Page 15 of The Kidnapped

“Yeah. I guess it was a good thing I worked in the library. I was on donations that day. I saw it and then read it, and I knew I was Hollis Richardson. Nothing had ever felt so right and yet so very wrong to me in my life.”

“I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that,” Raleigh said, looking down at her coffee cup as she gripped the mug in both hands. “I’m doing her show next week.”

“I know,” Hollis replied.

Raleigh looked up.

“I work for the show now,” Hollis added.

“You work on the show?”

“I needed a job. I met with Kenna to talk about my mom and me doing an episode, and she offered me an interview for a researcher. I started two days ago. It’s not exactly what I want, but it’s money, and it keeps me focused on something other than my father being in jail and my mother being so sick.”

“So, you’re doing an episode, too?”

“We’re supposed to. I keep putting it off, though. I’m worried about my mom. She says she’s up for it, but I don’t know… It just seems like a bad idea, making her relive everything again.”

“I can see that. But if she’s saying she can do it, you kind of have to trust her on that, right?”

Hollis nodded and took a drink.

“This is terrible, too,” she noted.

Raleigh laughed and said, “Well, Starbucks is a block away, but they’re closed, so you get what they’ve got.”

Hollis laughed and replied, “I guess so.” She set the cup down. “I wanted to meet with you to tell you I’d be there for the episode next week. I would’ve mentioned it when you messaged me the first time about grabbing coffee, but my mom was throwing up, and I–”

“It’s okay. I understand. Your mom comes way before a terrible diner coffee and a stranger asking you to meet. You’ll be there?”

“In the studio, yeah,” Hollis said. “Not working the episode or anything; I’ll just be working. I just thought you should know. It’s likely we’ll run into each other.”

Raleigh nodded and said, “I’m nervous.”

“Being on camera?”

“Talking about her on camera. I did some news stuff when she first went missing, but I was in shock the whole time, so I wasn’t really processing what was happening back then. Now, I have a clear head, and I’m pretty sure I’ll burst into tears the moment I start talking about Eden.”

“I get the impression Kenna is great at her job. She’ll make you feel comfortable. And if you need to cry, just cry. Your daughter was taken from you. The way I see it, you can cry anytime you want until they find her.”

Raleigh’s eyes welled with tears, but they didn’t fall.

“Did you?” she asked Hollis.

“Did I what? Cry?”

“Yeah.”

“I cry all the time these days,” Hollis admitted. “Just when I think I’m out of tears, I somehow find more.”

“I cry at least once a day,” Raleigh shared. “Usually, more at night, which is why I rarely sleep through it and why I am now here, drinking awful coffee with you.”

“Let’s try to get some good coffee sometime,” Hollis said, smiling softly at her. “During the day, when the reputable establishments in this town are open.”

Raleigh laughed and said, “That sounds good to me.”

“So, I never asked last time. What is it that you do?”

“I’m a VA.”

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