I stared at Marissa in front of me. I had asked her to come down to the station so I could get some more information about Emma and, hopefully, find out the truth about her and who she was. But so far, we had been talking for half an hour and I still didn’t know anymore. We were sitting at my desk, and she kept staring at the wall behind me with all the pictures of our police department’s history and the Chiefs we’d had since it was established in 1947. It was like she was avoiding my gaze on purpose, and it made me feel like she was lying to me again, or at least unwilling to tell the truth. I didn’t know how to help her.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” she said.

“Okay, let’s try again.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling tired, even if I was on my third cup of coffee. Joe and I had been up most of the night arguing again. After the initial information had settled, he was starting to show some anger toward me; he just wanted to know “if it was all a lie.” It didn’t matter how many times I told him I loved him, he didn’t believe me anymore. And then he began saying that he was still praying every day for me to come back to him. He was praying for it to be a phase, and for me to realize that.

That hit me even harder than the anger and frustration. He was asking me to stop being me, basically. Asking God to change who I am.

“It’s not going to go away,” I told him. And now it was my turn to be angry. It wasn’t his fault that I hadn’t been able to admit this to myself. That I had suppressed this side of me for this many years, in order to survive. Of course, it wasn’t. But it wasn’t my fault either. And he made me feel like it was. Like I had deceived him.

“I still don’t understand why you don’t have any pictures of your child, or any birth certificate,” I said to Marissa.

“I lost the birth certificate when we moved here.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“I don’t remember. Three years I think.”

“And where did you move from? Where was Emma born?”

“Up north, in Florida somewhere.”

I sighed. Again, she was giving me vague answers. It was all I had gotten from her, and I was beginning to feel like she didn’t even want me to help her. Every time I tried to dig deeper, she would evade the question and give me some ridiculous answer that I couldn’t use. I still knew so little about her. But I did know that she had lied to me—and that concerned me. Was she just wasting my time? Did Emma even exist?

“And the dad?”

She shook her head. “He’s not important.”

“He might be, though. Could he have taken Emma? Children are usually abducted by their own parents.”

Her fingers were touching her water bottle nervously. She was picking at the label, ripping it, and leaving small pieces of paper on the table. Her eyes were avoiding mine. There was something she wasn’t telling me, but why? That’s what I didn’t understand.

“Do you have any enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt you by taking your child?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No one knew Emma existed.”

“And that’s what I don’t understand,” I said, growing more and more frustrated with this woman. “Why did you keep her a secret? Why can’t we find you anywhere? Are you afraid of someone?”

Her eyes hit the floor. It was obvious she was uncomfortable. Still, she didn’t answer my questions. I exhaled and continued.

“Cassandra was Emma’s babysitter, you told me. What was your relationship with her? With her parents?”

Still no answer.

“Cassandra was likely killed on the same day Emma disappeared. Do you have any —”

Marissa shook her head. She rose to her feet abruptly, pushing her chair backward with a loud noise, interrupting me.

“Can I leave now? I have to get to work.”

I leaned back in my chair, disappointed at this. “You’re free to go anytime you want. But you’re not making my job easier by not telling me everything.”

She walked away and, hugging herself, she reached the door. Then she stopped. She turned to look at me.

“I kept her a secret because I was scared someone might take her. That’s why.”

I sat up straight. “Who? Who would take her?”

Her eyes looked into mine. I saw a deep fear there that almost frightened me. This girl was scared. I just couldn’t figure out what she was so terrified of and why she couldn’t tell me.

“I’m here to help, Marissa. Can’t you just tell me?”

She seemed to be contemplating it for a few seconds, and I almost thought she would, but then a dark shadow went over her face, and she shut down.

She shook her head, and said, “It’s all been a mistake. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come to you in the first place. It was stupid of me to think the police could help me. Just forget it.”

And with that, she left.

SIXTEENASHLEY

The evening went better than expected. Ashley Wittman had been slightly nervous before her date with the guy, Bryan. Not so much because online dating was new to her, it wasn’t; she had been trying to find love online for years now, with no luck. No, she was nervous, because she had been talking to this guy for several weeks now and she already knew she liked him. She liked his personality, and he was well-educated and, on top of that, he was very, very handsome. At least in the picture. She had talked to him on FaceTime as well, many times, and knew he wasn’t as handsome in real life as in the profile picture, but it was close enough.

He could be the one.This could finally be him, the man I have been waiting for.

She looked at herself in the mirror one last time, before leaving her condo. The thought was exhilarating. But it also terrified her. She was afraid to hope, she was afraid to think like that again, because she had been disappointed so many times.

But as the night went on, Ashley found herself becoming more and more attracted to Bryan. They talked about everything and anything, and she found herself laughing and smiling more than she had in a long time. The restaurant they had chosen was cozy and intimate, and the candlelight flickered across Bryan’s face in a way that made her heart skip a beat.

As they walked toward her car after a lovely dinner, Bryan took her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I had a really great time with you tonight,” he said softly.

Ashley smiled up at him, blushing slightly. Why did she suddenly feel like a high school girl?

“Me too,” she replied.

Bryan leaned in closer, pushing a stray strand of hair away from her face. His eyes searched hers for an answer before slowly closing the gap between them. Ashley felt her heart flutter with excitement as their lips met for the first time. She melted into him, feeling a spark of electricity course through her veins as his hands found their way to her hips. He deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth as he pulled her closer. Ashley moaned softly, wishing that this moment could last forever.

They pulled apart, both of them breathless. Bryan leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Let’s go back to my place.”

Ashley hesitated for a moment. It was soon, but something about Bryan made her feel like this was the start of something special. She nodded, and Bryan took her hand once more, leading her toward his car.

The drive to his place was filled with anticipation, and Ashley couldn’t help but steal glances at Bryan as he drove. Was it just her or was he more handsome now than when they first met earlier in the night? There was something special about him and his confident demeanor only added to his allure.

It was getting harder to keep the hope down.

Easy now, tiger. He could be some weirdo who lives with his mother. Or maybe he collects dolls’ heads.