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“I have a constant search on the web with several keywords related to our work, and I added some for Dess once we knew her situation. This result popped up today. It’s from a DC newspaper.”
It was a column of missed connections postings, people searching for someone whose eye they’d caught on a busy bus or across a grocery store. One of the longer posts was highlighted. I leaned closer, squinting at the screen to read it.
Rachel– You got coffee and talked about your accident. You think you’ve finally come home. There’s so much more I need to tell you. Not all the answers are in our saliva. If you care about the truth and not just making a family, please get in touch.
Then there was a phone number.
A chill rippled down my spine. “Could it be someone jerking her around?” I demanded. “How many of those details—the coffee shop, the faked accident, her giving Malik her spit—have been reported in the media?”
Blaze exhaled in a rush. “Good. You don’t think it’s a coincidence either. The specifics are so on the nose—and most of it hasn’t been reported. Malik had a blood test done to confirm the result he got from the spit test before they went to the media, and the public stories have only talked about that. And he’s never given any details about their first meeting in the coffee shop.” The hacker paused, his leg jiggling with nervous energy under the table. “Whoever this is, they were watching Dess when she confronted him. Closely enough to hear at least a little of what she said too.”
“And he—or she—thinks they have some important ‘truth’ to tell her?” Garrison said, scowling. “Why the fuck should we trust this shady creep?”
I folded my arms over my chest. Resolve wound around my chest, stilling the shiver of anxiety inside it. “We shouldn’t. But we have to show this to Dess. It’s addressing her—it should be her call what she does about it.”
“It could be someone who knows something about her kidnapping,” Talon pointed out. “Creep or not, we’ll want that information.”
I wished we could charge in there and demand it ourselves, but as much as I wanted to protect Dess, lying to her wasn’t going to accomplish that in the long run. She deserved her freedom after having it denied for so long.
“I’m sure Dess will agree,” I said. “We’ll fill her in as soon as she gets back, and she’ll make the call about what we do next.”
