CHAPTER 10

“H ey, great work on that Rodriguez thing,” Kenna said as she leaned against Hollis’s desk.

“Oh. Thanks. Did everything work out?”

“Yeah, we have more background on the guy than I think the cops do. What did you do, surf the dark web or something?”

“No,” Hollis said. “Honestly, I just did a basic internet search. And the show’s investigator gave me some logins I could use, but it didn’t even take that much time.”

“You found a parking ticket from three states away. The investigator said he missed it.”

“He would’ve found it. He’s just the only investigator here. It’s only a parking ticket, though. What’s the big deal?”

“It puts him there , Hollis. It puts him in the city where the murder took place the day before it happened. No one’s been able to pin the guy down. His alibi was that he was home alone for the three-day weekend. I don’t know how the cops missed it. I gave the info you found to the police. They’re running it down now. Either way, this gives them something to go at him with, and maybe it gets him to tell them where the body is. Maybe he takes a plea; I don’t know. But it’s great work, Hollis. Are you sure you’re just a librarian?”

Hollis laughed and said, “I’m not really sure what I am these days.”

“Everything okay?” Kenna asked.

“Yeah. It’s just been a very strange few weeks.”

“How’s your mom?”

“She’s okay. People keep asking about her, but I don’t usually know how to answer the question. She has good days and bad ones. Sometimes, I hate that I have to go to work five days a week, and she’s there alone. I need the money, though. And she tells me it’s fine every morning, but it’s still hard, leaving her there when we missed thirty years together. ”

“I’m sure she understands. And you have every evening with her, right?”

“Yes. Well, most of them.”

“Group?” Kenna asked.

“I’m still going, but I’ve also been spending time with Raleigh,” Hollis said. “She asked me over to watch the episode about Eden when it aired, and she had a hard time after, so I stayed over. Raleigh was able to get some sleep, which she desperately needed, but we’ve been grabbing coffee after group and other nights, too, ever since. My mom goes to bed early, so I usually try not to go anywhere until she’s asleep for the night.”

“We got leads from the episode. The FBI has them all,” Kenna told her.

“I know. She told me they called her about a couple, but none of them have panned out yet. I don’t know how my mom did this for thirty years,” she said, sighing. “I feel lucky because I never knew. I grew up thinking everything was fine. Now, it’s all kind of crashing down into me, but I’m hanging in there. My mom was the one who had to wonder where I was and what happened to me. And because they couldn’t technically blame my dad one-hundred-percent, she still had that thought that I’d been taken by someone else. I don’t even want to know the thoughts that had to go through her head all these years. And now, Raleigh is going through that, too.”

“God, I hate people. Who would take someone else’s child? Who thinks that’s okay? I don’t want to even think about someone taking Aaliyah from us. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened and they found the person. Rip would have to hold me back.”

Hollis smiled softly and said, “I don’t know how to help Raleigh. And I want to. She just seems so lost. It’s as if Eden disappeared into thin air, and that’s not possible. How did no one see anything? How has no one spotted her in a year?”

“They might have. They just don’t know it. It’s why I do this show.” Kenna looked around the large office space. “ Don’t get me wrong; I’m a reporter and always have been – I crave the story. It’s part of me. But I chose to do this show for a reason. These stories matter, and I want people to watch them because maybe they’ll think of something, and we’ll get Eden back to Raleigh.”

“Like you got me back to my mom?”

Kenna smiled and replied, “One of the best success stories to date.” She looked around again and then back at Hollis. “Hey, I don’t know if Raleigh would be up for this, but since you talk to her regularly, ask her if she wants me to introduce her to someone who might be able to help. It’s no promise or guarantee, but I know someone who’s been working cold cases for a while, and she’s handled several missing-person cases. She’s not a local cop, FBI, or even a PI, but she’s a Lieutenant in another jurisdiction. She’s got experience, and she’d have a fresh set of eyes. I can ask if she’d be willing to at least take a look at the case. She might still say no, but I’d rather know that Raleigh would be okay with me asking before I do. If she’s not interested, I don’t want to have Dylan waste her time.”

“I can’t imagine Raleigh would say no to anyone trying to help her find her daughter,” Hollis said, her ears perking up at the idea of help coming Raleigh’s way.

“You’d be surprised… Some parents reach a point where they want to do it alone. I’ve seen it happen before. They stop trusting the cops because they’re not bringing their baby home. I know a lot of officers who would give their right arms to return a child to a parent, but it’s hard to see that dedication when you’re the parent.”

Hollis’s phone buzzed. She looked at the screen and turned back to Kenna after pressing the ignore symbol first.

“Any advice on what I should do if my father keeps reaching out through his lawyer to get me to come for a visit or be a character witness?”

“He wants you to be a character witness?”

“The lawyer has left several messages asking me to talk to him because he wants to know if I will testify at some pre- trial hearing if the judge allows it.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t want to be involved. That’s the honest answer. I just want to spend time with my mom, catch up, work here so I don’t go broke, and maybe I can contribute something, like with the Rodriguez case. I wish I could just put it all behind me, but I don’t think that’s likely to happen anytime soon.”

“Probably not,” Kenna agreed. “He’s confessed, right? It’s pretty obvious what happened. Is there even going to be a trial?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t returned the attorney’s calls yet. He’s my father – I love him, and I always will – I just don’t know if I can support him and go home to my mom, who’s dying of cancer at the same time.”

“What does your mom say about it?”

“I haven’t told her,” Hollis replied. “I don’t want to upset her. And I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, so I didn’t want to bring it up.”

“Maybe asking her what she thinks would help you figure it out.”

“I guess. But I don’t want her to think that I’m okay with what he did.”

“She’s your mom. She knows better than that.”

“Does she? She hasn’t seen me since I was five,” Hollis pointed out. “I don’t know if she really knows me all that well yet to know or not.”

Kenna laughed and said, “She knows. Mothers know. I swear, the moment we brought Aaliyah home, it’s like I got another fifty years of mom wisdom deposited into my brain. Ripley and I have talked about it a lot. It’s funny how it happens. She knows you. She always has. She’s tied to you in a way that no one else can or ever will be, Hollis. She’s your mom.” Kenna shrugged a shoulder. “I could go years without seeing Aaliyah, and I hope that never happens, but I’d still know my daughter. I know who she is. I don’t know exactly who she’ll become yet, and I’m excited to see her grow up and discover more of herself, but I’ve watched her share her lunch with a student in class who didn’t have anything to eat that day when I was there for parents’ day at school. I have an idea that she’ll grow up to be a kind person who will want to take care of people like her mom does.”

“Ripley said Aaliyah wants to be a reporter when she grows up,” Hollis noted.

“She’s excited by the cameras and the makeup, mostly, but she takes after Ripley so much. It’s crazy how that happens: biologically, she’s not ours, but in every other way, she is, and I see Ripley in her all the time. She’s got a little of me in her, too, but she’ll probably take after Ripley when it comes to work. I don’t know if she’ll be a social worker, exactly, but she’s a natural-born leader and loves helping people.”

“That’s you, Kenna,” Hollis replied.

Kenna smiled and said, “I guess it’s both of us, then. Just trust me on this: your mom knows who you are, Hollis. She always has.” Kenna stood up from where she’d been leaning. “Can you ask Raleigh about my friend, Dylan?”

“Sure. I can call her tonight.”

“Great. Let me know. I’ve got to go review the outline for the next show.”

Kenna walked into her office, and Hollis sat there wondering how true that was. Did her mother really know her enough yet to understand that if she decided to testify on her father’s behalf, it didn’t mean she condoned what he’d done? She finished up her work with that question still rolling around in her brain and headed home to cook them both a mediocre dinner that her mother would tell her was great because she was such a good person.

When Hollis got there, though, she found her mother at the stove, looking like she had a little more color than usual.

“Hey, sweetie. How was work?” the woman asked, all smiles.

“It was good. You’re cooking?”

“I’m making something easy. Don’t worry,” she replied. “It’s almost ready. Are you hungry? ”

“Yeah,” Hollis said, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she replied, turning to Hollis.

“Dad’s lawyer keeps leaving me messages. He wants to know if I’ll testify for him in some pre-trial hearing. Or, I don’t know, maybe the actual trial. He hasn’t explained if Dad is pleading guilty or if there will be an actual trial in the messages. I haven’t called him back because I don’t know what to say.”

“I see,” her mom said, losing her smile. She moved to sit down next to Hollis at the table. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” she replied honestly.

“And you’re worried about me?”

“How did you know?”

“Honey, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m the mom. That’s my job.” She placed a hand on top of Hollis’s. “He’s your father.”

“He took me from you.”

“He did. And I hate that he did that more than you will ever know, but he’s still your father. From what you told me, he took care of you. He did the best he could, at least. He loved you. You love him, Hollis. I know this is confusing for you, but you should do whatever you want to do here. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I don’t want you to think that I–”

“I don’t,” her mom interrupted. “And I won’t. You came home to me, Hollis. You’ve given up your whole life in Vancouver so that we could have this time together.”

Hollis nodded and said, “Okay. I still have to think about it.”

“Take as long as you want. It’s entirely up to you, okay?”

Hollis nodded again and said, “I’m going to go change out of these clothes for dinner, if that’s okay.”

“Sure,” her mom replied .

Hollis left her in the kitchen and went to the guest room, which had her suitcases and clothes strewn about. She’d need to figure out what to do with her apartment and how to get more of her stuff here since she’d already worn the same clothes multiple times and had to buy new stuff for work. While her mom finished dinner and she changed, she decided to give Raleigh a quick call to ask her Kenna’s question, so she dialed as she kicked off her work shoes.

“Hey,” Raleigh said.

“Hi. Is now an okay time for a quick call?”

“Sure. Is everything okay?”

“Yes. I was just talking to Kenna today, and she asked me to talk to you about something.”

“O-k-a-y,” Raleigh replied, drawing out the word in obvious concern.

“She knows someone who, I guess, is a Lieutenant in another police jurisdiction. Kenna didn’t tell me where exactly, but this woman works cold cases and has some experience with missing persons. Kenna said she could reach out to her for you, if you’d be up for talking to her. She made it clear that there were no promises, but–”

“Yes,” Raleigh interrupted. “When?”

“Oh, I don’t know. She has to call her and ask first, but she wanted to make sure it was okay with you.”

“Yes, it’s more than okay. I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“Okay. I’ll tell her tomorrow, and–”

“I have her number. I’ll text her now,” Raleigh replied.

“Sure. That works,” Hollis said.

“If whoever it is agrees to help, Hollis, do you think you’d be able to come with me to meet her? I know I’ve been asking a lot of you, and–”

“I’ll be there,” Hollis told her, taking off her pants. “Just let me know when, okay?”

“Thank you,” Raleigh replied.

Hollis hung up, and after she finished changing, she went back to the kitchen to find her mother plating dinner and humming as she did. She smiled, and tears welled in her eyes.