Page 83 of Reckoning

“How has it been growing up here with this gift?” she asked.

That’s when Tate leveled down on the truth.

“Hard, and in a way, sad. Plenty of people around here wanted my help but at the same time, as a child, left me out of all forms of entertainment that did not occur at school. In other words, they were screaming their heads off or clapping in the stands if I hit a home run, but God forbid I ever set foot in their houses. They cruelly shunned my mother. When I was still a child, she was physically attacked in the park, and why? The explanation given in court by the accuser was that she’d given birth to an unnatural child. I was that unnatural child of whom she spoke, watching in horror at the blood spilling out from beneath my mother’s head, and the whole side of her face turning purple from the impact of someone’s fist. The woman who did it was found guilty of assault and spent a year on parole. The town didn’t ostracize her for what she’d done, but they continued to shun my mother because of me. There are good people here, but the prejudices of the others far outweigh the good. Within a short time, we will be gone, and they’ll have to learn to look for what’s lost on their own.”

Then one of the strangers, a woman who’d been sitting and listening, slowly raised her hand.

Tate knew she wasn’t a reporter, but he saw the pain in her eyes and nodded at her. “Ask your question.”

“My name is Yvonne Shipley. Louis is my husband. We came from Las Cruces, New Mexico, and I am not a reporter.”

“I know. Come stand by me.” She got up and walked toward him. He put a hand on her shoulder. “Now ask me.”

She started to cry. “Our daughter has been missing for over a year. In my heart, I believe she’s dead. But now I grieve the not knowing, worse than the absence. Her name is…”

Tate interrupted. “Bethie. You called her Bethie, didn’t you?” He’d forgotten the cameras were still rolling, and reporters were present. He was in the moment with the mother who’d lost her child.

The woman began to sob. “Yes, Bethie. She was fifteen years old, a sophomore in high school. She went to school one day and never came home. The police searched for her for weeks and weeks, but all of the leads went nowhere. There’s a five-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to finding her, but it’s a cold case now. Do you know where she is? What happened to her?”

Tate’s heart was aching. “Yes, ma’am. But we’ll need to contact the detective in charge of the case, and you’re going to have to accept his reluctance to believe me. He’ll go check out what I tell him to pacify you, and then they will find her.”

“Thank you.”

“You can thank me after they find her.” Then he looked up and gave the reporters that look. “Leave them alone. If you want to write about this happening, do it with their permission, and only after the recovery. I will be honest. I long for the day when the headline in a paper has nothing to do with death, corruption, or disaster, and I think we’re done here,” he said, then kept his hand on Yvonne’s shoulder.

“You and your husband are coming home with me. We’ll make that phone call at my house, via Zoom. You can sit with me as I talk to the detective. Okay?”

“You will do that for us?” Louis Shipley said.

“Yes, sir. Where are you parked?”

“At a motel. We walked down here.”

“Then come get in the car with me. When we’ve finished, I’ll take you back to the motel.”

“What about your parents?” Yvonne asked.

“My mother will want to feed you. My dad likely isn’t home, but he’s a good, quiet man. He honors my gift.”

They walked across the park, got into the car with Tate, and rode back to the house. Tate called out as they were walking in the door.

“Hey, Mama, I’m home. We have guests.”

Lilith came into the living room, smiling and smoothing down her hair.

“Mama, this is Louis and Yvonne Shipley. They came all the way from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to find me. We’re going to make a Zoom call to the detective in charge of the case of their missing daughter, and then I’ll take them back to their motel, okay?”

Lilith’s expression shifted into one of compassion. “Can I get you all something to drink while you’re waiting for Tate to get set up?”

They nodded. “Much appreciated,” Yvonne said.

“Okay if I use the dining table to set up?” Tate asked.

“Of course. And I’ll make myself scarce after you start,” Lilith said.

Yvonne had all of the contact information for the detective, and called him personally, told him he was being sent a Zoom link via email, that they were in Star Ridge, Missouri, and had new info on their missing daughter, and then she hung up and turned it all over to Tate.

Tate had his laptop open and was connected to Zoom. He’d already set up the meeting and sent the link to the detective. Now he had to wait for the detective to link in. And when he did, Tate was ready and waiting, with Louis and Yvonne sitting on either side of him and visibly in the picture.