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“Is it important?”
Molly lifted a shoulder. “We don’t know. But we believe that Gabe’s dad was searching for him. At this point, we’re just trying to reconstruct his investigation.”
April frowned. “It’s been a lot of years. I got the name from one of the other bartenders whose girlfriend was pregnant. Give me a minute. It started with a B.” Her lips moved as she soundlessly tried different names. Then her eyes flew open. “Benson. I don’t remember his first name. He had a practice near Tulane. I hope that helps.”
“It’s a lot more than we had when we got here,” Molly said fervently. “Thank you.”
“Thank you. I’d given up hope of ever finding her. I think some part of me has always known she died. Her neighborhood was underwater. I thought she’d drowned. At least now I know what really happened. Or at least some of it.” She rose, waving Gabe to stay put when he started to rise with her. “I’m going to get my photo album. It’s just in the living room.”
Molly was already on her phone, texting Burke. Dr. Benson. OBGYN.
SUPERSTAR, was his reply. Then, On it.
Molly was stowing her phone when April returned with the photo album. She set it on the table and flipped pages until she found what she was looking for. “Here we are. We were maybe fifteen in this one.”
“Oh,” Molly murmured. “You two were so cute.”
The two teenagers stood arm in arm, smiling for the camera. They wore shorts and matching NSYNC T-shirts. April was easily identifiable—she hadn’t changed much over the years.
Nadia was stunning. Blond shiny hair that fell halfway down her back, big eyes, a classically beautiful face, and a figure that made her look twenty-one instead of fifteen.
“I was cute,” April said with a self-deprecating smile. “Nadia was gorgeous, even then. My mother was so worried about her virtue. Men would stare at her whenever we were out together. My mom would say, ‘Hey, she’s fifteen!’ and they’d scatter.” She chuckled sadly. “We were going to change the world.”
She flipped another few pages, then sighed. “This was the last photo I have. Mom took this one on the Mother’s Day before the storm. It was one of the few times Nadia got away from the man to spend time with my family. All my photos were destroyed in Katrina. My mom still had this one in her camera when the storm hit. She got it developed weeks later. By then... well, chaos was still everywhere and I had started begging the police to help me find her.” She removed the photo from its protective plastic sleeve. “Can I get it back?”
“Let me scan it to my phone,” Molly said. “This photo isn’t replaceable.”
“I should do that,” April mused as Molly opened her scanning app. “I keep telling myself to digitize the family photos. You know, in case Katrina ever happens again.”
Gabe frowned. “My father said he was going to do that. He even bought a scanner.” But it hadn’t been in the house when they’d searched on Monday night.
He looked at Molly to find that she was staring at him, probably thinking the same thing. She gave her head a little shake and refocused on scanning the photo. She handed it back to April, who replaced it into the photo album with care.
“I couldn’t even bury her,” April whispered, new tears streaking down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry.” Molly touched April’s shoulder briefly, then sighed. “If you need anything, please call me.” She gave April her card. “And I hate to say this part, but it needs to be said. We were careful coming here. We changed vehicles and used either cash or credit cards that couldn’t be traced to us. But the people who killed Gabe’s dad are dangerous. If you see anything out of the ordinary, call 911. Please.”
April nodded unsteadily. “I understand. But I’m not sorry I talked to you. Nadia was like a sister to me, and I want whoever took her life to pay.”
“As do we,” Gabe said quietly.
“Because they killed your father, too.” April bowed her head for a moment. When she looked up, her eyes were determined. “You’ll keep me updated?”
“Absolutely,” Molly promised. “Please don’t mention this to anyone. For now.”
“Not even my husband?”
“Tell him,” Molly said, “so that he’s aware and can help you stay alert. But no media.”
April scoffed. “Not on your life. I’ll keep quiet.”
Molly smiled. “And we’ll keep in touch.”
Gabe was quiet as they walked to the SUV. He put Shoe in the back seat, then waited outside while Molly checked the SUV for tracking devices with her handheld scanner. He kept watch, making sure she was safe while she worked.
Finally, she looked up. “We’re clear. Let’s go.”
They buckled up and made it to the end of April’s street when Molly’s cell phone buzzed with an incoming call.
