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Suddenly Leia comes to a halt, and the smile slips off her face when she sees a woman on the sidewalk attaching a missing persons poster to the back of a parking meter. I watch her reach out, grab one of the posters closest to us, and stare at the pretty girl in the photo.
“Have you seen her? Have you seen my daughter?” the woman runs toward us when she notices us paying attention to it.
“No, I’m sorry.” Leia shakes her head, suddenly looking very pale.
“She went missing four years ago from right here in this town. She was backpacking and this was the last place she visited. Look, this picture was taken right over there.” The woman points to the Welcome to Fork River sign that the girl is proudly posing next to.
“I’m sorry, I’ve never seen her before.” Leia’s eyes seem haunted by the girl, who looks a little younger than we are. She’s pretty with long wavy blonde hair, and a bright excited smile.
“How about you?” She looks at me desperately. The poor woman looks like she hasn’t slept in the four years her daughter’s been missing.
“I’m afraid not. Four years is a long time ago.” I try to sound as tactful as I can about the situation.
“I know, I’ve been trying to get the local PD to reopen the investigation but they won’t. I know she’s alive, and I can’t stop looking for her. She was here, this is the last picture she sent to me.”
“Who was she traveling with?” I ask, curious as to how someone can just vanish.
“She was traveling alone. Me and her dad begged her not to but she didn’t listen. She was taking a gap year in between high school and college and wanted to explore Yellowstone Park. Her last transaction on her card was for a bus ticket here, after that there’s no trail. I couldn’t just sit at home anymore waiting for her to walk through the door. My husband thinks I’m crazy. He left me because he says I’m living a fantasy. But I know she’s not dead.” It’s hard to see the woman in pieces, even if she is a stranger.
“Are you here alone?” I ask, noting the way Leia is remaining silent.
“Yes, me and my husband separated six months ago, he said I was making it impossible for him to get over losing her. But we haven’t lost her. She’s still alive.” The poor lady in front of me looks so adamant.
“Did you try the guest house? I imagine a lot of backpackers who come to town stay there?”
“Yes, the couple were very helpful, they went through all their logs from around the date she disappeared but found nothing.”
“She’s really pretty.” Leia passes the photo to the woman and moves on.
“Leia, wait.” I rush after her to find out what's got her spooked, but there's also something tugging at me to help this woman who looks like her whole world fell apart.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I call back to her as I chase after Leia, catching up with her outside the Garage that Zayne’s Dad owns.
“Leia, what the hell was that all about?” I ask, forcing her to still when I grab her arms.
“That girl’s dead,” she whispers, looking down at the floor and letting her tears flow.
“What? How do you know that? Do you recognize her?”
“No, I’ve never seen her before, but the last place she was seen was this place and my dad liked young pretty girls, didn’t he?” She looks up at me with a pained look on her face.
“Leia, you don’t know that—”
“No, I don’t, but now I’m always gonna wonder. That girl could be another one of his victims.”
“She could also have run away from home, or have been mauled by a bear. You heard her mom, she was traveling alone.”
“Maybe.” Leia shrugs. “But I can’t help thinking that what my dad did to Aubrey and Breanna was just a fraction of what he was capable of. I don’t know how to live with that.” She wipes her eyes.
“I got a good way.” Taking her hand in mine I drag her back toward the woman who's standing helplessly on the sidewalk.
“I’m Savannah, and this here is Leia. We’d very much like to help you find out what happened to your daughter.” I hold out my hand for her to shake.
The guesthouse is dead silent when we step inside the front door, and Leia has a new sense of determination as she moves toward the reception desk and hits the bell.
“One second.” The woman who runs the quaint little place with her husband steps out from the door that leads back to a pokey office.
“You stay right there, Matthew.” She points her finger back through the door at the little boy who’s sitting at the desk surrounded by coloring pencils.
