Chapter 7

7

"It sure is quiet around here without the kids around," Nash commented as he sat by the fire pit outside with Charlotte while Coy and Kenzie delved into additional missing persons files.

"I'm just glad they're safe," Charlotte replied.

"Nora and Cut will leave tomorrow." Coy shared with the group. "I just got word that she's being released with the baby. Dillon is sending the plane, a whole security detail, and they'll be escorted from the hospital straight to the plane and take off immediately after."

"Wow. That sounds like a pretty big production." Kenzie added. "I'm glad this option is available for them. I couldn't imagine how it would be to bring Nora and that brand new baby here with all that's been happening."

"Getting the charges dropped against Nora was key. I think her doctor kept her and the baby a little longer than necessary just to keep them safe. She was almost stuck here to face all of this, terrified, healing, with a newborn." Coy nodded in agreement, casting a curious glance at Kenzie. "Pretty sure someone called in favors."

Kenzie grinned, "I might have called in a favor or two."

Coy tossed the file he'd been working on into a pile and gave a frustrated shrug. "We're out of files and came up with nothing."

"What's next?" Nash asked, "Expand to further counties and the date range?"

"I really don't know." Coy answered, "What if there was never a missing persons report filed? We're just wasting time and effort on a dead end."

"But on the off chance there was a report…" Kenzie continued. "We have to try."

"Odds are, this wasn't a clean and honest death. There's something sinister about the whole thing. My money is on no report filed because murder, death, and shallow graves don't just happen for good reasons. If someone from around here had been missing for this long… they'd still be doing weekly search parties." Coy sighed heavily, the weight of disappointment settling upon his shoulders like a heavy cloak.

As he surveyed the scattered files before him, each representing a piece to the wrong puzzle in a mystery that seemed increasingly inscrutable, a sense of defeat crept into his heart. Despite their best efforts, the answers remained elusive, taunting him with their elusiveness. It was a frustrating reminder of the limits of their knowledge and the complexity of the task at hand.

"Isn't it odd that nothing else has happened around here since Cut and Nora's accident? Nothing here, nothing in town." Nash asked. "That can't be a coincidence, can it? Maybe it's over."

"Or it's simply the calm before the storm," Coy said flatly.

Devyn stepped out on the patio, a stack of their mother's journals in hand and Diesel at her side.

"Find anything we can use?" Nash asked her.

"I don't think so. These were hard to read." She explained. "Something happened in these. Something sad."

"Like what?" Coy asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. There are gaps in the journals I've read so far ––Mama didn't document every single day, but the gaps of time in these are much larger. It's like… she was distracted. Troubled. Something with Pop, I think. She's worried about him in these."

"Any specific mentions?"

"No. Most aren't even dated. I'm figuring out the order by piecing together a timeline based on what she shares about us, our milestones, and funny little memories when she mentions them. So, I'm getting a ballpark idea but nothing specific. However, this particular group doesn't mention us much –– just Pop."

"Interesting." Kenzie pondered. "No specifics, though?"

"Nothing yet, but I have more to read." Devyn shared. "I also found another set of birth certificates, though. They appear to have different signatures, though I can't tell. Most of it isn't legible –– water damage or something. The pages are smeared."

"Maybe that's why there are multiple copies?" Coy asked. "The originals are damaged?"

"Could be replacements. Three of them appear to be Nash's alone. Maybe Mama kept the originals for sentimental reasons."

"That sounds like her." Coy smiled, remembering his mother fondly.

Kenzie's phone pinged, signaling an incoming message. She quickly glanced at the screen to read it before stowing it away, "That was Shanks. He's been conducting surveillance in town for the past few days. I provided him with the pictures we captured of those men a few weeks ago to keep an eye out for, as well as any others who don't seem to be locals and appear out of place, similar to those guys. He hasn't seen them at all."

"I knew they were up to no good," Coy said. "You think they're behind this?"

"Maybe?" Kenzie shrugged. "They made their point, and now they're gone?"

"Even if that theory sticks, it doesn't explain the decades-old remains found here," Coy said.

"Or what happened to Nora and Cut last week," Nash added.

Rip arrived through the back door, holding a stack of papers. As he settled with the group around the fire pit, he passed the papers around to everyone.

"Got an update." He said. "These are 3D renderings of what the person those remains belong to would potentially look like based on DNA markers. It's not one hundred percent accurate as it is new technology. Still, it comes pretty close at determining eye color, hair, suspected facial features specific to ethnicity, and all the other things DNA can tell us –– it's pretty boring."

"Boring?" Charlotte chuckled, "I've heard of this and find it absolutely fascinating. They use it to generate potential suspect sketches for crimes in instances where there are no eyewitnesses but DNA evidence is left behind."

"That's… exactly… right." Rip hesitated before responding, taken aback by Charlotte's familiarity with the subject.

"I know. Strange thing to know. I watch a lot of true crime and love a good documentary." Charlotte shrugged nonchalantly and returned her focus to studying the images.

"Right. Don't we all." Rip remarked, almost under his breath, earning a chuckle from the group. "You'll notice there are a couple of different compositions using age-progression technology to show what our vic may have looked like over a span of several years since we don't know exactly when…"

"He looks… familiar," Nash said, comparing multiple versions of the photos.

Devyn snorted, "Because he looks kind of like you. I mean, different hair and eye color, and rough around the edges."

"So, nothing like me." Nash elbowed his sister.

"Yes. And no. I'm mostly teasing, but there is something familiar about him and a bit of a resemblance."

"I see it too." Coy said, "Who the hell did we dig up?"

Rip, already on edge, tensed as Diesel began to growl, his eyes locked on the darkness beyond, signaling that something or someone was present. The group fell silent, observing Rip as he assessed the situation, awaiting his signal to act, whether it be with urgency or to simply remain calm.

"I might be able to help with that." As he approached from the shadows, a familiar man's voice emerged, causing the group to startle. "If… you really want to know."