Sam left his office and took the stairs to lockup in the basement, nodding to the sergeant on duty. “We’re springing Thelma Robinson,” she told the officer.
“Got it.” He followed her to Thelma’s cell and unlocked the door.
Thelma perked up when she saw Sam.
“Let’s go,” Sam said.
Thelma’s expression was wary. “Where to?”
“How does home sound?”
“Really?”
Sam nodded. “You’ll be charged on a misdemeanor count of failing to report a crime and will be required to testify against Louis, but that’s it.”
Thelma let out a cry that was equal parts joy and anguish and threw herself at Sam, who hugged her. “Thank you. Thank you so, so much.”
“I hope you and Amara can find your way toward a peaceful future,” Sam said.
“She’ll want nothing to do with me.”
“I’m not so sure. She’s a strong, capable young woman who knows exactly who the villain of this story was and who his victims were.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
“I’ll be rooting for both of you.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Kane Waters stared at Jesse for a long, uncomfortable moment. “What the hell are you talking about? My wife has parents, aunts, uncles, cousins… She wasn’t abducted as a child.”
“I believe she was, and I’m prepared to prove it.”
“How so?”
“First of all, she knew my name when she first saw me, even though she doesn’t remember why she knew me. When I showed her photos from our childhood, she knew the name of our grandparents’ dog.”
“It’s true,” Carolyn whispered. “What he’s saying… It’s true. I know him. I don’t remember him, but I know him. I remember the dog…”
“Are you saying that you think it’s true you were abducted?” Kane asked.
“I… I don’t know.”
“May I make a suggestion?” Memphis said gently. “A simple DNA test will resolve the matter definitively.”
“Would you be willing?” Jesse asked Carolyn, holding his breath until she nodded.
“I want to know the truth,” Carolyn said.
“If you lead the way to your local law enforcement, they could assist us,” Memphis said. “We could do it ourselves, but I assume you’d prefer to have a neutral party involved.”
“Wouldn’t that make it an official criminal case?” Kane asked.
“It’s already a criminal case.” Jesse called on a reserve of patience he hadn’t known he had until he needed it. “I’m a U.S. Marshal, and so is Memphis. I’ve been looking for my sister for all this time, and I believe I’ve finally found her. She was taken from her rightful family for reasons unknown to both of us.” He looked directly at Carolyn when he said, “If you love her, I’d think getting answers to how and why would matter to you as much as it does to me.”
“He does love me, and it does matter.” Carolyn placed her hand on top of Kane’s. “It matters to me. I need to know if this is true. Can you understand that?”
“I want to, but I worry about how it’ll affect the rest of our life.”
