The local code for Tyler.

I stared at the digits.

Carl had pulled up this tax record from a live database only yesterday.

That meant the county still had that exact phone number tied to that exact house right now.

If Thomas Rountree still lived there, that phone would ring in his front hall.

If Arthur and Higgins were telling the truth, Thomas Rountree had adopted a local baby and needed a character reference from a respectable church.

If they were lying, Thomas Rountree had taken my child.