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It still kills me deep inside that Aria went missing for nearly twelve months, and not one person knew she was missing. That doesn’t sit right with me. No one should be able to fall off the radar for that long.
"Chris also has the police radios rigged. He doesn't trust that they'll tell us everything since we have a keen interest. If anything comes to them, we'll know about it before they tell us. We have every avenue covered. We just need to dig deep."
I'll dig to the ends of the Earth if it means Aria can move on with her life.
***
True to my mom's word, at eleven a.m., she's walking through my house like she owns the place, arms full of containers.
"Hey, Mom. Do you need a hand?"
"No, sweetheart." She kisses my cheek. "I've got everything right here. Where's my favorite girl?"
At that moment, Aria leans against the doorframe of my kitchen. I'm glad to see she isn't covered up in baggy clothes today. She only usually feels comfortable wearing tighter clothes that showcase her bump around Clay and me, and even then, she’ll cover up with one of my hoodies.
My mom has no filter. She drops what she's doing and engulfs Aria in her arms. "It's so good to see you, sweetheart. You’re glowing."
"It's good to see you too, Angela." Aria clears her throat. “It’s like time has stood still. You haven’t changed.”
“I don’t know how with my three boys. They’d drive a saint to drink at times.”
“Mom!” I laugh, shaking my head.
I want to argue my point with my mom, but our jobs have always caused her to worry. Even now, Shawland Security isn’t the safest job in the world.
I can see the unshed tears in Aria’s eyes. I can only imagine what she's thinking about now.
Was this how she wanted the meeting with her parents to go? I'm on the fence with how her dad behaved yesterday, because I don't have kids. I can stand here now and say I'd do anything for my kids. I'd be there for them through thick and thin, good and bad. I can't imagine acting appallingly, but then to find out your daughter was captured for a year, raped and abused, and is now carrying her rapist’s baby. Well, that must be a mind fucker.
"Come and have a seat. I have lots of goodies for you to eat. You and this little one need to keep up your strength. "
My mom makes herself busy in my kitchen and I mouth, ‘I'm sorry’ to Aria. She shrugs and takes a seat at my breakfast bar. If my mom can get her to eat a decent amount, I'll put up with any of her fussing. She can take over the whole compound if she helps Aria see that no one will think any less of her. I’ll even move her into my house for the foreseeable future, and that thought is making me break out in cold sweats already.
"I'm going to go over to the office since you two are busy here. Mom, you do realize that you're going to be feeding the five thousand when everyone knows you're here."
"Absolutely. I brought enough. Besides, I thought Aria and I could bake some cookies for your lunch break. "
"Mom..."
I want to tell my mom to slow down, but Aria reaches over and takes my hand. "I'm looking forward to baking cookies."
There is a slight smile on her face and I squeeze her hand. "And you're okay about me leaving you here for a while?"
"Can you see anyone bothering me with your mom here?"
I look over at my mom standing with her hands on her hips. I can't help but laugh, because she reminds me of the mom in Stop, Or My Mom Will Shoot.
Only I’d never give my mom a gun.
"You have a point. Extension five is for my office. Call if you need me." I place a kiss on her forehead and look over at my mom before leaving them to get on with it.
***
I've been in my office for an hour, going over every piece of information we've got, which isn't much. I feel like banging my head against a brick wall, because this is the bit I hated about being a detective. I hated hitting dead ends. I hated not giving comfort to the victims and their families, and it happened more than I liked. This was the part of the job that made my decision to leave easy.
"Al has just pulled up." Chris peeks around my doorframe before heading into the board room.
I don't know if it's a good thing that Al's here, but I stand up, crack my neck from side to side to ease some tension and make my way into the main board room in time to see Al and another man enter the room.
