“Did you remember something?” He hurried over to the sofa. Hawk had brought their suitcases in, but they hadn’t put them away yet. He flipped open his briefcase on the sofa and pulled out a file folder, then handed it to her.
She opened the file and tugged out the photo. She peered at it closely as she moved into the kitchen for more light.
“That’s her,” she said. “It’s her.” She glanced at him, her eyes flashing with both excitement and fear.
“It’s who?” He pressed his palms against her biceps. “Calm down and explain.”
Tears burst from her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She swiped them away. “This is so convoluted.”
“Why don’t you sit down and catch your breath?” He pulled out a chair for her and she eased into it.
Without asking, he grabbed her a Coke from the fridge, popped the top, and handed it off. “Drink this.”
She stared at the soda, hesitating before finally taking it, then she took a few sips. “The clay that Remi sent. It reminded me of Mom. She’d finished a facial reconstruction, someone who had been dead for thirty years, and that’s when Mom started acting weird. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I’m certain of it now.”
“But what does that have to do with this picture?”
Jo slowly stood. “Because the facial reconstruction shecompleted was of a woman—she was never identified, as far as I know.” Jo pointed at the picture. “This ...thisis the woman.”
Cole stared at the image of the woman. Two women, three men. “How can you be sure?”
“I’m positive. I’m sure. I remember the image.”
Cole considered it. Jo’s mind could be putting this woman’s face in her memory. “Is there a way for us to get the image she created of the skull?”
She sagged. “You don’t believe me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But ... you’re right.”
“About what? I haven’t said anything to be right about.”
“I mean, even if my mother did re-create a face from the skeletal remains, it’s subjective. It’s one of the most controversial techniques in forensic art. Take a look at this picture.” She whipped out her cell and scrolled through the images to show him a picture of a sculpted face.
He stared at it. “It’s very similar, I’ll give you that.” He wished he could sound more certain for her sake.
She stared at the image and then again at the photograph.
“You could definitely be onto something. You said it was subjective, but it works, though, right? I mean, missing people are found using this method, reconstructing from their remains, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, and that’s the only reason it’s still in use. Because ithasworked at times. Mom preferred it. She relied on information from a forensic anthropologist. Like age, sex, and ancestry.”
“Okay, is it possible that your mother, the artist, somehow created this woman’s face? A face that she knew because she obviously knew the woman in the picture.” Cole shrugged. He had no idea how this stuff worked.
“It’s possible,” she said.
“We need to look at the reconstruction and find out who the woman in the picture is. For all we know, she is alive and well. But if she’s missing, that will tell us something. But ... Jo, if your mother recognized this reconstruction, she would have told the police, right?” That was just another reason why it made no sense to him.
“She didn’t. That’s just it, Cole.” Jo stood and paced the kitchen. “She didn’t. The police had the image she created, the sculpture, but they had no name to go with it and were still searching for an identity. Even with all the science and technology, DNA, many remains never get identified. So maybe you’re right. Mom didn’t tell them because this skull wasn’t the woman in the picture. I’m jumping to conclusions in my desperate need for answers.” Jo looked up at him, her gaze searching for reassurance, begging him to get on board with this.
“Then again, she was upset. I’m telling you that’s when she acted strange. That’s when she told me if something happened to her, then I should run. Right after she finished this—I think she must have recognized this face. It was a few days later that we argued. I was furious and left. I never saw her again.”
“Okay, so timeline here. When did she create the incriminating image that identified Mason Hyde?”
“She worked on that right after this sculpture. I’m telling you, something was upsetting her.”
Cole moved back to the fridge and got out the plastic containers of food. He’d been starving and ready to eat when Jo had rushed in with this new information, but now his appetite was fading.
