My wife and I stopped at a closed filling station in Connecticut and with Martha's notes in hand I attempted to phone the authorities. It took three tries before we were satisfied our information was in believing hands. I was nearly as nervous as my first call. By the time we reached our apartment, both of us were exhausted wrecks. We remained so for the following week.
Betsy spent hours on the computer, searching for results from our second tip but nothing was reported. She also researched various tip lines and Internet sites that concentrated on missing children. Her boss allowed her to beg off a trip that would cut into the weekend, after she complained about exhaustion fallowing our recent wedding activities.
I wracked my brains in an attempt to formulate some way we could safely utilize Howie's unique abilities and produce beneficial results without exposing ourselves to God knows what.
Martha and Betsy spoke frequently on the phone. With each potential missing child case my wife discovered, she became more anguished with our lack of intervention. Somehow, between her and Martha, Quinn and Howie agreed to run a trip back while we remained in New York in phone contact. Howie didn't like the arrangement but realized we couldn't commute back and forth every weekend and maintain a life. Quinn, now seriously interested in Howie's ability, while adamantly against the limitation of its use, agreed to try a session. According to Martha, he continued to pressure Howie to conduct independent tests. Howie remained intransigent in restricting his gift to the rescue children.
The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced of the incredible scope of Howie's gift. Governments, thieves, scientist, treasurer hunters, historians, despots of all kinds would crave his skill. Perhaps even kill for it! We were all at risk, simply because we could identify him! What powerful threats might be exerted to force this skill to someone's use, nefarious of otherwise? Yet, in spite of the obstacles, it seemed utterly sinful to ignore the potential.
If others recognized a peek at the past was possible, wouldn't there be a rush to duplicate what Quinn and Howie had serendipitously accomplished? While Howie, between his brain damage, operations and lengthy coma created a rare combination of mental soup, could we say with any certainty that his ability was absolutely unique to him? If not, and if others gained the same skill would they be as conscientious as Howie in its use? God, if this ability became widespread, it would be an assault of secrecy itself!
Our need for secrecy, all five of us, extended far beyond personal culpability. It was critical to a myriad of complications; we held the key to access of the past!