Page 82 of Please Remember

Shaking her head, Allie looks to me. I gape as I try to explain, "That's, uh, that's... that's Laura's best friend. She was going to be the maid of honor."

"You know her?"

I shake my head, the weight of everything feeling like it’s pulling me down to the ground. It's true. Laura had a hand in this. There's no way Natalie would have done this herself when neither of us ever met her.

"I never met her. Every time she was supposed to show up, she’d make some excuse. Laura said she was camera shy, so she didn't have any pictures of her. I was likely going to meet her for the first time at the wedding."

Drew holds up a finger. "Wait, I think that's who Laura was on the phone with at the engagement party. Her back was to us, so I think she was on the phone. I overheard her say the name Nat when I went to ask her if she'd heard from Jax."

"That's who she was talking to at the hospital, too," Benji says. "It looked like she was talking to herself, but I think she was on the phone. Wearing ear buds or something."

"We'll find her," Shields assures us.

"So, are we saying Natalie helped Laura do this?" he asks. "Or did Natalie do this for Laura?"

"There's no way someone we've never met would do this without Laura's help," Sage says, her hand holding tightly onto Allie's. "Allie, babe, you good?"

She swallows and lets out a shaky breath. "It's... I don't know."

"Allie?" I say, my heart thumping in my chest.

"I just need a moment, Jax," she says.

I know she's trying not to blame me, but I don't know how she couldn't. I blame me. It's because of me that Laura ended up in our lives to begin with. I let her hang around even though I didn't particularly like her in middle school and high school because I felt bad for her. Had that not happened, Allie and I would be married right now with a kid or two.

"You're never going to believe this," Parsons says to Shields.

Everyone turns to look at him as she asks, "What?"

"That other car? The license plate matches a car reported missing almost two decades ago. A 1998 silver Honda Civic belonging to Heidi Moran."

Gasping, Allie looks at Sage with wide eyes. "Laura's the one who brought up Ms. Moran's disappearance when she visited with us. She's the one who gave us Danny's name."

"She knew there was a connection," Sage says. "She knew what happened to Ms. Moran and what happened to Allie were really similar because she was responsible."

Allie shakes her head. "Do we really think Laura kidnapped her when she was only thirteen? How'd she get the car here? She wasn't old enough to drive."

"Think about it," she argues. "Aside from you being found seven years after you were kidnapped, your disappearances are almost exactly the same. Ms. Moran vanished without a trace. Along with her car. Her car was found in the same place you were held. These two things are connected. They were committed by the same person."

"She was thirteen when Ms. Moran vanished. Danny's uncle owned the house then. Neither she nor Natalie, unless Natalie's forty-five, could have rented this house. What if it wasn't Laura?"

"If it wasn't her, it doesn't mean she didn't have a part in it," Benji says. "Maybe Danny's uncle was the one who did this to Ms. Moran? There was that rumored affair between Danny and her. Laura may have learned what to do from him. Or Natalie did, and she did this for Laura. Either way, Laura's tied to this. I know it. Sorry, Jax, but she's a fucking loon."

My body feels numb. It feels like there has to be a connection, but Allie's right. Even I couldn't have kidnapped Ms. Moran back then, and I was always tall for my age. Lanky, but tall. And I couldn't drive to save my life. It seems too coincidental that they wouldn't be connected, though. And I can't disagree with Benji. As much as I want to say Laurahad nothing to do with this to make myself feel better, I can actually believe it deep down.

"We'll figure out what happened. Now that we have the cars, we have evidence. Whoever did this will be found," Shields assures.

"You helped solve your own case as well as a two decades old cold one," Parsons says. "I still think it was stupid to come out here alone at night, but I can't argue it was helpful."

At least we have his approval, I guess. I feel like our discoveries tonight have given us more questions than answers, though. Even though I don't want Laura to be the one who did this, I also don't want her released. She's clearly a danger to Allie, and I don't want her able to come near her ever again. I don't know what we're going to do if nothing ties Laura to this. Maybe move?

Allie walks over and wraps her arms around me, and I know she's just as confused as I am. The sight of this house doesn't make me feel any better about where she was when I couldn't find her. It just adds more reality to the terrible thoughts I have in my head when I think about what happened to her. Thoughts that keep me up awake at night, just the same as Allie’s nightmares about this place.

We need closure, but I don't know how we'll get that. Until we do, I worry we won't be able to move past any of this.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Laura

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