Page 163 of The Advocate’s Ultimatum

“Where was Bonnie?”

“She was young and got involved in drugs. Aunt Opal couldn’t handle both Bonnie and the baby at that time. Eventually, Bonnie left home, my aunt got better, and Annie, the little girl, went home to her grandma. She’s still there. I can give you her address and phone number if you want to check it out yourself.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.” JP wrote down the information just in case he needed it. “I don’t think I’ll need to bother them unless something else comes up.”

“Why would you think that was Hannah?”

JP stared out through the windshield at the apartment buildings across the street, feeling frustrated. For the last hour, he’d almost convinced himself he’d found a huge missing piece.

“Rourke, the PI on the case, mentioned there may have been a child in the home that fit Hannah’s age.”

“Yeah, I remember him. He came to our house asking a bunch of questions. I can see why somebody might think that from the outside, but I can assure you that girl wasn’t Hannah.”

JP believed her. Rochelle wasn’t defensive, nor evasive. She was just certain.

“Okay.”

Rochelle went quiet a moment, then asked, “Do you really think Hannah’s alive?”

The question everyone eventually circled back to.

“I think it’s possible,” JP said finally.

Rochelle inhaled softly. “My God. My niece would be a young adult now. Have you seen her?”

“No. And I’m not certain if the young girl we’re chasing is even her.”

Rochelle’s voice lowered. “If she’s alive, somebody must’ve taught her not to come home. Or she doesn’t know who she is. She was so young.”

“Yeah, but I promise you if we find her, I’ll let you know. And thank you for clearing up the Bonnie lead.”

“I’m sorry it wasn’t useful.”

“No,” JP replied quietly. “It was.”

Because every dead end removed another possibility, narrowing the shape of what remained.

By the time he ended the call, one thing bothered him more than anything else. The blonde girl returning to the home after Bay fled. That wasn’t panic. That wasn’t escape. That was loyalty or fear. JP was no longer sure which was worse, and he was even less certain that Bay killed Todd. What he didn’t know was whether Bay knew the truth and was protecting her sister or if she really believed she had killed him herself.

Chapter 62

Tuesday night

By the time JP arrived home, the sky had gone dark. Sabre sat at the dining table surrounded by files, legal pads, photographs, and old reports spread wide.

The television was on in the family room, low enough to blend into background noise. Morgan, Conner, and Dené were in their rooms. Gene had gone to a meeting. For once, the house felt still.

JP hung his hat. “Have you been at this since court?”

Sabre nodded absently. “I found some old investigator notes Rourke gave me years ago that were misfiled.”

JP sat beside her. “Anything useful?”

“Mostly old witness follow-ups.”

She slid a stack toward him while continuing through another. The Hannah Caldwell file had become a maze now. Old interviews, recent interviews, info about Todd Maddox and Bay, the Oceanside connection, fake identities, the yellow Mustang. Nothing lined up cleanly.

JP flipped through several pages while Sabre continued reading. Then suddenly she stopped.