Page 25 of The Kidnapped

“No,” Hollis said. “Honestly, I just did a basic internet search. And the show’s investigator gave me some logins I could use, but it didn’t even take that much time.”

“You found a parking ticket from three states away. The investigator said he missed it.”

“He would’ve found it. He’s just the only investigator here. It’s only a parking ticket, though. What’s the big deal?”

“It puts him there, Hollis. It puts him in the city where the murder took place the day before it happened. No one’s been able to pin the guy down. His alibi was that he was home alone for the three-day weekend. I don’t know how the cops missed it. I gave the info you found to the police. They’re running it down now. Either way, this gives them something to go at him with, and maybe it gets him to tell them where the body is. Maybe he takes a plea; I don’t know. But it’s great work, Hollis. Are you sure you’re just a librarian?”

Hollis laughed and said, “I’m not really sure what I am these days.”

“Everything okay?” Kenna asked.

“Yeah. It’s just been a very strange few weeks.”

“How’s your mom?”

“She’s okay. People keep asking about her, but I don’t usually know how to answer the question. She has good days and bad ones. Sometimes, I hate that I have to go to work five days a week, and she’s there alone. I need the money, though. And she tells me it’s fine every morning, but it’s still hard, leaving her there when we missed thirty years together.”

“I’m sure she understands. And you have every evening with her, right?”

“Yes. Well, most of them.”

“Group?” Kenna asked.

“I’m still going, but I’ve also been spending time with Raleigh,” Hollis said. “She asked me over to watch the episode about Eden when it aired, and she had a hard time after, so I stayed over. Raleigh was able to get some sleep, which she desperately needed, but we’ve been grabbing coffee after group and other nights, too, ever since. My mom goes to bed early, so I usually try not to go anywhere until she’s asleep for the night.”

“We got leads from the episode. The FBI has them all,” Kenna told her.

“I know. She told me they called her about a couple, but none of them have panned out yet. I don’t know how my mom did this for thirty years,” she said, sighing. “I feel lucky because I never knew. I grew up thinking everything was fine. Now, it’s all kind of crashing down into me, but I’m hanging in there. My mom was the one who had to wonder where I was and what happened to me. And because they couldn’t technically blame my dad one-hundred-percent, she still had that thought that I’d been taken by someone else. I don’t even want to know the thoughts that had to go through her head all these years. And now, Raleigh is going through that, too.”

“God, I hate people. Who would take someone else’s child? Who thinks that’s okay? I don’t want to even think about someone taking Aaliyah from us. I don’t know what I’d do if that happened and they found the person. Rip would have to hold me back.”

Hollis smiled softly and said, “I don’t know how to help Raleigh. And I want to. She just seems so lost. It’s as if Eden disappeared into thin air, and that’s not possible. How did no one see anything? How has no one spotted her in a year?”

“They might have. They just don’t know it. It’s why I do this show.” Kenna looked around the large office space. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m a reporter and always have been – I crave the story. It’s part of me. But I chose to do this show for a reason. These stories matter, and I want people to watch them because maybe they’ll think of something, and we’ll get Eden back to Raleigh.”

“Like you got me back to my mom?”

Kenna smiled and replied, “One of the best success stories to date.” She looked around again and then back at Hollis. “Hey, I don’t know if Raleigh would be up for this, but since you talk to her regularly, ask her if she wants me to introduce her to someone who might be able to help. It’s no promise or guarantee, but I know someone who’s been working cold cases for a while, and she’s handled several missing-person cases. She’s not a local cop, FBI, or even a PI, but she’s a Lieutenant in another jurisdiction. She’s got experience, and she’d have a fresh set of eyes. I can ask if she’d be willing to at least take a look at the case. She might still say no, but I’d rather know that Raleigh would be okay with me asking before I do. If she’s not interested, I don’t want to have Dylan waste her time.”

“I can’t imagine Raleigh would say no to anyone trying to help her find her daughter,” Hollis said, her ears perking up at the idea of help coming Raleigh’s way.

“You’d be surprised… Some parents reach a point where they want to do it alone. I’ve seen it happen before. They stop trusting the cops because they’re not bringing their baby home. I know a lot of officers who would give their right arms to return a child to a parent, but it’s hard to see that dedication when you’re the parent.”

Hollis’s phone buzzed. She looked at the screen and turned back to Kenna after pressing the ignore symbol first.

“Any advice on what I should do if my father keeps reaching out through his lawyer to get me to come for a visit or be a character witness?”

“He wants you to be a character witness?”

“The lawyer has left several messages asking me to talk to him because he wants to know if I will testify at some pre-trial hearing if the judge allows it.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t want to be involved. That’s the honest answer. I just want to spend time with my mom, catch up, work here so I don’t go broke, and maybe I can contribute something, like with the Rodriguez case. I wish I could just put it all behind me, but I don’t think that’s likely to happen anytime soon.”

“Probably not,” Kenna agreed. “He’s confessed, right? It’s pretty obvious what happened. Is there even going to be a trial?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t returned the attorney’s calls yet. He’s my father – I love him, and I always will – I just don’t know if I can support him and go home to my mom, who’s dying of cancer at the same time.”

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