. I know it's your job but if you'd just realize that I didn't ask Simon what he was doing, where he was going, or what he was planning it would be easier. I was scared to death of him."

"Alright," Waltz changed tactics. "We need to talk about the night you left the basement of the manor. You contacted Glass."

Regina sighed, "Yes, Robin and I were outside with the boys. I'd promised to show Roland the rose garden. We saw someone, I know it was Simon now, running up the hill away from the house. When we turned to go inside, a bullet hit the house and we rushed inside. The basement was set to my tablet and needed my handprint to open. When we got downstairs, I hid the boys in the bedroom.

"I had a computer and I sent him an emergency email. I typed S.O.S. New, our code. He sent me instructions thirty minutes later. I wanted to take Sammy with me, but it was too risky being last minute. Syd said that the car would be there in the morning. At 4, I got in and it took me straight to the airport."

"Where you hopped a plane to California with a stop in Phoenix, right?" Valdez wrote in his book.

"Yes. I went home and I changed my appearance. Syd told me Rick knew where Simon was hiding out. There was a big game that day, so I used it as a cover and wore a ball cap and sunglasses. You know the rest."

"We've corroborated that, yes," Waltz said.

"You'll do the same to the flight and the hotel I stayed in. The Hilton was near the café, I walked to it and walked to the warehouse about a mile down from there. When I left the warehouse, I went to change, as you saw on the tapes at the gas station, I walked out and went back to my room. I bought a plane ticket online and flew back to Maine under my new identity."

"Where you stayed at the Blue Den for a night before going to the Locksley residence."

"Yes." Regina closed her eyes. "Are you going to ask Sammy these same questions? As many times as you've asked me?"

"We'll be easier on him but yes we'll ask him to tell us in his own words where you've been and what you've done. It's a procedure. We'll have a child advocate there and he'll have plenty of breaks."

Regina opened her eyes and asked, "Then? Will he stay with Robin? I want him there, I do have a say, don't I?"

Waltz and Valdez exchanged looks. "Sabrina, child services have taken his case on. Once we bring him in for questioning, the state will be taking custody until the trial."

"You can't uproot him like that. Robin and Roland can take care of him. I don't want him in the system."

"It's not up to you, Sabrina. The law stands to reason that until you're cleared if you are, the state is taking custody. He'll be placed in a foster home, one the department pays for, until the trial. He'll be able to see Robin and Roland on visits, but he can't stay there."

Tears leaked from her eyes, "Who is gonna tell him?"

"We'll wait until after the questioning to tell him." Waltz reached up and wiped her tears. "For what its worth, we don't think you were his accomplice. It won't be long before you're back with him. It just takes time."

"Can I be the one to tell him? You said I could see him after you asked him questions. Let me tell him, please," she begged.

Waltz shrugged. Valdez said, "I don't see why we can't accommodate that. Why don't you get some rest? We'll come back tomorrow. A few more days, Sabrina. You can hold on a few more days."

Could she? When they left her alone, she sobbed into her hands. To think of Sammy being put into a stranger's home, scared and alone. It broke her heart and she couldn't imagine what Robin and Roland would think. How they'd react. A nurse came in, "I was told you're finished with this."

Regina didn't answer as the nurse gathered up all the trays and trash. "Do you want something for pain?"

"No! Get out!" she sobbed.

The woman scurried away and left Regina to her heartbreak.

Robin sat at the kitchen table with Henry at his side. Waltz and Valdez were on the opposite side in uniform. Cookies were placed in the center as a courtesy, but they went untouched. Coffee mugs were steaming from the tops as the room filled with the scent of beans and sugar and conversation.

Waltz spoke first, "Mr. Locksley, as you're aware, we've been questioning Mrs. Thompson."

"Regina Mills," he said evenly. He took a sip of the coffee and felt stronger for it.

"As you wish," he said. "We've completed our questioning with her and we're moving on to Samuel."

"My name is Henry," he said. Robin put an arm on the boy's shoulder to keep him from shooting up to his feet. He squeezed his arm and Henry slunk back down.

"This document shows our legal right to take him in. There will be a child advocate with him. She'll ensure he gets adequate breaks, meals, and a place to sleep."

Henry's eyes darted to Robin, "I don't wanna go."

Robin kept his arm firm on his. "How long is this gonna take?"

Valdez spoke with his softer tone, "We really can't say. It depends on how quickly we can get it done. How cooperative Samuel, Henry," he said at the hot look in the boy's eyes, "Will be. We've run it by his mother. She's given her permission. Once we've questioned him, he'll visit with her."

"I can see my mom?" Henry perked up at the possibility.

"Yes, after you answer our questions. Can you do that?" Valdez watched the boy sit back and look defeated.

"I guess," he said.

Waltz handed over the document to Robin. "This details our removal of him from your residence. I need your signature at the bottom. We'll give you ten minutes to gather his things."

Robin's temper was rising, "Now? You're taking him now?"

Waltz sent him a challenging look, "Are we going to have a problem? Yes, now. The sooner we handle this the sooner it's over."

Robin asked, "What happens once you're done with your questions?" He'd already signed his name and begun passing it back to him.

"I'm afraid you're not privy to that information, Mr. Locksley."

"The hell I am. Regina put me in charge of him." Robin wanted to punch him.

"I'm afraid, she has no choice in the matter. Samuel, go get your things."

Henry stood up, "My name is Henry. You call me Samuel again and I'll tell you where to put it." His face was red, his fists were clenched.

"Henry," Robin said.

He turned to him, "I don't wanna go, Robin. Don't let them take me." He hurled himself into his arms and Robin hung on tight.

"I'm sorry. You've got to. Answer their questions and you can see your mom. Then, you'll be done with it. You've gotta step up."

Henry nodded and left the room to get his things. Robin asked, "Just tell me this." They looked at him. "Is he coming back here?"

"No, Mr. Locksley. Sabrina asked to be the one to tell him. So, I'd respect that."

Robin cursed. "He's been through enough. Taking us away might push him over the edge."

"We'll be in touch," is all he said.

Henry walked into the room with his bag clutched to his chest a few minutes later. Roland was behind him. "I'm ready."

Valdez looked at the boys and hated his job at that moment. Roland and Henry exchanged a tearful hug. Robin hung on to him for a long hug before Valdez had to usher Henry into the back seat of the cruiser. Robin and Roland were at the door watching after him as they drove around the corner. He felt like scum.

Henry sat in the backseat and stared at his fingers. The car was silent other than the sporadic noise from the radios strapped to their shoulders. The movement of the wheels under him and the whooshing of the wind through the window filled the silence. The heat slapped him in the face and then cooled as the wind took its turn.

They pulled up outside a building painted white. The only sign on the wall read the number 2. The paint wasn't new but there were very few places peeling or weather damaged. Henry's door opened and he was led inside a heavy metal door the color of coal. Inside, a table with three chairs of different colors and sizes were scatted and left where someone previously sat.

The walls were bare other than a mirror covering half the wall. A black camera with a red light stood at the end of the table. It smelled like leftover pizza and stale coffee. "Have a seat."

Henry sat down as Valdez locked the door they came through. "Thirsty?" Henry shook his head. "I'll take your bag," he said. Knowing it wasn't an offer, he handed Valdez his bag. The men walked through a white door leading to another room, he guessed. He heard the lock click and waited in silence.

The room was small with nothing to look at. He laid his head on the table over his arms and closed his eyes. He didn't know how much time had passed until the door opened. A woman the same age as his mother introduced herself. "Hi, Samuel. I'm Verna. I'll be the child advocate taking care of you."

"My name is Henry," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Henry," she smiled. "I'll make sure you get a break and some food. Do you need to use the bathroom before we get started?" He shook his head.

The woman was wearing a beige skirt that stopped under her knees with an ugly brown polo shirt tucked in at the waist. Her shoes were the same as her skirt only they were shined. Henry couldn't understand why someone would shine ugly shoes. Her hair was the color of straw and wrapped around into a knot on the back of her head. Her wire-rimmed glassed sat on her nose.

"Alright, it'll just be a few minutes." She went back through the door she came from and he was left alone. Seconds turned to minutes and he felt drowsy. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Jerking awake by the shake of his arm, he looked into Waltz's eyes, "Hey, buddy. We thought we'd wake you. You've been out a while. We'd like to get started."

Verna sat next to him with her hands twined together and her legs crossed. He noted that Valdez wasn't with him. Waltz had a pad of paper in front of him with writing filling the pages. "I'm gonna ask you some questions and you'll just tell me what you can."

So, the questioning began. Henry sat with his chin on his fist bent over the table looking bored. When an hour passed, he was offered the bathroom, a drink, and a snack. Each time, he declined. When he was sleepy, they brought in a cot and he slept in the room alone. When the day began, he was taken to the building next door for a shower.

When he was clean, they brought him back and they shared donuts, oatmeal, and muffins as the questions continued. Henry got to walk around the complex with Verna often. Days turned into a week and they kept asking him about his time on the run. He soon fell into a depression being away from his mom, Robin, and Roland.

They offered him toys, he declined. They offered him comic books, he declined. They offered him trips to the stores, parks, or movies, he declined. They drove him around the city so he could sight the pier, the boats, the school, his home. But it all went by in a blur. He wanted his family.

The second week, they brought in a psychologist to assess his mental state. He was diagnosed with depression but still they asked him questions. Another two weeks passed, and they'd gathered all the information from him they were going to get. That afternoon, he sat with his head buzzing in the same chair, in the same room. Waltz sat down his pen. "You're done, Henry."

"What?" he said without emotion.

"That's all the questions we have for you. Verna will get you some lunch and we'll take you by to see your mom."

Henry sat up straight, "Really?" It was the most alive they'd seen him in weeks. "I can see her?"

Waltz nodded, "Eat your lunch and let us get some work done in the other room and we'll drive you over."

Henry was so excited, he ate his lunch in big greedy bites and drank down his juice. He was bouncing his knee up and down when Waltz and Valdez appeared before him. "You ready?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes."

"Let's go."

The car ride there was loud with the windows open and the wind flapping papers and his hair back. He closed his eyes for the drive because it hurt his eyes and they teared up when the wind slapped at him. When the car came to a stop, he reached for the handle. It didn't budge, he'd forgotten they only open from the outside. "Hold your horses, Henry."

"I wanna see my mom," he said.

"You will. First, we've gotta take it step by step. Can you do that?"

"Yea."

Valdez walked into the building ahead of Waltz and Henry. When they walked into the lobby, he came to a stop in front of them. "They moved her."

Waltz's brow creased, "What do you mean, they moved her?"

"This morning, she was discharged. They moved her to the prison's infirmary."

Henry asked, "Can I still see her? You said I could."

Waltz took Henry's shoulder, "Henry, you can't go into the prison without a guardian. I'm afraid your visit will have to wait."

Tears welled up in his eyes, "You promised! I wanna see her, now."

"I'm afraid they don't let children into the prison infirmary. Your mom was gonna tell you, but it looks like I have to."

"Tell me what?"

Waltz turned him into a chair and sat next to him. "Until your mom's trial, child services are taking you into custody. I know you wanted to stay with Robin, but the state says that you have to stay in a foster home. We've got one set up for you. You'll be staying with a woman who fosters three other boys."

"What?" he wiped his eyes. "I can't go back to Robin's?"

"No, but you can still visit with Robin. The state has to file the paperwork before you can establish visitation. It could take a couple of weeks."

His tears were free-flowing, "When can I see my mom?"

Waltz sighed, "As soon as you're set up at the new foster home, they'll file the paperwork for guardianship. It'll take a few days. Then, she can take you in."

Henry sat with a heavy heart and an invisible hammer pounding his chest. He wanted to see his mother, but he couldn't. He wanted to go back to Robin, but he couldn't. He didn't want to go to a foster home, but he had to. With tears staining his shirt, he was led back to the car and into the backseat.

When the door closed, he felt it was closing and locking him away from his family and everything he'd ever known.