Page 100 of The Kidnapped

“What if I never found her?”

“I don’t know. That’s a question for Hollis, really. But we talked about what would happen if you did and you two worked out.”

“And?” Raleigh asked.

“And you two are adults who can have this conversation together,” Olivia replied, winking at her. “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about, dear.”

“What’s going on in here? No one told me there’s a party,” Hollis spoke.

Raleigh hadn’t heard the door, but when she turned, Hollis was standing there, looking so cute and sleepy. That made her want to kiss her like she had the other day, when Hollis had walked into this room looking the same, but she decided to sit on the edge of the bed instead.

“No party, but we were talking about you,” Raleigh said. “Come in and join us?” She held out her hand to her girlfriend.

“Me? Should I be worried?” Hollis asked, taking her hand and pulling Raleigh off the bed in one swift motion.

“Hollis!” Raleigh laughed as Hollis pulled her in for a hug and kissed her forehead.

“You shouldn’t be worried, but you should grab that deck of cards off the other table. I feel pretty good right now and think a game of cards might be fun,” Olivia said.

“No way. You cheat,” Hollis replied but walked over to the other side of the bed anyway, pulling Raleigh with her as she grabbed the deck of cards.

“I do not cheat. You’re just terrible,” Olivia replied.

Hollis and Raleigh climbed onto the bed next to each other, and Hollis dealt the cards as they talked a little and laughed at Olivia’s sometimes snarky comments. It was so good seeing her like this, but as Raleigh took in Hollis next to her, it was even better seeing Hollis so happy. She was wide awake now and had no bags under her eyes to match Raleigh’s heavy ones. She was smiling at her mom when her mother definitely tried to get away with cheating.

Raleigh rested her head on Hollis’s shoulder, giving up on playing the game herself just to take this in, and she hoped. For the first time in a long time, she hoped that she might have her daughter back one day, that she’d be able to make this work with Hollis regardless, and that, somehow, Olivia would miraculously recover from her cancer and be around for decades to come. She hoped for herself, too, and she didn’t feel guilty about any of it as she laughed when Olivia won the first hand, and Hollis accused her of putting a card up her imaginary sleeve. Raleigh kissed Hollis on the cheek and then looked at Olivia, who had watched her do it. Olivia smiled and gave her that wink again.

CHAPTER 32

Hollis stared at the crime scene photos that hadn’t been blurred out like they were on TV. It made sense: someone had to do the blurring first. But when the images first got to the show, they were in their original, awful versions of blood and dead bodies, with knives on the kitchen floor. She minimized the image that was currently making her stomach lurch and wondered how police officers and others who worked in law enforcement did this job. Hollis was researching a homicide that Kenna had put her on specifically, and it had been the worst crime she’d worked on since joining the show.

“How’s it going?” Kenna asked. “Figure out who did it yet?” she teased.

“No, but I don’t think that’s my job,” Hollis replied.

“It’s not, no. But if you do figure it out, we get to solve the crime and we get the scoop.” Kenna leaned against Hollis’s desk.

“So far, I’m just trying to stop myself from throwing up on my computer,” Hollis told her.

“Crime scene photos?”

“Yeah. They got sent to me in a zip file with everything else. I clicked on one by mistake just now, and that’s enough for me.”

“And to think, those are just the ones they let the show have. There are worse ones out there.”

“God, how do people do these things to each other?” Hollis asked, leaning back in her chair.

“I don’t know.” Kenna sighed.

“And you surround yourself with this?”

“If people out there do these things, other people have to stop them. I’ve never wanted to be in law enforcement, and I love reporting, so this was the only way I could help,” Kenna explained.

“I get that, but I’m a librarian,” Hollis said.

“And a damn fine researcher because of it, Hollis. You’re good at this job.”

“I miss my books, Kenna.”

---