Chance for a Better Life
Chapter Two
School started back the following week. The early November snowstorm surprised everyone. Frank had been working as many hours as he could to try and find Jamie's mom. It took two weeks, but he finally got a quality lead, but it wasn't the one he wanted. Jamie's mom had been found in their old apartment in the Bitterman complex. She had been murdered. The entire scene was terrible, but the worst part was the note.
My wife was the love of my life and she thought that she could hide from me. I will find my son, and he'll be next. Patty loved him, but she can't protect him anymore.
Frank knew that would be the most likely outcome but seeing it in writing made his heart stop. The note confirmed his worst fear. Jamie had been with them for three weeks; he's attending school and despite what he's endured so far, he's a very happy child. It broke Frank's heart to think that anyone would want anything but the best for him.
He'd called Mary when he got back to the precinct. Jamie was still in school, and they'd decided that they didn't want to ruin his day yet. They were both expecting Jamie to react badly, but they weren't sure how bad it would be. Frank asked his parents if they would take care of the other kids for the night so they could give Jamie the attention that he needed.
His parents had met Jamie the first week at Sunday dinner, and they both instantly fell in love with him, but his dad worried he was getting too close to the case. Henry was worried what was going to happen to his son and his family when Jamie had to leave.
Mary made turkey roll ups for an after-school snack that she wanted Jamie to eat before he found out about his mom because she was afraid, he wouldn't eat much that night. She didn't want him to have nothing in his stomach for the night. It'd taken a couple weeks, but Jamie was finally gaining some weight. She was afraid all of that progress would be lost.
Jamie was having a great day at school. They'd each had to write a three things that they were thankful for and why. He wasn't able to only narrow it down to three.
Jamie's Assignment:
The soup kitchen and the people who work there.
The people at the soup kitchen have helped me and my family for a long time.
The food is really good.
Detective Reagan and his family.
Detective Reagan is looking for my mom and his family has been really nice and is letting me live in their big house.
Joe is really cool. He likes to spend a lot of time with me.
Erin's nice and always wants to help me.
Mary cooks really good food and is teaching me how to cook.
Being able to be here at school. Before some stuff happened, I didn't get to go to school, and I love getting to come here every day.
When Jamie's teacher read his assignment, she wanted to cry. She'd been told some about his past and had been watching him closely. She'd been surprised by his behavior. He was a very calm and quiet seven-year-old. Calm and quiet seven-year-olds were not common.
Jamie came bouncing in the house. He'd had a great day at school. He'd gotten to be part of his first school Thanksgiving. They'd had turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, and carrots for lunch. He'd loved the food and had eaten a lot of it.
"Mary, I had the best day at school." Jamie had such a big smile on his face.
"I'm glad you did. Did you have a good Thanksgiving lunch?"
"It was great! I ate my entire plate and even got more carrots and cranberry sauce."
Mary couldn't help but smile. Jamie had been getting more expressive each day, but he was still the quiet child. If Danny, Joe, and Erin were talking he wouldn't join in unless someone spoke to him first. "That's great. Let's get you a snack."
Jamie ate his snack quietly while he read a book. All of the excitement of the day was starting to take its toll on him. He was getting better every day, but he would still get tired easily.
Once his snack was done, he wanted to tell Joe about his day, but noticed he wasn't home yet. He had noticed Frank's car pull in the driveway while he ate, and Frank never got home this early.
"Hi Jamie, I'm glad that you had a good day at school." Frank stated knowing that he was going to break his heart in the next few minutes.
"Where are Joe, Erin, and Danny?"
"They are at Betty and Henry's house. We wanted to talk to you about something." Mary said as she looked over at Frank.
Jamie looked between both of them. He knew that good things didn't last long. The three weeks he'd been with the Reagans was the longest he'd ever really had something good happen.
"Jamie, I found your mom." Frank said cautiously.
Tears welled in Jamie's eyes. He knew if they found her, and she was alive she'd be here, or he would be with her. "She's dead." He whispered.
"Yes." Frank was at a loss for words. This was the result that he's expected but hated telling Jamie.
"I'll go pack." Jamie was trying to hold back tears. He was sad about his mom, and that he wouldn't get to say good-bye to Joe, Danny, and Erin. He had immediately gone upstairs. Once he was in his room, he let himself cry.
"Mary, give him a minute. He's not going anywhere until his dad has been arrested at the earliest. Mary, we can talk adoption now."
"There's something else, what is it, Frank?"
"His dad left a note. He admitted to killing his wife and has threatened Jamie's life. I can't fathom how anyone would want to hurt that sweet loving little boy, but he does." Frank had to take a deep breath. "I'm gonna find him Mary."
"Don't lose your temper. We are going to keep Jamie here and safe and he's going to be safe and loved."
"I'll try my best. Let's go and check on him."
Jamie was laying on the bed with his head buried in the pillow. He was crying so hard that his entire body was shaking.
"Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry about your mom. Can I give you a hug?"
Jamie got up and put his arms around Mary's neck and buried his head in her shoulder. At that time both Frank and Mary noticed that Jamie had packed one pair of jeans, one shirt, a pair of underwear and an undershirt, his coat and one pair of shoes. She hated that he thought that was all he owned or deserved. She motioned to Frank to put everything away.
"Jamie, I'm going find who hurt your mom." Frank knew it wouldn't bring her back, but knowing the killer was behind bars often gave the loved ones some piece of mind.
"It was my dad." Jamie said through the tears, he was certain.
"Don't worry about who did it. I'm gonna find him."
"When do I leave? I want to say good-bye to everyone, and where am I going?" Jamie had started thinking about everything again. He couldn't let himself think about the fact that he'd never seen any of them again.
"You're not leaving. You're gonna stay here until we catch the guy who did this. Plus, everyone's excited to have you here for Thanksgiving on Thursday."
"Okay. I have homework I need to finish for tomorrow." Jamie said and got off the bed and grabbed his backpack. "Can I do it in my room tonight?"
The kids did their homework at the dining room table in case they needed help, and in Danny's case to make sure that he was doing it unless it was special circumstances like during the snowstorm when they had so much homework. Mary wanted them in their rooms so they wouldn't fight and scare Jamie.
"What if you did it in the dining room and we promised to stay out of there unless you called us. Is that okay?" Mary asked hoping he'd be okay with it. She didn't want him all the way upstairs where it would take longer to get to him.
"Okay. I only have math and a writing assignment to finish. I finished everything else at school."
"Jamie, you know that you don't have to go to school the rest of the week if you don't want to." Frank said worried about what might happen, and it was already a short week that was going to focus mostly on the holiday and not a lot of schoolwork.
"No, my mom wouldn't want me to miss school while I actually have a chance to go. She'd love this school and be so happy that I get to go to such a good one." Jamie cried.
"Okay, but if you don't feel good you go to the office and have them call me and I'll come and get you." Mary said without hesitation.
"Can I do my homework now?" Jamie just wanted to do his homework, so he didn't need to think about anything else.
Frank and Mary went into the kitchen so they could hear Jamie and be there quickly for him.
"Frank, I want to adopt him. I want him to have the same chance at a future that our kids have. I can't let that little boy go into the system where God knows what is going to happen to him."
"Mary, I don't want him to go into the system either, but we don't know if he has any other family out there who wants him. We have to check everything and make sure he gets what's best for him. I'll work with his social worker, so he stays with us while we figure all of this out. I'm not sure what the next steps are."
"Then we'll take those next steps. Frank do you ever think everything happens for a reason?"
"I don't know. Considering all of the things that I see on a daily basis I don't think that I want that to be true."
"I think that we weren't able to have a baby ten years ago because Jamie's meant to be ours. Frank, I know it won't be easy, but I know that we can give him the life he deserves."
"Okay. We'll start the process, but I'm worried about his dad. I don't know how far he's willing to go to hurt or kill Jamie."
"Maybe the adoption process will draw him out and you'll be able to catch him." Mary said cautiously. Then a second later realized what she just said and put a hand over her mouth.
"I don't want to use him for bait either."
They didn't realize how much time had gone by and didn't know that Jamie had been standing by the door listening to them talk.
Without thinking Jamie gave himself away. "I can help you catch my dad?"
"No, Jamie it's too dangerous." Mary said without a second thought. She wouldn't let any of her children do something that dangerous, she wasn't going to let Jamie take that risk.
"My grandpa would want me to help if he hurt my mom."
"Jamie, where is your grandpa?"
"He died when I was three. He was a police officer and a bad guy killed."
"Jamie was he a police officer here?" Frank was curious now. Cops stuck together.
"Yes. He always told me that we need to put bad people in jail."
"Jamie, what was your grandpa's name?" Mary knew what it was like to lose someone to the job. Her dad had been killed on duty and both of her brothers are NYPD.
"My mom always called him Captain Jameson McDonnel. I was named after him." Jamie had tears in his eyes again at the thought of his mom.
"He was at the 12th. I remember him. Your grandpa was a really good man. What about your grandma?" Frank remembered Jamie's grandfather and had served under him at one time when he was still on patrol. His dad knew him even better.
"My mom said that my grandma died of a broken heart." His grandma was nice, and he and his mom would stay with her when his dad was being extra mean.
"Jamie, do you have any other family?"
"No, my mom said that she would've been able to give me a better home if we did, but my mom always said all of my grandparents are dead and my mom and dad didn't have any brothers and sisters." Jamie stopped remembering something. "She would cry sometimes and say that we were all alone in the world. It made her very sad."
"You are not alone now. No matter what you will always have, me, Frank, Joe, Danny, Erin, Henry, and Betty."
"Can I please help you get my dad? I want my mom to be proud of me."
"Oh sweetie. She is proud of you. She's your guardian angel and I know that she wouldn't want you putting yourself in danger." Mary hugged him. She would never let one of her kids do anything like this and she knew Danny and Joe were both destined to be cops. That was a life she wanted to keep Jamie away from. He was too sweet to become a cop.
"Please. I promise I'll listen to everything that you tell me, and I can disappear after, and you'll never have to see me again."
"Let me think about it." Frank finally gave an answer besides no because Jamie wasn't giving up.
"Thank you. Can I go to bed now? I'm tired."
"You need to eat dinner. We're gonna order pizza. Cheese and mushrooms." Mary said without hesitation.
"Okay. Can I go read a book in the living room?" Jamie was missing Joe, Erin and even Danny a little.
"Yes. I'll let you know when dinners here." Frank said.
Mary called the pizza place and within ten minutes dinner was ordered. At this point she didn't care what they ate as long as they ate. She wanted Jamie to have a full tummy when he went to bed because she knew he was going to have nightmares tonight.
"Frank, you cannot be seriously thinking about using him as bait?" Mary glared at him.
"We don't even know if it would work, and we can't keep him locked up in the house or the school until his dad is locked away or killed. It could be months or if he's really good years. It's not fair to Jamie or us or the kids."
"No, we can't, but I don't want anything to happen to Jamie."
"Mary, he wants to help. It might help give him closure. Let's not fight about this. I have to talk to my Captain and CPS about this anyway."
"Okay, can we just focus on Thanksgiving and getting Jamie through the next few days?" Mary worried.
"Yes."
Dinner was quiet. Jamie only ate a piece and a half of pizza, but Mary considered the fact that Jamie had a big lunch and ate a good snack. It was enough to make them happy. Once dinner was finished Jamie made his way upstairs to take a shower and prepare everything for school the next day.
The next few days are somber despite Thanksgiving. Danny, Erin, and Joe were all trying their best to support Jamie. Joe was having a hard time leaving Jamie alone. He couldn't imagine what he was feeling, and because it was Jamie, he didn't talk about his feelings to anyone.
The only thing he was adamant about was that he wanted to help catch his dad. A fact that scared everyone knowing what the results could be.
Thursday morning Jamie was up early because he'd had a night full of nightmares. Mary knew about his nightmares because he'd been awake when she'd checked on him a couple times, but he hoped no one else did.
Jamie was reading in the living room when Joe came down.
"Hey Jamie, it's early, what are you doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep. Why are you up?"
"I had to go to the bathroom and saw the light on. Did you have a nightmare?"
"Yeah, how did you know?" Jamie worried he was loud and woke someone up.
"It's not uncommon when something bad happens that people have nightmares. It's okay."
"My dad always told me that you only had nightmares if you were weak."
Joe sighed and wished he could find his "dad" and beat him up himself. "That's not true. Come with me. You can sleep with me until we really need to get up."
"You would do that?"
"Yes. Let's go get back to sleep and enjoy being able to sleep later since it's a holiday and then when we get up we can help mom make us a big holiday breakfast."
"Okay." Jamie looked up at Joe. "Can I give you a hug?" Jamie was worried that this wouldn't go over well.
"Any time you want. Think of me as your big brother." Joe smiled.
Ten minutes later they were in Joe's bed because it was bigger, and they were fast asleep. Jamie felt protected. He knew Joe would keep the demons away.
An hour later Mary went to check on Jamie and was afraid when she didn't see him in his room. She was afraid he'd ran away. Frank heard the doors opening and went to see what was going on. He could see how worried Mary was. So, he began checking the other rooms, and found Jamie with Joe.
"Mary." Frank whispered. "Look, Jamie's in with Joe."
"I bet Jamie got up because of a nightmare and Joe found him. Let's go down and make some coffee."
Downstairs once the coffee was on, Mary started getting out items for breakfast.
"Mary, aren't we having our traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs?" Frank was surprised to see the stuff for pancakes out.
"I thought that we'd change it up this year."
"Why?"
"Because Jamie loves my strawberry pancakes and he always eats a lot of them. Today is going to be hard for him. It's his first holiday without his mom."
"Okay. Pop and Ma should be here soon. How long are we gonna let the kids sleep?"
"Nine, and Jamie can take a nap if he didn't sleep much last night."
"Mary, I understand where you're coming from, but Jamie's strong. We've seen that already. Let him tell us what he needs. If he finds out that you're changing things for him, I don't think he'll be happy."
"You're right. He doesn't like attention. I'll make bacon and eggs."
Frank smiled. He could already hear his dad and Danny complaining about a change to their favorite holiday breakfast. He was happy that Mary understood his reasoning.
An hour later Jamie and Joe came downstairs already dressed for the day. Joe had helped Jamie pick out a nice pair of jeans and a sweater and collared shirt, so he looked nice. Joe was dressed similarly.
"Good morning boys." Betty said with a smile.
"Morning Grandma. Happy Thanksgiving." Joe gave her a big hug. He loved time with family.
"Morning." Jamie said shyly. He'd been around Henry and Betty, but he still preferred to not be around a lot of people unless he was at school.
"I'm sorry about your mom, Jamie."
"Me too. I miss her, at least now no one can hurt her anymore." Jamie gave her a sad smile and a few tears ran down his face.
"That's right. You're so smart." Betty gave him a big hug. She had been surprised to learn that Jamie liked hugs considering how afraid of everyone he'd been when he first came into their lives.
"Thank you."
"Jamie normally Erin, Mary, and I are the only ones allowed in the kitchen, but I was hoping that you'd help out today too like you do on Sundays or you can watch football with the guys."
"I don't want to mess up anything today. I know that today is very important to your family."
"I know you won't mess anything up and I know Mary and Erin would be happy for more help." Betty smiled.
"Okay."
With that Jamie made his way to the dining room where Frank and Henry were talking about his mom's case. All talking ceased when he entered the room.
"Hey Jamie. You look nice." Henry smiled. "Guess what I knew your grandpa. I worked with him for a while. He was a great guy."
"You did! I don't remember him much, but mom always told me how great he was and that he always helped people. I hope I can help people when I grow up." Jamie looked down to hide the fear he was feeling about his future.
"Do you like turkey?" Henry wondered.
"Yeah. I'll eat almost anything. Will there be enough food for me today?"
Frank and Henry couldn't help but laugh and then they instantly felt bad when they saw Jamie's face fall.
"Jamie, there will be enough food for you to eat for the next week." Frank smiled and thanked god for how fortunate he and his family were. It would have never occurred to him to think that there wasn't enough food for one person.
Jamie's eyes were big as saucers. He'd seen that much food before at the soup kitchen but never in a house.
Breakfast was great. Jamie had eaten more on Thanksgiving morning then he had since he'd found out about his mom, and Mary attributed that to the happy atmosphere in the house.
Despite what happened to Jamie's mom, Mary was looking forward to the day. It was Jamie's first holiday with the family, and she hoped it wouldn't be his last and despite the events of the week she wanted him to start making good memories. Joe seemed to be the key to that happiness, despite the fact that Jamie had been afraid of him they'd seemed to be starting to bond and were even acting like brothers. Well brothers that got along.
"Joe, can I see you for a second?" Mary asked taking him away from everyone.
"Did Jamie come to you last night when he had a nightmare?"
Frank wanted to be a part of the conversation.
"No, I had to go to the bathroom, and I saw the light on downstairs. He was reading, but I could tell he was still tired. I told him I'd lay with him, and it was just easier to bring him into my room. I told him to think about me like his big brother."
"That was sweet of you, but you could've brought him into us too." Mary said worried what would happen to both boys if Jamie couldn't stay.
"I didn't want to wake you guys up. The only thing is I think I woke him when I got up and I think he could use more sleep."
"He can nap later if he needs to. Thank you for helping with him this morning."
"I'm happy to help. He's a good kid who deserves a break. Is he going to get it?"
"We're going to try our best. We want him to have a chance for a better life too."
Danny was trying to find Joe so they could go and play football in the backyard until the games started on TV. Erin was already in the kitchen starting to get things ready for the day. Jamie had fallen asleep on the couch next to Henry.
"Joe, come on. Let's go outside and play."
"I'll be right out."
"Mom, I know it might be hard, but can Jamie stay with us now that his mom is gone?" Joe loved the idea of having a little brother.
"I'm working on it." Mary smiled. "Let's concentrate on giving him so good memories while he's here."
"Got it." Joe ran outside to meet Danny so they could throw the ball around a little.
"Joe, you gotta be careful. I know you like the kid, but he won't be here forever, and it will be easier for both of you take a step back."
"What's your problem?" Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing from his oldest brother. "Jamie's a great kid who's had a hard life. He deserves every chance he can get."
"We don't get to choose where we come from. What are you afraid of that the kid's going to take your place when you move out?" Joe yelled a little louder than he intended.
"No. Just in five years we'll all be out of the house and then mom and dad can focus on themselves and someday start enjoying their grandchildren."
"You and Linda working on those grandchildren now?" This seemed strange to Joe. Danny wasn't usually the thoughtful type, and this just seemed out of character for him.
"We're talking about it, but she wants to go to nursing school before she has kids."
"That's great. I'm sure she wants her husband to be a high school graduate." Joe laughed. Linda was smart and driven. She knew what she wanted. He wondered what she saw in Danny.
"I know, and I'm working on it. I know I can't get into the academy if I don't graduate. That's all I want."
"I get it. I want that too. I want to help kids like Jamie. Stop the violence. Every kid should have a safe home where they're kept warm, safe, and always have enough food to eat."
"I want to catch the bad guys. Be a detective like dad. I wish I didn't have to walk the beat. I'm not great at talking to people."
"Danny there isn't any part of you that wants to see Jamie thrive. He's been with us for three almost four weeks. It's like he belongs here."
"I do want to see him thrive, but I just wonder why he can't do it somewhere else. I worry about Mom and Dad."
"You're gonna support mom and dad if they adopt him, right?"
"Yeah, I will, if it comes to that."
"Good. Now be nice to him. He avoids you like crazy. He's afraid of you."
"I can't be nice to him if he doesn't come near me. Mom and Dad said to let him come to me. He hasn't come to me yet."
"Please don't fight with Erin at dinner tonight."
"I'll try, but she makes it too easy." Danny laughed.
It was finally dinner time, and everyone was hungry and excited. Danny and Joe both had their second showers of the day, and Jamie had helped in the kitchen once he woke up. He helped mash the potatoes, clean the veggies, and get the apple and pumpkin pies ready to bake. He liked being a part of everything and was soaking everything in, so he had good memories when he had to leave.
"Jamie, it's our tradition for everyone to go around the table and say what they are thankful for." Henry explained. "I'll go first. I'm thankful to be here with my entire family and that we have so much food to eat."
"I'm thankful that my husband and son are both here safe and sound." Betty kept looking between Henry and Frank.
"I'm thankful that I only have a year left of high school." Danny smiled. He hated school.
"I'm thankful that we get to share this Thanksgiving with Jamie." Joe smiled and squeezed Jamie's hand.
"I'm thankful that you all have helped me and let me go to school." Jamie was nervous and hoped he did it right.
"I'm thankful we had extra help in the kitchen this year." Erin grabbed Jamie's other hand and squeezed. They had fun in the kitchen together. "This is a lot of food." She laughed.
"I'm thankful for my family, this food, my husband's safety, and that Jamie gets to spend today with us." Mary said looking around the table at everyone.
"I'm thankful for my family, that I have a good job and am able to help others, and that we have a roof over our heads." Frank smiled. "Let's eat."
Jamie was in awe of all the food. He couldn't believe all the food that was being put onto his plate. He had gotten used to how loud Sunday dinners could be, but today was another level. Everyone was talking, eating, and smiling. Despite learning about his mom's death earlier in the week he was having fun and felt bad for it.
"Hey kid, are you gonna eat?" Danny questioned.
Jamie shook his head and started eating. He's still afraid of Danny but was trying not to show it. He hoped Danny never arrested him one day.
Once the meal was finished Danny and Joe were on dish duty in the kitchen while everyone relaxed and waited for dessert.
"Okay, the kid's cute, but he has to chill out a little."
"He will when he's comfortable around you. He likes me and Erin."
"Yeah, well I'm not good with kids like you and Erin are."
"That's gonna have to change when you become a cop. Jamie told me he's come in contact with a lot of cops. Dad and Grandpa tell us stories about cases that they've worked that involve kids."
"Okay. I get what you're saying. I guess if Linda and I want kids someday I have to be more comfortable around them."
Once the dishes were done, they were onto dessert. Jamie loved the apple pie. He'd never had it before. It was something that they were all learning that Jamie hadn't experienced a lot of different foods. Many things that they ate daily were a surprise to him. He may know what it is or have seen it before but never been able to try it. This gave Mary an idea that they needed to broaden the selection of food at the soup kitchen.
Frank and Mary decided that Jamie's mom deserved a proper funeral and headstone. She would be buried in the Bay Ridge Cemetery where their family was. It was important to them that Jamie had a place to be with his mother. The funeral was planned for Saturday morning. Jamie didn't know about it yet because each time they brought up his mom he would go to his room and pack. They were trying to avoid that. Mary, Frank, Joe, and Erin each had unpacked Jamie at least once.
Friday was spent putting up Christmas decorations. Jamie was having fun seeing all the lights go up over the mantel and onto the tree. Frank, Danny, and Joe were working on the outside of the house. It was very magical to Jamie. Christmas to him had never been magical before. One year they'd had a little tree, but his dad had ended up throwing it across the room when he'd gotten mad at something either Jamie or his mom said. At one point everything got overwhelming to Jamie and he had to sit down. His mind was flooded with bad memories and his imagination had taken hold and it was trying to figure out what Christmas at the Reagan's would be like.
"Jamie, are you okay?" Mary worried. She thought everyone was having fun after a great day the day before.
"Yeah, there's so much to look at. The tree is so big."
"Did you sleep okay?" Erin asked. She hadn't heard him get up the night before.
"Yeah, I slept good. Didn't get up until I came down for breakfast."
"That's good." Mary said relieved. "Why don't we take a break and I'll make us some lunch."
"Can we have hot turkey sandwiches?" Erin smiled knowing the answer would be yes.
"Yes, why don't you go and check on your dad and brothers and see if they're ready to eat."
Ten minutes later everyone's inside. The outside decorations are done. All they need to do is plug them in. Danny wanted to eat and go see Linda.
A few hours after lunch all the decorations had been put up and they put in the first VHS tape to officially start off the Christmas season and watch their first Christmas movie. Frank had to go into work for a few hours to tie up some loose ends. He told everyone that he'd be home after dinner.
Dinner was more leftovers. Jamie loved every moment of it. Dinner was a turkey pot pie that Mary had made after lunch. It was so good Jamie thought he could eat it every day. He loved all the carrots, corn, green beans, and potatoes that it was filled with. Jamie ate a piece and a half. Mary was surprised that he ate so much.
Saturday morning Mary had laid a black suit out on Jamie's bed for him to wear to the funeral. When it was time, she asked Joe to help get him ready. It was a cold day, but the sun was out, and the sky was clear.
The funeral was short and other than the family the only other person there was Lauren Mayfield. Who Jamie learned later was a cop who worked with his grandpa. Lauren had been doing everything in her power to keep them safe, but it wasn't enough. She held Jamie during the funeral, and they cried together. Despite being only seven years old Jamie showed great courage and strength at the funeral. He was also very grateful and thankful that strangers had done so much for him and his mom. He had no idea that those that served with his grandfather had pitched in to help with the funeral but didn't want to draw attention to Jamie's location, so they kept their distance.
The day of the funeral, officers had let Frank and Henry know that they'd seen signs up around the Bitterman houses looking for a missing child. It had been confirmed that the child on the posters was Jamie. Jamie had a very emotional day. Frank and Mary decided that they would tell Jamie about the posters the following day. They had even thought about pulling him from school, but they knew doing that would break his heart, and may scare him. He was making progress, and they didn't want that progress halted.