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"What kind of lead?" her mother asked, her voice trembling.
"Maybe I could come in?" Fiona asked.
As Fiona entered the house, she was surrounded by a feeling of warmth and comfort. The walls were painted in soft colors, and the furniture was inviting and invitingly comfortable. On the walls were family photos: Fiona's parents, Joslyn, and other family members. Her parents motioned for her to enter the living room, where a plush couch was situated in front of an armchair in which Fiona perched herself.
"I've been doing some digging into Joslyn's case," Fiona began, her voice steady. "As you both know, I've been working more closely with the FBI lately."
"Which I don't love," her mother added. "It sounds far too dangerous."
"I agree, Fiona," her dad said. "You do such amazing work in a lab. I don't know why you want to step outside on cases with FBI agents when there are real stakes involved."
Fiona didn't expect them to understand. She loved her parents, but they had raised her safely. She was surrounded by death in the funeral home, yes, and they did encourage her Harvard education, but they seemed more than happy that Fiona had always been more quiet and studious.
Joslyn had been the wild one, the one with friends. She'd party and drink alcohol even though she was underage, and Fiona's parents struggled with it. Fiona, on the other hand, was the safe one.
And now she was training to become an FBI agent, working on real cases.
She'd shot a gun.
She'd nearly been killed multiple times.
But they didn't know the details of all of that, nor did they need to. Fiona would prove to her parents that she could be more than the lab girl, just as she was proving it to Jake and the rest of the FBI.
None of that mattered now. What mattered was Joslyn.
"Look, I don't want to get your hopes up," Fiona said, "but we found someone who claims to know the man who took her."
Her parents each sucked in sharp breaths, exchanging perplexed looks.
"What do you mean?" her dad asked. "Took her how?"
"Kidnapped her, abducted her," Fiona said. "But... according to this witness... she never saw him kill her."
Fiona's parents both leaned forward in their seats, their eyes fixed on Fiona.
"What do you mean?" her mother asked, her voice trembling.
"It's all still very preliminary," Fiona said, "but I think we're on to something."
Her father leaned back in his seat, a thoughtful expression on his face. "We need to be careful, Fiona," he said. "We don't want to get our hopes up and then have them dashed again. We've been through enough. it's been ten years..."
Fiona nodded, understanding the fear in her father's voice. "I know, Dad," she said. "But we have to try. We have to keep pushing. We can't give up on Joslyn."
Her mother nodded, her eyes filled with tears, and Fiona's heart sank because it suddenly felt real. Maybe telling her parents so early was a mistake--what if they did find Joslyn, but it was only her body? Then again, Fiona's parents had raised her; she knew how strong they were and how badly they wanted answers. Whatever happened, she was sure they could handle it as a family.
Fiona took a deep breath and placed her hand on her mother's. "I promise I'll keep you both updated on everything."
Her mother nodded, her eyes fixed on Fiona's. "Thank you, sweetheart. We know how much you loved your sister, and we know how much it's been eating you up. It wears on us too."
As they sat in silence, Fiona couldn't help but think about the man who had taken Joslyn. She wondered what he looked like, what his motives were. She wondered if Joslyn was still alive and, if she was, what kind of life she had been living. The thought made her shiver. Marissa had refused to elaborate more, but Fiona believed her story, and she had to believe that Marissa would have a change of heart. They just had to keep working with her. By the sounds of it, she had been estranged from that monster for years, but part of her was still tethered to him.
They could change that. Fiona just had to get through to her as a woman.
Just then, Fiona's phone rang, breaking the silence. She took it out to see Jake's name across her screen. Her chest tingled at the thought of talking to him again--she knew it would be about work, although they hadn't spent much time together since their last case. She knew Jake had a lot of questions--about Marissa, about Fiona's sister, about the "work" she'd been doing on her own time. Fiona had wanted to confide in Jake earlier, but now it all felt awkward. She had just broken up with Mark, and she didn't want to give Jake the idea that she wanted to jump into a relationship with him instead.
Even if part of her did still want him and still thought about that kiss, they shared every night.
She figured it was a heat-of-the-moment thing. Jake had just broken up with Lauren, and things were tense.
