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Authors: Elaine Orr
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time.
“Now what?”
I could tell from how he asked the question that Lucas wanted to continue his search . “In a bit I’ll go to Harry’s and my office, which is in his house, and enter all this information into a computer. It’ll spit out nice-looking floor plans. But before that, I’d like you to come to the police station with me.”
For the first time I understood what the saying mulish expression meant.
“I can’t…” he began.
“You can. They won’t know who you are. And if you tell them about Kim, they won’t consider her a criminal. They’ll just keep an eye out for her.”
I could almost see his brain working . “Lucas, you aren’t going to find her by walking around town for another week.”
“What about the hospital hoodie thing?”
“They probably wouldn’t have a clue it was you, but you have to tell them what you saw. Then they can stop trying to figure out who was on those security tapes and spend more time on other clues.”
“Jolie, I can’t…”
“What are you so afraid of? If someone saw something that would help you find Kim, you’d want them to come forward.” I sat my purse on the kitchen counter and leaned against it as I stuffed my camera and notepad into it my bag. When I glanced at Lucas he had tears in his eyes.
“It might get her hurt.” He said this in almost a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
From a pocket , Lucas took a paper towel he had brought from my kitchen and blew his nose. “I think maybe the people my father ticked off figured out who we were. Because of my mom’s funeral. So someone might really be looking for us.”
I stared at him for a couple of seconds. “Sit next to me by the hearth. I’m tired of standing.”
We sat. “My dad put an obituary in the paper in Atlanta. The kind you pay for, so he put in a picture. He said maybe my mom’s sisters would see it and they’d know what happened to us.”
“Couldn’t he send them a note? Like from another town?”
Lucas gave a brief smile. “You watch cop shows on TV. The Marshal Service guys told us a hundred times not to do something like that. They said any kind of what they called direct communication could be dangerous for us, and for my aunts.”
“So he did an obituary.”
“Yeah. Well, my mom was really good looking.” When I nodded, he continued. “I guess these guys my dad did…stuff for read a lot of obituaries. I think they recognized her.”
“Wow . Why do you think that?”
“Because the day after the funeral, a man came to the door . I answered. He had flowers, and said one of his kids went to school with Kim. He said he couldn’t make the funeral, so he wanted to drop off flowers. I said my dad was out, but I’d have him call. The man just grinned and said that would be good.”
“But he didn’t have kids in school with Kim?”
“I don’t think so. My dad was sitting down when he read the card or I think he would have sat on the floor. All it said was ‘thinking of you.’ It was signed by someone named Benny.”
“Did your dad say who it was?”
Lucas shook his head. “No, but I could tell he knew, and he asked a lot of questions about what the guy had said, especially the part about Kim. I think that’s why she left.”
“I don’t get it.”
Lucas gave his trademark shrug. “She would probably have left anyway. Mom’s suicide really shook her up. All of us. But Kim was with her all the time. I could tell she thought she should have seen it coming. So she could have prevented it.”
“If someone is determined to kill themselves, they’ll do it.”
He nodded. “Probably. Mom had been on meds. I guess Kim knew she stopped taking them. Mom told Kim she was cured.” He put the word in air quotes. “She said she didn’t need pills. If Mom had told Dad, he would have made her start again. Kim didn’t know there’s no cure for bipolar disorder. That’s what Mom had. So, Kim didn’t tell Dad that Mom stopped the pills. Mom
“Now what?”
I could tell from how he asked the question that Lucas wanted to continue his search . “In a bit I’ll go to Harry’s and my office, which is in his house, and enter all this information into a computer. It’ll spit out nice-looking floor plans. But before that, I’d like you to come to the police station with me.”
For the first time I understood what the saying mulish expression meant.
“I can’t…” he began.
“You can. They won’t know who you are. And if you tell them about Kim, they won’t consider her a criminal. They’ll just keep an eye out for her.”
I could almost see his brain working . “Lucas, you aren’t going to find her by walking around town for another week.”
“What about the hospital hoodie thing?”
“They probably wouldn’t have a clue it was you, but you have to tell them what you saw. Then they can stop trying to figure out who was on those security tapes and spend more time on other clues.”
“Jolie, I can’t…”
“What are you so afraid of? If someone saw something that would help you find Kim, you’d want them to come forward.” I sat my purse on the kitchen counter and leaned against it as I stuffed my camera and notepad into it my bag. When I glanced at Lucas he had tears in his eyes.
“It might get her hurt.” He said this in almost a whisper.
“What do you mean?”
From a pocket , Lucas took a paper towel he had brought from my kitchen and blew his nose. “I think maybe the people my father ticked off figured out who we were. Because of my mom’s funeral. So someone might really be looking for us.”
I stared at him for a couple of seconds. “Sit next to me by the hearth. I’m tired of standing.”
We sat. “My dad put an obituary in the paper in Atlanta. The kind you pay for, so he put in a picture. He said maybe my mom’s sisters would see it and they’d know what happened to us.”
“Couldn’t he send them a note? Like from another town?”
Lucas gave a brief smile. “You watch cop shows on TV. The Marshal Service guys told us a hundred times not to do something like that. They said any kind of what they called direct communication could be dangerous for us, and for my aunts.”
“So he did an obituary.”
“Yeah. Well, my mom was really good looking.” When I nodded, he continued. “I guess these guys my dad did…stuff for read a lot of obituaries. I think they recognized her.”
“Wow . Why do you think that?”
“Because the day after the funeral, a man came to the door . I answered. He had flowers, and said one of his kids went to school with Kim. He said he couldn’t make the funeral, so he wanted to drop off flowers. I said my dad was out, but I’d have him call. The man just grinned and said that would be good.”
“But he didn’t have kids in school with Kim?”
“I don’t think so. My dad was sitting down when he read the card or I think he would have sat on the floor. All it said was ‘thinking of you.’ It was signed by someone named Benny.”
“Did your dad say who it was?”
Lucas shook his head. “No, but I could tell he knew, and he asked a lot of questions about what the guy had said, especially the part about Kim. I think that’s why she left.”
“I don’t get it.”
Lucas gave his trademark shrug. “She would probably have left anyway. Mom’s suicide really shook her up. All of us. But Kim was with her all the time. I could tell she thought she should have seen it coming. So she could have prevented it.”
“If someone is determined to kill themselves, they’ll do it.”
He nodded. “Probably. Mom had been on meds. I guess Kim knew she stopped taking them. Mom told Kim she was cured.” He put the word in air quotes. “She said she didn’t need pills. If Mom had told Dad, he would have made her start again. Kim didn’t know there’s no cure for bipolar disorder. That’s what Mom had. So, Kim didn’t tell Dad that Mom stopped the pills. Mom
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