Page 158 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

That felt real.

“Did the little girl seem scared?”

“No. Careful, maybe,” the woman added. “But not scared.”

“Did she go to school?”

“For a little while.”

“How long?”

“Not long, a few months maybe. Then they moved.”

“Do you have any idea where?”

The woman shook her head. “Just gone one day.”

JP pulled out Hannah’s photo from when she was five. “Does she look familiar?”

“Of course. Her face was all over the news when she was abducted. And Evelyn was devastated. But if you’re asking me if Hannah was the one living here with Evelyn, I don’t believe so.”

“What about Bonnie, the girl’s mother, did she come around?” JP asked.

“Only once that I remember, and she didn’t even acknowledge the kid.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“Arizona, maybe.” The woman shrugged again. “Or Nevada. Evelyn used to complain Bonnie couldn’t stay put. She said her niece always had a new boyfriend and that she drank too much. That girl was trouble. I’d bet my last dollar that it was her kid living with Evelyn.”

~~~

JP walked back to his truck. The little girl was the right age. There was a family connection, and she had disappeared. If the child was Bonnie’s daughter, then the lead meant nothing. Still, he had to keep looking and see if the trail led back to this old duplex.

Chapter 59

Tuesday morning

Sabre was standing outside Department 5 reviewing a social study when Ethan Vale came down the hall and moving faster than usual.

“She wants to talk again,” he said in a rush. “She asked for you.”

“That’s not unusual.”

“No,” he agreed. “But she specifically asked if you could come now.”

That was different.

The bailiff stepped out of Department 5 and called another case into court.

“Are you free?” Vale asked.

Sabre checked her watch. “I can go. Bob will cover for me if needed on these last two cases. I’ll text him.”

“Thanks,” Vale said, “Bay seems scared.”

“She’s always scared.”

“Not like this.”