Page 9 of The System

“Does that mean those people weren’t?”

Her mother didn’t answer verbally, but she shrugged a shoulder, indicating that she didn’t know.

“I want to meet her and know her, but she’s in trouble. They think she killed someone, Mom. She’s had a DUI and another arrest, and she might not be a good person.”

“Honey, people get arrested. That doesn’t necessarily make them bad people. I’ve met kids who have been arrested multiple times, but they’re good people who made some mistakes. Some were even arrested for things they didn’t do. Everything is circumstantial. Just keep that in mind.”

“Murder, Mom?”

“I don’t know the whole story. Neither do you. And arrested doesn’t mean convicted. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?”

Kieran nodded and said, “It’s like, now that I know that she exists, I do feel that thing. I feel like something is missing, and it won’t get better until I meet her.”

“They’ll find her.”

“After eight years? I don’t know. She’s been gone this long.”

“She’ll make a mistake. They always do, don’t they? I saw a show on Friday night where this man robbed a jewelry store and gave his girlfriend some of the jewelry he stole. She worked as a courtroom reporter, and an officer saw the jewelry. The guy is in prison now.” Her mother laughed. “Talk about a mistake.”

Kieran laughed alongside her mom but then asked, “How did they find me and not her? The deacon, I mean. It’s just… I was there. She was there. He found one of us.”

“I really don’t know, honey. It was an alley and by a dumpster. Maybe the second baby was hidden more or something.”

Kieran’s phone rang then, and she pulled it out, half-expecting it to be Diego wanting her to stop by and pick up something else. It was an unknown number, though, so she didn’t answer and put it back in her pocket. She stayed at her mother’s until they’d both finished with their coffees. Then, she hugged the woman goodbye and got in her car. Discovering she had a voicemail, Kieran let it play through the car speaker.

“Kieran, this is Lieutenant Easton. We spoke yesterday.”

“As if I could forget,” she said to herself.

“I wanted to let you know that we’ve had a development. The timing is… interesting, but I think we found your sister. I have her fingerprints that say there’s a match but no DNA because she was arrested for misdemeanor drug possession. She’s in another state. Anyway, we’ve asked for her DNA. She’s not complying, but the fingerprint match is enough for me to get her here. I wanted you to know. I have her new mug shot, too. It’s her. She’s being arraigned on that charge there tomorrow morning, but they’ll give her community service or probation, and we’ll bring her back here to face the murder charge.”

“Oh, my God…” Kieran said to herself.

“I’m not normally one to do this,” Dylan’s voice in the voicemail continued. “But I have a personal interest in siblings going missing. While your case is different, I’m sympathetic. I’m at a diner by the station right now. If you’re interested or need someone to talk to, you can stop by. I’ll be here for a while. I’m waiting on my wife.”

Kieran wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t know Dylan. And while the woman seemed nice, Kieran didn’t know if meeting her at a diner was the best idea. Dylan could just be trying to get more information out of her. Of course, that would require Kieran to have any actual information in the first place.

“Lieutenant Easton,” she said as she drove home.

“Yes, hi.”

“You found her?”

“She found us, technically, but it’s her.”

“And she’ll be brought back?”

“Tomorrow end-of-day or the next morning at the earliest.”

“I want to see her.”

“Of course,” Dylan said. “I mean, it’ll still be up to her, obviously, but I’ll get you the information where she’s being held once I know for sure.”

“Thank you.”

“And I know this is a lot,” Dylan added. “It’s not the same thing at all, but my wife’s brother went missing a long time ago now. It’s how she and I met, technically. So, I know that it’s a lot, to not know what happened.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did they ever find him?”

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