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“What about age progression?” Kent asked, interrupting.
Courtney handed him a sheet of paper. It was a grainy image of a child. “That’s what they gave Mom. Each time an agent would show up, there would be a new image, but the clarity was always horrible.”
“Why didn’t they use your likeness?” Kent asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Courtney said as she glanced at Palmer. “Even I see how much we look alike. Maybe if they had, we wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”
“What about the milk carton campaign? Did anyone ever put Palmer’s picture on there?”
Courtney shook her head. “Not that I know of. Every year, Mom would take an ad out in the paper detailing what she knew and whether anyone had seen you. She never gave up looking. When the DNA testing took off, I submitted to every database I could in hopes of finding you, and now I have.”
Palmer covered her face with her hands and sobbed as Kent put his arm around her. He whispered for her to let it all out, and she did. If someone with some authority had gone above and beyond, she could’ve been reunited with her family. If someone had listened instead of blaming her mother, they might have been able to stop the person who’d taken her. Instead, whoever kidnapped her had left her at an orphanage with nothing but a photo of her and her mother.
“Do you know the name of the woman who took Palmer?” he asked while he continued to hold her.
Courtney sifted through the file folder and nodded. She handed him a sketch drawing and said, “Her name was Sarah Cousins. She’d answered an ad that Mom put up at the grocery store. She told Mom she was sixteen, new to the area, and had years of experience. Her parents didn’t mind if she was out late, as long as she had time to do her homework. The police couldn’t find her, and the FBI has interviewed other women by that name, but none of them were ever viable leads. The agent who was in charge of your case said it was likely she used an alias.”
Every time Kent asked a question, the answer from Courtney made things worse for Palmer. She still didn’t know how she’d ended up at the orphanage or why, and she didn’t remember this Sarah person.
“I don’t remember any of it,” Palmer said in a hushed tone.
Kent pushed a plate of food toward Palmer, but she shook her head. He leaned into her and whispered, “You need to eat something. Even if it’s a little bit.”
She nodded and took one of the pretzel bites off her plate. She dipped it in the warm cheese and nibbled on it, only for her stomach to heave.
“How did our mom die?” she asked.
Although Palmer knew tumors weren’t hereditary, she still wondered if her mom had died from the same thing Palmer battled.
“The medical examiner said natural causes, but I believe it was because of a broken heart,” Courtney said as she took a deep breath. “I came home one day, and she was asleep on the couch. I didn’t think anything at first. I knew it was a difficult day for her because it was the anniversary of the day you disappeared. That day, your birthday, and the holidays were always so rough on her. I tried my best to console her and help get her through them, but it was hard. Mom was depressed, and her life was hard after you left. I think her heart just gave up. When I went to wake her, she was cold.”
“I’m so sorry,” Palmer said.
“It was hard. All she ever wanted was to find you. She wrote to news shows like 20/20, America’s Most Wanted, and whatever else aired. No one ever responded. Your kidnapping didn’t get the national attention like some had, no matter what she tried. A lot of people around town thought she had something to do with your disappearance, which was another reason we moved so much. Mom struggled. Emotionally, physically, and financially. She’d hold down a job or two, until the anniversary crept up, and then she’d hit a downward spiral.”
“We’re sorry you had to deal with that,” Kent said.
“I had my dad for a bit, but even he got tired of it all and left her when I was thirteen. I chose to stay with her because she needed me.” Courtney leaned toward Palmer. “She never gave up. I want you to know this. She loved you with everything she had.”
Palmer nodded. The words were nice to hear, but that was all they were. She didn’t have her mother, and she still had so many questions, especially for this Sarah person. Who takes a child and then dumps them off?
“What about you?” Kent asked. “What do you do for work? Married? Kids? Does Palmer have any other family?” Palmer was incredibly grateful to Kent for asking the questions she couldn’t.
