CHAPTER 11

“I ’m nervous,” Raleigh stated. “Why am I nervous?”

“I don’t know,” Hollis replied. “Kenna did say this cop is kind of a prodigy or something, on her way to becoming the youngest captain in her department’s history. She, apparently, built the cold case unit from scratch and now has four detectives underneath her. I did some research on her. Her unit has solved some big cases. Not just in their jurisdiction, either. They help other towns when they can, so you’re basically calling in the specialists when you reach out. I guess she and Kenna go way back. She was actually on an episode of the show years ago.”

“The FBI hasn’t found anything, even with the leads from the show. I don’t expect her to help much. But if she can at least tell me if the FBI is doing their job, I’d be grateful. It’s so hard to tell when you’re on this side of it. To me, it just seems like after a few days, they move you to the back of the line because something else comes up. I know they’re trying, so that’s unfair, but it’s still how it feels. I mean, there are only so many FBI agents… And there are way too many children going missing every day. They can’t possibly put all their focus on one little girl forever.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Hollis replied, taking a drink of her bad diner coffee.

“Why did you order that? You hate it,” Raleigh said, chuckling at her.

“It seemed like the sort of meeting you have coffee with. I don’t know.”

“Do you want something else instead? Have my Coke,” she offered, pushing the soda she’d ordered over to Hollis. “Caffeine with no bitterness. I’m not drinking the thing anyway. I’m too nervous. ”

“I’m okay,” Hollis told her.

“Are you?” Raleigh asked. “We seem to talk about me a lot. I know you’re worried about your dad and the possibility of a trial. Have you decided if you’re going to help him?”

“Not yet. I’m leaning toward no, but I’m not sure if that’s out of revenge or not.”

“I think you’re entitled to a little revenge, Hollis.”

“Revenge is what got me kidnapped to begin with.”

“What do you mean?”

“He says he took me because my mom was trying to keep me away from him, but I know that’s not true. The court made the decision. My mom went along with it because she was worried about his drinking, but the judge was the one who gave him supervised visits. He blamed her , though, and he took me to spite her. I know he loved me, too, but I don’t think he was motivated by love. How could he have been? If he had been, I would have lived with my mom, and he would’ve gotten help for his problem. Or, at least, a job and a decent place to live with me. That would have been love.”

“You’re right,” Raleigh agreed. “Why are you leaning toward not helping if not for revenge?”

“I talked to my mom. She said she’d be okay with me helping, but it just feels like a betrayal to me, and I haven’t been able to figure out how to square it in my mind. Help him – hurt her. That’s all I keep thinking.”

“I don’t know this for a fact because I can’t, but if Eden knew her father and he’d taken her, I’d understand if she wanted to help him. I’d want to kill him, obviously, but I wouldn’t expect her to feel the same way, especially if he basically brainwashed her and also took care of her for years.”

“She’s here,” Hollis said, looking up at the glass door to the diner as someone opened it.

Raleigh recognized the woman, too. She had done her own research on Lieutenant Dylan Easton. She knew better than to get her hopes up. But Dylan had closed some pretty big cases, as Hollis had obviously noticed, too. The biggest was a serial strangler who had murdered thirteen women. The FBI had been on this guy, but he’d killed someone in Dylan’s jurisdiction, and the case had been cold for years when she’d found a lead, chased it down, and got the guy. He was now awaiting trial, and Dylan, apparently, was awaiting a promotion.

“Lieutenant Easton,” Raleigh said loudly, waving a little.

Dylan looked over and nodded. She was wearing what Raleigh now referred to as cop clothes. Her badge was on her hip. Her gun was in its holster on the other one. She had gray slacks and black boots she could run in. She also had a gray jacket and a white button-down under it. On her left hand was a simple wedding band, but other than that, she wore no jewelry. She had these dark, serious eyes and hair to match, but her hair was also shorter than in the most recent picture of her Raleigh had seen. Dylan looked like someone who meant business, and Raleigh needed that right now.

“Raleigh Leonard?” Dylan asked when she approached the booth.

“Yes, that’s me. This is my friend, Hollis. I hope it’s okay that I brought her. I needed moral support.”

“Sure,” Dylan replied, holding out her hand for Raleigh to shake and then Hollis. “And I should confess that I recognize you both. I looked you up before I agreed to help, and Kenna mentioned you, Hollis.”

“I told her I’d be coming with Raleigh,” Hollis replied.

Then, Hollis placed an arm on the back of the torn vinyl booth behind Raleigh. They’d sat on the same side of the booth in order to give Dylan the other side when she arrived. Raleigh recognized Hollis’s move as a protective one and maybe a comforting one, too. She smiled a little at how kind Hollis was to her. Even though she had her own things to work through right now, this woman still took the time to come with Raleigh tonight.

“Sorry, it’s so late. I wanted Hollis here, but her mom is sick, and she tries to spend all the time with her that she can, so we usually meet up once she’s asleep for the night. ”

“It’s okay. I just got off shift,” Dylan said, sitting down on the other side of the booth. “My wife picked me up and is now probably buying no groceries at the store so that she has an excuse for us to order in tonight. There’s this new soup-and-salad place, like, ten minutes from the house that she’s been obsessed with recently. I can only eat so many types of soup and salad before I want a burger, you know?” Dylan smiled and rolled her eyes. “Anyway… She’s picking me up when she’s done since my car is in the shop, so I don’t know exactly how much time I have now, but I’m happy to start the conversation and talk next steps from there.”

“I don’t know where to begin,” Raleigh said, moving a little closer to Hollis, feeling uncertain.

“Well, I read the file, and Kenna gave me the research her show’s done and the episode itself, but I haven’t gone through that stuff yet. I’d like to hear from you, in your own words, about what happened.”

“Start at the day she went missing?” Raleigh asked.

“Let’s back up even further. How about you start the week before?”

“Why?”

“Because someone took your daughter so quickly, no one even noticed. No one saw them. Something like that isn’t impulsive. It takes at least some planning. That means they might have been around, and you didn’t notice.”

“The FBI already asked me this. I told them that no one had been–”

“I know,” Dylan interrupted softly. “They asked the same questions, so this probably feels like I’m going to do the same things they did. And I might – I can’t guarantee anything – but this helps me. Every set of eyes, every mind out there looking for Eden, makes it more likely that we’ll get her home.”

“I know… You’re right,” Raleigh said, sighing. She picked up the ice water that had been placed on their table when they arrived and took a small sip, needing to coat her suddenly dry throat. “I don’t remember anyone looking or st aring at her. We had a pretty normal week. I work from home, and my days can be flexible, so I didn’t have to worry about a babysitter or daycare. Eden spent all of her time with me. I think we went to the grocery store a couple of times that week. We went to the park a few times, too. I took her for a walk around the block once a day.”

“Same time every day?” Dylan asked.

“Usually. I took my lunch break, and we’d walk. Well, she was usually in the stroller for at least half of it. Then, we’d go back, and I’d make us lunch. At least once a week, she’d have a playdate with some of the kids from the neighborhood, but that happened on different days and at different times to work around the parents’ schedules, and there hadn’t been anyone new there in months.”

“And the parents all still live nearby?”

“Yes. I still see them every now and then. They helped with the initial search and gave statements, too.”

“So, you had a routine, for the most part?”

“As much as you can with a toddler. Do you have kids?”

“No, it’s just Ada and me,” Dylan said.

“Well, the books tell you to make routines as much as you can, but toddlers have other plans,” Raleigh told her, laughing a little. “But, yeah, I tried to work until five, and if we had to go out to the store or something, we’d do that after so I could get us back and make dinner, do the bath, play and read, and then put her to bed.”

“Do you have any pictures of that week?”

“Yes. And I also gave them to the FBI and the local cops.”

“Can I see them, too?”

“Sure. They didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, though. I have a file of them all put together since I had to send them to so many agencies. I can forward them to you right now.” Raleigh pulled out her phone.

“And you know I have to get the okay from the locals here to work this, right? I can’t just come in and stomp all over their case. I’d be working this when I’m off-shift, so I can’t spend all my time on it, either.”

“I understand,” Raleigh replied. “And I can pay you. I don’t have a lot left over–”

“No, I don’t need your money,” Dylan said, waving her off.

“Please, you have to let me–”

“I don’t help out when I can for money; I help out because I want to help. If I can make a difference, I want to. I’m also a police officer, and I make a paycheck already. I’m not a PI.”

“Why?” Hollis asked, and Raleigh turned to her. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I’m just curious why you do this.”

Dylan leaned back and looked out the window next to the booth at the night street and the cars passing by.

“A long time ago, I was new to the force, and a little boy went missing. His name was Noah. I made a promise to his sister, who was with him when he disappeared. I told her I’d find him.”

“Noah Cramer, right?” Hollis asked. “I read about that one online when I looked you up.”

“Noah Cramer, yes. I searched for him for ten years before I reconnected with his sister. I’d tried day in and day out to find out what happened to him, and I couldn’t. I did find out that he wasn’t technically related to the family. He’d been switched at birth, and his sister had a biological brother out there. I’d promised her that I’d find her brother, and she reminded me then that I did. Technically, though, I found her brother Oliver. Noah was still missing. But I told her that I’d never give up.” Dylan paused and looked back at them. “And I didn’t.”

“You found him two years ago,” Hollis recalled.

“You could say that,” Dylan replied. “He probably died the day he went missing, though we’ll never know that for sure. We found his body.” She paused again. “Anyway, I’ve watched his sister go through this, and his parents, too, and it’s awful, the not knowing. I’ve seen the changes in them ever since they had a funeral and a proper burial for him. Now that they know he’s gone and not out there in pain, it’s a little bit better.”

“You keep up with the families you help?” Raleigh asked.

“Sometimes. But this is different,” Dylan replied, smiling. “I married the sister. Ada Cramer is my wife.”

“And she’s here.”

Raleigh looked up at the woman with dark-blonde hair and blue eyes who had just walked in and instantly sat down next to Dylan.

“Hey, babe,” she said.

“That was a fast trip to the store,” Dylan noted.

“Like I went to the grocery store when you know I want that chicken Caesar salad.” She turned to Raleigh and Hollis before adding, “Hi. I’m Ada. I assume my wife was telling you stories about me.”

“I was telling them about Noah, babe,” Dylan said, wrapping her arm around the back of the booth.

“Ah, yeah,” Ada said, sobering. “Your daughter’s missing. I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks,” Raleigh replied.

“I can give you more time, if you need it,” Ada said to Dylan. “I can go pick up the salads and stuff.”

“I’m ordering a burger here. You can wait to eat, if you want,” Dylan said, smiling at her wife.

“Veggie burger?”

“Nope. I’m getting an all-beef burger, dripping with fat. I might even add bacon to it.”

“I wouldn’t risk it,” Hollis suggested. “If the coffee is this bad when all they have to do is add water, I don’t know that a burger with bacon is the best idea.”

“See? Salad for you tonight, Lieutenant,” Ada said, tugging on Dylan’s jacket.

“Raleigh, I’ll work this case, okay?” Dylan told her. “I’ll help however I can. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“I know. I get how this goes. Unfortunately, I’m used to it. ”

“I wish I could say I didn’t know how you feel,” Ada said. “And if you ever want to talk, I can listen.”

“Ada’s a child-advocate attorney now,” Dylan added. “She went through this herself, but she’s also really good at her job, so she’d be a good person to talk to, if you need one.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Raleigh replied.

“Well, we should get going,” Dylan spoke again. “I’ve got the files, like I said, and I’ll give you a call after I take a look at the pictures you sent so that we can arrange a time for a full interview.”

“Okay.”

“Have a good night,” Dylan said.

The couple then stood and left the diner. Once they were gone, Hollis’s arm moved from behind Raleigh.

“Hey, Hollis?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know more about what happened to Ada’s brother, Noah?”

“Yeah, I read the story. Why?”

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know that that’s helpful for you right now, Raleigh. Come on. Let’s pay, and I’ll take you home.”

“Do you think that’s what’s going to happen to–”

“No, I don’t,” Hollis interrupted and took Raleigh’s hand. “Noah was a teenage boy. It’s totally different. Dylan’s going to help, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Raleigh said somewhat unconvincingly.