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“Your father isn’t here anymore. There is no one who knows you like I do. And until I find…” He stopped.
“Until you find what?” I pressed. “What was that errand?” I demanded. I had had enough of this game. I didn’t want to blame Kimble as much as I blamed my father for making this man pledge his life to me, when I’d never asked for it. I was furious Kimble was still carrying out jobs for a dead man. I was angry that Kimble wanted Knight out of my life. This car was filled with anger.
He turned with a stiff twist to face me in the backseat.
“You have a half-sister.”
“I do not.”
“She lives in Philadelphia. She’s twenty-four.”
“No. That’s not possible.” I shook my head.
“She doesn’t know about you. She doesn’t know the business.”
I looked out the window. There were several police cars parked near the front door. I saw volunteers walking in and out carrying crates of drinks and lunch. Some had banners. Some had stacks of flyers.
Kimble didn’t care that I stopped asking questions. “He thought her name was Simone. All I had to go on was a baby photo and the hospital where she was born.”
“He wouldn’t have left a child like that.” It wasn’t possible. My father was cold, but there was one thing that warmed him, and that was family blood. The ties and power it gave him. If he had could have collected five more children, he would have.
“The woman was married. Your father was a widower. He wanted the baby. She hid her and raised her with her husband. That’s all I have. The last names don’t even match so I keep coming up empty.”
“Stop. Stop.” I shook my head.
“It’s true.” He reached in his wallet and withdrew a folded photo. He handed it to me.
I examined it. It was a picture of a baby. It was blurry and there were no features that stood out. It was just a baby. I didn’t feel anything when I looked at it. I gave it back to Kimble.
“I can’t do this now. I have to talk to Crew’s parents.” I nodded toward the hotel lobby. “Tell them I have a few minutes.”
Kimble began to open his mouth. “All right. I’ll bring them to the car.”
“Thank you.” I picked up my phone and waited for what was going to be another hellish conversation.
A few minutes later, the back door opened and Kimble ushered the parents into the backseat.
“Mr. and Mrs. West,” I greeted them. “I’m so sorry. Please come in. It’s cool.”
They observed the interior of the SUV and climbed inside. Kimble shut the door and stood outside the vehicle.
“I’m Crew’s boss. He’s very important to me. More than I could describe.” The three years he had worked by my side couldn’t be summed up in a quick meeting like this one.
His mother started weeping. Shit. I handed her a tissue. “Here. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now. Everyone is nervous.”
His father had the same blue eyes as Crew. “We just want our son home. That’s it. We appreciate you coming down here, Ms. Martin.”
“Of course.” I waited for Mrs. West to blot her cheeks. “I’d like to help with the search.”
“We have a lot of people in the city looking for him.”
“Not like that exactly,” I explained. “Please, use the resources I have. I’d like to offer reward money for his safe return, but anonymously. Just to keep the attention where it should be, and that’s on Crew.”
The parents exchanged a look of relief or confusion. I wasn’t sure which.
“That’s very generous of you,” he responded. “But, we don’t want to put you out.”
“You won’t. I want him back. You can’t really put a price tag on that, can you?”
