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CHAPTERONE
NORA
“The Celia Young disappearance has now been declared a cold case. I’m sorry.”
I stared at detective Reed, my hands clutching the chair so hard it hurt. I’d been expecting him to ask us to identify my sister’s body, or at least for him to say that he had a lead. Having him say instead that they had given up looking was… a mind fuck, to say the least.
All we had was a pile of questions and no shovel to sort them with.
The not knowing was the worst.
“I beg your pardon?” my grandma said. I looked in her direction, seeing how she was clutching her purse, and I knew she was just as close as I was to flying off the handle.
The detective sighed. “Whatever happened to her, the trail has gone cold. I’m sorry.”
“You’re… sorry?”
The detective was looking at me with fake regret in his eyes. He was putting on a show, which was even worse than the fact that they had given up. It had only been six months since my sister’s disappearance. What did they mean,the trail had gone cold?
He shook his head. “The department has limited resources and—”
“Fuck your limited resources! This is my sister you’re—”
My grandmother clutched my hand, her nails digging into my flesh. “Leave it,Princesa. They are doing their best.” She turned to the detective. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Reed?”
He nodded, still avoiding our eyes. “Of course, we are. We understand that this is your family, but as I said, limited resources. We are doing everything we can.”
“I don’t think you are,” I blurted, my hand on my hip. I might have been petite, but I wasn’t going to let this man get away with this. There was something more at play here. Something he wasn’t telling us, and I was going to find out what.
“That British girl, the one who disappeared years ago… What was her name, Lita?” I turned to my grandmother.
“I think it was Madeleine. Madeleine McCann.”
There was no ‘I think’ about it. My grandmother and her friends happened to follow that case obsessively. Conspiracy theories abound.
“Yeah, Madeleine. Fifteen years later, they’re still looking for her, and you give up after six months? How is that fair?”
Detective Reed rolled his eyes. “I can’t speak to what the British police do, ma’am. Here in New York—”
“Don’t speak to me like I don’t understand,” I snapped sticking my finger in his face. The urge to slap him was almost overwhelming.
A flicker of annoyance flashed across his face, but he suppressed it. “Ma’am, I am going to have to ask you to leave. This conversation is no longer produc—”
“No!” I said desperately, “Wait. I’m sorry.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I want us to resolve this amicably. So, let’s begin again, okay? Celia was working at Club Pandemonium. Did you speak with all the workers there?”
Detective Reed gave an exaggerated sigh. “Yes, we did.”
“And what about the owner? Her boyfriend was a bouncer for the club. Did you talk to him?”
“Miss Young, you know very well that we have spoken to all those people.”
“What about her neighbors? Did you get to all of them? Someone must have seen something.”
“That neighborhood is not well known for cooperating with the police.”
“I wonder why that is.”
“Nora,” my grandmother whispered admonishingly.
