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“True.” Dev clicked on the other close relative, someone named Tina M. “This young woman is also a close relative, maybe a cousin or half-sibling.”
Kiana’s heart squeezed hard in her chest. “A sister?”
“Maybe. But only a half-sister.”
“Why is only part of her name listed?” Kiana asked.
Dev shrugged. “She might not have wanted her full name released or matched with a birth record.”
“Can people contact each other through this application?” Kiana’s brow furrowed. “How frustrating would it be if you found a match and couldn’t contact that person?”
“People can send messages through the app,” Dev said. “The receiver can choose to respond or not.”
“Is there a way to see the history of those messages?” Kiana asked.
“Let me check.” Dev clicked through several screens until he found where Meredith had initiated messages to some of the people identified as close relatives.
Kiana leaned closer. “Did any of them respond?”
“Nothing from the Pearson or Akana.” Dev brought up a message Meredith had sent to Tina M. “That’s odd. It appears as if Tina responded and then deleted her response, so you can’t read what she had to say to Meredith.”
Kiana sighed. “Well, at least we have a few names we can check.”
Dev pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll text those names to Swede. It’ll be too early in the morning to call because of the time difference between Hawaii and Montana.” While Dev sent the text message with the names of the two men, Kiana left the ancestry app and switched over to Meredith’s social media.
Kiana knew a lot of the people Meredith connected with on social media because they’d had the same friends and jobs for so long. Kiana had the new friends she’d made on Maui, and Meredith had some Kiana didn’t recognize. She went through those first, looking for any individual messages she might have exchanged. Nothing stood out until she came to a friend whose name appeared as T. Merc.
Several messages had been exchanged between Meredith and T. Merc.
“What did you find?” Dev asked.
“I’m not sure.” Kiana studied the messages. “This person and Meredith have been messaging each other quite a bit.”
Kiana scrolled back further to find a message from Meredith telling T. Merc she was a model when she could get the work. Before that, she’d asked T. Merc what she did for a living. T. Merc had responded that her health kept her from working outside the home. She did some work editing term papers for college students.
“Apparently, T. Merc lives with her father and doesn’t get out much because of health issues. She sounds lonely.” Kiana smiled. “Meredith has a big heart. She probably kept her company online.” Kiana scrolled down, her chest tightening. “It’s sad because for the last few days, T. Merc has messaged the word ‘Hello’ several times, and Meredith hasn’t responded.”
“It’s getting late,” Dev said. “We should get some rest.”
“I know. I need to keep up my strength to help my friend.” Kiana closed the tablet case, rose from the bar stool and stretched. “I suppose the alarm system was set already. I would’ve liked to step outside once more before going to sleep.”
“We can look out the windows,” Dev offered. “It’s almost as good as going outside. The view is the same.” He held out his hand.
Kiana placed hers in his, knowing it might be a mistake, but she was too tired to care. She liked how firm and strong his hand was.
He led her to the windows and stood beside her as she stared out at the city lights below and the stars above. “The view is beautiful,” she said softly.
Dev chuckled. “But—”
“When we were out on the balcony, I could smell the plumeria blossoms.” She gave him a twisted smile. “It adds another dimension to the magnificence of Hawaii.”
He brushed a strand of hair back from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “We’ll be sure to start the day on the balcony tomorrow.”
She smiled up at him. “I would like that.” Her smile faded. “Do you think we’ll find Meredith? What if something terrible happened to her, and she’s disappeared forever?” Kiana closed her eyes. “I never should’ve left Oahu. My sisters needed me, and I abandoned them.”
Dev’s hands cupped her cheeks. “Look at me, Kiana.”
She opened her eyes and stared into his.
