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I don’t know why I’m surprised that she knows most of the people we’ve run into.
The bank manager guides us to the secure room and leaves us be.
I can sense Halley’s nerves but I don’t say anything once again, knowing she needs to do this by herself.
The box is a small unassuming thing, and when she takes it out, Halley stares at it for a few minutes before shooting me a look as if to reassure herself that I’m still here. I meet her gaze steadily, and then she opens it.
With shaking hands, she takes out a letter and reads through it. It looks very short and she hands it to me after she’s done, her eyes confused.
‘Hal-bear,
I hope that you don’t have to receive this. I really do.
But if you have, then that means I’m not there by your side.
I must have tried to take you and run. And I’ve probably failed.
If you’ve led a normal life so far, then stop asking questions or looking for me.
That will keep you alive.
Sell the house as quietly as you can and move someone far away from Chesapeake City. I’ve left you a significant amount of money in the house. The same place where you used to hide as a child. Don’t tell anyone where you’re going and just run. Don’t trust anyone.
You. Are. Not. Safe.
Love and kisses and hugs,
Mama’
Halley stares at the table, blankly.
I fold the letter, neatly, trying to process the words. They don’t sound like they’re coming from a deranged woman. Halley’s mother was clearly in trouble and she believed Halley to be in danger as well. But a danger that still existed all this time?
It doesn’t make sense.
“I want to show this letter to Detective Egerton. He was the one in charge of Mom’s case. Maybe this will help find her.”
“Halley,” I begin, wary of her calm tone.
How do I tell her not to have too much hope?
Her usually smiling face is blank. “I have to try.”
So, I take a deep breath and grasp her hand, making her look up, and I give her a wry smile. “All right then. Let’s go see your detective.”
As we put the box back, a nagging feeling in the back of my mind makes me uncomfortable, and Felix’s question from the day of the interview lingers in my mind.
‘Have you ever met your father?’
10
Halley
Detective Egerton hasn’t changed all that much, unless you count his beer belly and slightly greying hair. He still has a serious countenance and that clumsy nature of his. He greets me, warmly, and offers me a chocolate glazed donut, which I refuse.
“I wasn’t expecting to receive your phone call,” he tells me once he offers me and Jace a seat at his desk. “I’ve looked into the case files, Halley, but I’ll be honest with you. The trail on your mother went cold a month later. The cell tower that last picked up her signal was somewhere in Seattle and that was two months after you were found. We had no reason to believe this was a kidnapping, so our chief told us to consider the case closed.”
I lean forward in my seat. “But what about the car? Nobody ever found it and suddenly—?”
