Page 69 of Find Me

“He most certainly did,” Lindsay said. “Alex didn’t deserve to die for what he did, Hope, but he did owe this to you. He took away the last fifteen years of your life, but now it’s really over. You’ve got your entire future in front of you.”

Hope pulled her hair over one shoulder, twisting it as she spoke. “It’s weird, but in a way, I don’t regret it—what happened, I mean. It sounds like I left behind a pretty shitty life. If I hadn’t left with Alex, if there had been no car accident—who knows where I would have ended up? I could have ended up like that girl TC, or my mother.”

Lindsay placed a hand on Hope’s wrist. “You would have been fine. You’re a survivor.” She remembered Scott saying the same thing about Hope when she first disappeared. He had been absolutely right.

Hope’s gaze returned to Alex’s letter. “We should send this to Jess, too.”

“But Jess said he and TC actuallywereat the house when Mullaney pulled into the driveway. They heard the gunshot.”

“Why don’t we just let Alex’s words speak for themselves? It’s obviously what he wanted.”

40

Tuesday, June 29, 1:28 p.m.

It had been only five days since she flew to Wichita, but Ellie realized it was the longest she had gone without seeing Max since they’d gotten together four years before. She usually preferred texting, but they’d been on the phone for twenty minutes and damn if she didn’t miss him. As if reading her mind, he said, “I know you needed this time with your family, but I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Depending on the flight gods, she’d be back to their apartment by the time Max got home from work. “Me too. It’s been a rough few days.”

“You guys did the right thing sticking around for a while. Are you going to be okay today?”

“Yeah. It’ll be good for the three of us to do this together.”

“Okay. Gotta run to court, but call if you need me. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She decided to wash the dishes from lunch while she was still in the kitchen. Five days was also the longest amount of time she and Jess had spent with their mother in years, and she was enjoying being alone for a few minutes. Roberta Hatcher was... a lot.

Ellie and Jess had not told their mother the actual reason for theirsudden visit until late Friday night—after Ellie and Lindsay were finished answering the police’s questions. They didn’t want to upset her with only a theory. Steve’s final act in that restaurant bathroom had provided an ending to the story. They left out the part about Jess being at Richard Mullaney’s house the night of the shooting, but their mother now understood that her husband had been murdered by his closest friend because he had gotten too close to the truth about Mullaney’s predation.

Their mother drank what seemed like half a liter of vodka before going to bed, and emptied the bottle the next day. But on this afternoon, as Ellie dried her hands and walked into the living room, she thought Roberta actually looked better than she had for years. Clear-eyed. Focused. And there had been none of the morose reminiscing and self-pity that Ellie always dreaded.

“I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow,” her mother said. “Maybe you can stay long enough for Max to fly down so I can finally meet him.”

At least she wasn’t referring to Max as “that man” anymore. “He’s in trial, Mom. And Jess and I need to get back to our jobs.”

“I know, I know.” Her mother waved a hand. “I just like having my kids here. Maybe I’ll move to New York so I can see you more.”

Jess didn’t even hesitate before replying. “Mom, it’s so expensive. You would hate living in a shoe box.”

“Well, I could move in with Ellie and Max. You have a second bedroom, don’t you?”

Jess looked to Ellie with a self-satisfied grin.

For the first time Ellie could recall in years, their mom broke out into the staccato belly laugh their father used to call her machine-gun chuckle. She pointed a finger toward both of them. “I got you, didn’t I?”

She had, indeed. “Maybe come for a visit though, okay?” Ellie was surprised to realize that she actually meant it.

Her phone buzzed with a new text. Lindsay Kelly.I don’t have yourbrother’s contact information, but you’ll both want to see this.

Ellie forwarded the PDF that followed to Jess as soon as she finished reading. Alex Lopez hadn’t just cleared Hope in Mullaney’s murder; he’d guaranteed that no one else could be implicated. Only their small circle would ever know that Jess had been at the house that night.

“The two of you, constantly on your screens like a couple of those TikTok kids.”

Jess met Ellie’s eyes and nodded as he slipped his phone into his back pocket. “You guys ready?” he asked, grabbing their mother’s key ring from a cat-shaped hook by the front door.

“You drive like a bank robber,” she said, snatching the keys from Jess.

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