The worry on her face morphed into excitement and eagerness. “What did he find?”
“There’s absolutely no record of your birth mother’s death. At all. No death certificate anywhere in the country. He’s doing some more digging, but he suggested we go to your parents’ house.”
“Mom and Dad’s?”
“Yes. He thinks they may have some clues hidden away there. Did your mother or father have an office or anything? Keep records or documents?”
She shook her head and put a hand to her forehead. “I guess there’s a couple of places that might be worth looking at, but I don’t know how much help it’ll be. My adoption records were sealed. I doubt there’s anything worthwhile to find. Wouldn’t it all be in the state records office?”
“Maybe. But your parents kept a lot of secrets. Maybe there are a few more we can uncover?”
Maddy’s shoulders sagged. “That’s true.” Sighing, she said, “Okay. Let’s do it.”
We got up early the next morning and started driving. Maddy had been born in Tampa, but she’d grown up in Naples. It was over two and a half hours south of Clearidge. The drive was long but nice. It reminded me of our trip to Tennessee. We talked, joked, and debated over music and films. Maddy seemed more relaxed than she’d been in a while. For two hours on the interstate, things felt relatively normal. Once we got past Fort Myers and started seeing signs for Naples, she grew quieter, and her mood started dipping.
We were too close to turn back, but now I worried about what we’d walk in on when we got there. Would there be blood orsomething from the struggle? I cursed myself for not thinking of it before. I tried to keep things light-hearted for the rest of the trip, but Maddy only gave short, curt answers as she stared out the passenger-side window.
Maddy’s old neighborhood was a nice subdivision. All the houses were in the classic Spanish style with clay roof tiles and white or cream stucco. Her parents definitely had some money, but it didn’t seem like they were pretentiously rich. Their house was at the end of a cul-de-sac, and as we pulled into the driveway, Maddy stared at the front door with a mixture of horror and sadness.
As I got out, I saw an older lady walking a shih tzu toward us. Maddy groaned. “Ugh. Mrs. Garvey.”
“Who?”
“My neighbor. I’ll get rid of her. Hang on.”
Maddy got out of the car, plastered the biggest fake smile I’d ever seen on her face, and walked toward the woman. “Mrs. Garvey?” Maddy’s voice was tinged with surprise and excitement, which was not at all what she’d sounded like a second ago. She was a damned good actress.
“Maddy? Oh goodness. I haven’t seen you since last Christmas. How are you?”
“I’m great. And how is little Princess?” Maddy knelt and petted the dog. I had a hard time not rolling my eyes.
“She’s chugging right along like the good girl she is. Maddy, where have your parents been? I haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks.”
“Well,” Maddy said, standing back up. “Cool story. Mom won an all-expenses paid trip to Italy and Greece.”
Miss Garvey put a hand to her chest. “No! Seriously? That's exciting. When did that happen?”
“About a month ago. It was one of those online sweepstakes. Mom signed up for it since it was free, and she won. It was only aten-day trip, but they decided to go to Spain and France as well. They’d always wanted to go. So, it was almost like two vacations for the price of one. I’m a little jealous that I didn’t get to go. They called me and let me know they forgot to put a hold on their mail, so I came to get that and check on the house.”
“Well, I cannot wait to hear about their trip when they get home,” Mrs. Garvey said.
“They should be back in a couple of weeks.”
“Okay, then. I’ll let you and that handsome young man go.” She waved at me, and I nodded back.
Maddy walked back toward me, rolling her eyes. I nudged her as we walked up the path to the door. “She seems nice.”
Maddy glared at me. “Ugh. She puts on a show, but she’s just a nosy old bitch. She’s also the president of the HOA if that tells you anything. I’ve never been a fan.”
“Coulda fooled me.”
Maddy didn’t answer. Instead, she reached her hand out and tried the doorknob. It turned, and the door swung open. The lights were still on, and I put a hand on the small of her back and escorted her in, closing the door behind us. Maddy’s gasp drew my attention to the living room.
The living room was a disaster. Couch cushions were haphazardly strewn across the floor; a lamp was turned over, the bulb busted and glass shards littered the carpet. There was a thick dent in the drywall by the hallway. I imagined Maddy’s father being shoved into the wall hard enough to put a hole in it. Several pictures had been knocked off the wall. One was Maddy’s college graduation photo. Her parents flanked her, looking happy and proud. A spiderweb crack ran across the photo, almost totally obscuring Maddy’s face. The struggle must have been intense. There was no blood, thankfully, but that didn’t make it any less awful to see.
Maddy stood, frozen in place, with a hand to her mouth. I walked through the scene, looking around at what had transpired, trying to form the picture in my head. At least three men. They’d come through the front door, most likely under the cover of night. In a nice neighborhood like this, Maddy’s parents probably didn’t lock the doors unless they were out or going to bed. It had been vicious and fast. Her parents had barely had time to react, much less fight.
Behind me, Maddy sniffled. I turned to see tears tracking down her cheeks. I went to her and took her in my arms. She pressed her face into my chest, and I could hear her trying to hold back the sobs. I rubbed her back. “It’s okay. Let go,” I whispered.
