Page 80 of The Lake of Lost Girls

Inside, the station was quiet. Mom greeted the front-desk officer by name. Having grown up in Mt. Randall, she knew almost everyone.

“Hi, Randy, I need to speak to Lieutenant Higgins.”

“Sure, Cara. Let me go get her. Have a seat.” Randy said, giving my Mom a sympathetic smile.

Mom and I sat silently side by side. I had a thousand thoughts running through my mind.

My dad was a liar. He was a cheater, too. Did Mom know? I couldn’t imagine her staying with him if she did, but I couldn’t be sure. People could overlook horrible things if it meant maintaining the status quo.

And he had known Meghan—one of the missing girls—intimately. The ramifications of that were appalling.

Ryan was a liar, too. He had been Jess’s boyfriend. He had been a suspect, too.

Both he and my dad had been questioned about the missing women.

I was surrounded by men of questionable character.

And then there was the blanket.

Jess’s blanket.

Wrapped around Tammy Estep’s decayed remains.

Just then, the Lieutenant came out, a folder clasped under her arm. She looked at us cautiously before indicating we were to follow her.

“Officer Paten said you needed to see me.” She spoke as she walked, and I appreciated that she hadn’t talked to us in front of everyone sitting in reception.

She opened a door at the end of the hallway and motioned for us to step inside. “Please, have a seat.” She gestured to the chairs on either side of a large table in the center of the room. She closed the door and took a seat across from us.

“The blanket,” my Mom began, “the one they showed on TV …”

I watched the lieutenant’s face, noting how she kept her expression neutral. “The blanket we recovered with Miss Estep’s remains?”

“Yes, that blanket.” My mom took my hand, squeezing it tightly. “I’m positive it belonged to Jessica. I looked for hers today and it’s not with her belongings, and I don’t remember it being with the things from her dorm room.”

Lieutenant Higgins nodded. “I suspected as much.”

“You did?” I asked.

“In going through some old photographs entered into evidence at the time of the initial report, I saw a plaid throw in one of the pictures submitted by Jessica’s roommate that was remarkably similar to the one we recovered at Baneberry Lake. I have since contacted Miss Molina for clarification, and she’s stated that she remembers a blanket like this had indeed belonged to Jessica. I was planning to come by and ask you about it. But no need to now that you’re here.” The detective crossed her hands on top of the table. “Given the clear and obvious connections between the four girls’ disappearances, I’ve put in a request for expedited testing.” She looked at me, her eyes steady. “Unfortunately, I doubt there will be any residual DNA on the wool given how long it was in the ground, but we’re testing anyway. Maybe we’ll get lucky and we’ll get some answers.” She gave us a kind smile. “But, with what you’re telling me, I believe my instincts were correct and the blanketisJessica’s.”

Mom began crying again. My throat felt tight. Everything seemed to be happening quickly. I had gone so long without knowing anything about my sister and her disappearance and suddenly I was inundated with clues and information. It was almost too much to keep up with.

“Can you tell me more about this blanket, Mrs. Fadley?” Lieutenant Higgins asked.

Mom looked up, her face red and blotchy. But despite this, she was still beautiful when she smiled. “My mother made the knitted wool throw when I was pregnant with Jessica. I had been told I was having a boy.” She chuckled briefly, dabbing her wet face with a tissue. “The nursery had been decorated in blues and greens. Ben, my husband, had hung framed pictures of trains and trucks on the walls. My mother had terminal cancer, but she worked for months on that blanket. She wanted her grandson to have something from her. I had kept it folded over the foot of the crib.” I had never heard this story before. I was half terrified to make a noise, scared she’d stop speaking.

My mother’s face suddenly brightened. “Then Jessica came along. Not a boy at all, but a perfectly healthy girl, and I wrapped her in that blue-and-green blanket when we brought her home from the hospital. Secretly, I was over the moon. I mean, I would have been happy with a boy, but deep down, I wanted a girl. Ben, too. He doted on our girl. Nothing else mattered to him. She was the apple of his eye from the moment he laid eyes on her.”

“Your husband had a very close relationship with Jessica, didn’t he?” Lieutenant Higgins asked, taking notes on a pad of paper.

“Yes, those two were as thick as thieves. They went everywhere and did everything together. Jessica and I had our own relationship, but it had nothing of the closeness she shared with Ben.” Mom’s voice sounded distant as she spoke, as if she weren’t sitting beside me, but instead back in time with her one-time perfect family. “I may have been a little tough on Jessica. I only ever wanted her to succeed. Sure, I had high expectations, but she was my firstborn. Moms are always a bit harder on the oldest child.” She gave me a watery smile. “But, there was no room for me in the relationship Jessica shared with Ben, that’s why I had Lindsey.” She patted my hand.

“What?” I gaped at her.

“Your dad didn’t want any more children after Jessica. He said she was more than enough for him, but I wanted another one. Someone to love me more than anyone.” She laughed again, but I didn’t find it funny.

Mom had a wistful expression when she looked at me. “But this time, we knew right away that we were having a girl, and I was glad. This was my chance to get things right. To ensure you loved me like Jessica loved her dad. Didn’t I deserve that?”

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