"So, what else do we know?"
20 falls looked at them from the photos on the whiteboard. There was a wide range of ages and appearances, making it hard to distinguish a motive. Each image was labelled with a name, current age, and date they went missing. 3 were adults now and were the most likely dead, but no cop dared make that observation.
There was:
Malcom French, 20, 10/19/2008
Reyna Jones, 18, 10/21/2008
Felix Brown , 19, 02/03/2006
Tom Riddle, 20, 01/25/2006
John Darling, 9, 12/23/2007
Michael Darling, 12, 12/23/2007
Jackson Hale, 8, 09/18/2010
Dylan Kyle, 6, 07/05/2008
Alexander Bell, 9, 10/14/2009
Robert Williams, 17, 02/11/2006
William Edwards, 15, 02/23/2006
Fred Stone, 14, 04/01/2010
George Stone, 14, 04/01/2010
James Buchanan, 13, 06/30/2009
Carl Powers, 11, 09/21/2009
Theodore Nott, 13, 02/29/2008
Devon Sanders, 12, 01/04/2011
Elijah Hernandez, 10, 05/11/2009
Henry Swan-Mills, 12, 03/10/2011
The last was Sydney, the only confirmed kill. The coroner's report stated that he had been injected with a deadly poison, dream shade, injected into his neck. Emma would admit begrudgingly that this did not seem to be a sadistic killing. Sydney died as soon as the poison reached his heart.
"So we know Malcolm French, Tom Riddle, and Felix Brown all went to the same school. Have we looked into all of the teachers?"
"Aye, Lass. None match the suspect pool, and all the ones that did had solid alibis."
"And all the parents? "Emma asked.
"All who were available," Graham answered. Emm aroused an eyebrow, so he quickly added, "Carl Powers, Jackson Hale, and Dylan Kyle were all orphans."
Emma nodded. "What about extracurriculars? Did any of these boys frequent the same places?"
"My sister tutored the French boy and the Williams boy. Not at the same time, but she started talking to French 6 months after Williams went missing."
"Alexander Bell's mother testified that her son spent a lot of time at the library," Graham said as he flicked through the case file Killian provided.
"Where did Reyna tutor the boys?"
"They would meet at the Boston Commons."
Emma ground her teeth. This was like finding a needle in a haystack.
—
Belle French was the top librarian in the city. All of the kids and parents alike loved her, and all other guests thought highly of the kind woman with a dark past. Belle, 3 years after her son disappeared, hated the pity filled looks she received.
She adopted Malcolm when he was 6 from wool's orphanage in England. He was a mischievous child with bright green eyes and a penchant for trouble. Nonetheless, he was her son and she loved him with every cell in her body.
They travelled through Europe for a year before settling down in New York City. Malcolm was 13 when she met Rumple. He was an older man there on business, but there was something about him that caught her attention. He was absolutely charming and she agreed to a date. One turned into two into eight before she was introducing her boys. Malcolm took it hard, as she expected, but he told her that he wanted her to be happy. they went on two more dates before Gold said he had to go to back to Boston. He shocked her by asking her to move in with him. She shocked herself by agreeing.
It took her 2 months to get all her affairs in order, but then she and Malcolm were residents of Boston.
Belle was blinded by love. She ignored Ms. Mills snide comments about Mr. Gold, ignored the disgusted looks of the older women around and the concerned looks of the young women. She rolled her eyes at the jealous growl of Rumple when other men flirted.
Malcolm began acting up more than ever. She didn't understand why he suddenly started skipping class, talking back, ignoring her. At 14, she caught him smoking and grounded him. He didn't speak to her for 3 days. She cried and Rumple comforted her. He proposed to her 2 days later. She said yes.
Malcolm ran away for the first time. She waited by the phone at Rumple's behest, paving the large living room. It was six hours later that Rumple led Malcolm inside, the boy had a black eye and a split lip. Her relief was so overwhelming that all she could do was pull him against her and tell him that she loved him, beg him to never do it again. She was so focused on her relief, she hadn't noticed Gold's tight grip or Malcolm's flinch.
Malcolm closed himself off, and the day of the wedding was the night Malcolm's best friend Tom went missing. Belle offered to postpone the wedding, but Malcolm just huffed and closed himself into his room.
Weeks passed and 3 more boys went missing, but Belle only knew that through the gossip vine at the library. Malcolm was failing his classes and getting into fights. Whenever Belle tried to get him to talk to her, he gave her one-syllable responses.
The counselor at Malcom's school, Kathryn Nolan, recommended a tutor. She explained that they already had a good candidate, a 13 year old girl who graduated too young and was volunteering at the school.
Belle was a little nervous about springing this change on her brooding son, so she invited the girl and her guardian over for dinner one night. Her Rumple was working late, so she made enough pasta for 4 and called Malcolm down to set the table and explained her expectations.
Malcolm as silent through dinner, only speaking when asked a direct question and otherwise glaring alternatingly at his mother and his plate. When dinner was over, she sent Malcolm and Reyna up to his room while Killian Jones helped with the dishes.
After Killian and Reyna left, Malcolm agreed to have her as his tutor without any fuss, much to her surprise, but she just smiled and hugged her wincing son.
Belle wished she had not been blinded by her love for her husband, had not been fooled by his charm. Her biggest regret was falling for a beast that hurt her son. So many sleepless nights filled with guilt would never let her forget that her son had disappeared in a domino effect from her meeting her ex-husband.
Now, 3 years later, she ached for her son to return home. She refused to let her 2 year old son, Gideon, near his monstrous father and told stories of Malcolm. She cried when Gideon asked if Malcolm was ever coming home. She wished her first son would come home.
Her phone rang. "Belle French speaking."
"Hello, love, think you're up to aid an investigation?"
Belle felt sick to her stomach.
—-
Unlike their namesake group, the Lost Boys were not always rambunctious and playing.
As Henry found out, they still learned how to read and write, math and science and history, all taught by Reyna or Rufio. Slowly, Henry was added to their schedules, and with each day, he became more antsy to have. Not that he really knew where he was leaving. He was allowed outside. with the other boys, but the area was not familiar and the mansion appeared quite remote. At 11 years old, geography was not his strong suit, and he rather felt hopeless. For as much as he wanted to go home, the other boys were very welcoming, Felix's attitude aside. They always invited him to explore or play with them, though he almost always refused.
Despite obviously being in charge, Pan was rarely seen beyond breakfast, And most often Rufio was left to supervise.
Henry was reflecting on the couth in the living room, his moms never far from his thoughts, when the door was thrown open and Pan ran in, dragging Felix, who was covered in blood.
"Everyone to their rooms!" Pan barked, laying a groaning Felix on the coffee table.
Rufio began heralding the kids out, picking up Tootles, who was crying, as he went. He gripped Pan's shoulder as he passed and promised to send Reyna to help. Henry hovered until Rufio grabbed him by the scruff, forcing him into his room, with a firm "stay here," spoken through gritted teeth. Henry rushed to the vent at the base of the room, holding his breath to try to listen to the conversation below.
"What happened?" Reyna asked, sounding rather calm given the situation.
"He was shot. We were sloppy. lt won't happen again!' Pan ground out. "Can you hurry it up?"
Reyna sent him a sharp look, but continued to cut off the shirt to inspect the wound. "Sorry, Felix," she murmured just before pouring antiseptic over the wound, making the pale boy jerk and cuss. She pressed firmly on his chest to force him back down.
"It went in-and-out, so all he'll need is stitches, fluid, and rest. Go shower," she said to Peter, who snarled. "I'm not asking, go shower, and don't come back until you've done being feral, "she continued with a hiss.
Peter stormed out, drawing a sigh from Reyna.
Silence followed, and Henry felt more confused than ever as to what he was now involved in.