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“Do you remember anything else that happened?” It scared Cassie to know the answer to her question, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking. “Anything that would’ve caused that kind of memory loss?”
Laura twisted her mouth to the side as she thought. “No, I don’t think so. But Mom and Dad kept me sheltered, you know? If something did happen, they wouldn’t have told me about it. I was pretty young at the time.”
“Do you think someone murdered her?” Michael asked. His voice was low for the first time since they’d sat down to breakfast. “I always figured someone kidnapped her and forced her to live with another family or something.”
Laura shrugged. “I’m not sure. I never thought to go back and look. I haven’t thought about her in years.”
“Kind of tragic, if you think about it. Being forgotten like that.”
“Well, her parents haven’t forgotten, that’s for sure. And I think she had a sister, too? Older than Cassie.”
“I’m going to look it up.” Michael pulled out his phone and started typing away. “God, if she was murdered, I’m going to feel so bad.”
“It’s not like kidnapping isn’t also a terrible crime.”
“Yeah, but you know what I mean.” Michael gasped and looked over at Cassie. “What if you saw her ghost?”
Cassie froze. “What?”
“Laura said you used to talk to her like she was still there, right? What if you were talking to her ghost? They say kids can see things like that.”
Cassie was on her feet before she even realized she was moving. Michael and Laura both looked up at her in shock. A few heads turned in their direction, but Cassie ignored them. She dug around in her purse and pulled out a handful of twenties.
“Breakfast is on me.”
“Cassie, what—”
“I need to go make a phone call. I’m sorry.” She pulled out her phone and started walking away without waiting for their reactions. “It’s important. I’m sorry.”
She heard Laura yelling after her, but Cassie was already through the door and making a beeline for her car. She felt guilty making Michael take Laura home, but Cassie needed to be anywhere but there. And she wasn’t ready to go home yet.
She dialed David. He picked up on the first ring.
“I’ve got some free time. Need my help?”
13
Cassie put her car in park and double-checked the address on the mailbox in front of her against the one David had texted her. They matched. Seafoam green shutters stood out against the white siding of a modest colonial home. A shiny, black pickup truck sat in the driveway.
Less than a minute later, a black sedan pulled up behind Cassie. She opened her door as soon as David got out, letting the breeze cool her anger.
“Hey.” He waited until they were closer. “Everything okay? You sounded worked up on the phone.”
“I’ll tell you later.” When David gave her a dubious look, she rushed on. “Some weird shit just came to light. It’s unrelated to the case. I need to process it for a minute first.”
“All right, I won’t push. As long as you’re okay?”
“I’m… coping.” It was a welcome relief to be truthful about how she was feeling. “Let’s just do what we’re here to do.”
David looked up at the house. “First, some background for you. We’re here to see Captain Philip Stockton. He’s retired Savannah PD. Used to be my boss. He was the lead on our original case back in the nineties.”
“You think he’ll have some insight into what’s going on?”
“No idea.” David ran a hand down the side of his face brushing down sideburns he hadn’t grown in a couple decades. He looked tired. “Earlier today, I had a conversation with one of my esteemed colleagues.”
“When you say it like that, I kind of think you mean the opposite.”
David smiled. “Crawford is a bit of a dick. He was never that ambitious. But I always felt like he did his job, you know? At least didn’t screw up too often.”
