Page 109 of Irons

“He’s fucking dead on the bottom of the fucking ocean!”

My head shot up and I froze in shock. Paula was whispering something to herself.

“You found Bobby.”

As soon as she said the words I shot up, then tried to run but slipped and fell. My socks didn’t give me much traction on the hard wood floors. I pushed up and tried to make it to him before he said another word. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was happening. It was something he hadn’t told me, but just those few words hit me like a brick wall. I knew what Creed’sLake was about and how we would need to work outside the law at times. I slid into the room and slammed into him, throwing my hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare say another word.”

Paula’s entire body was shaking. “You found him.” She repeated herself.

I pushed Travis toward the hallway. “Don’t do it, Travis. Don’t you dare do it.” He was fighting me.

“I know, Travis. I know what you do, who you do it for, where you go, and…how Alistair Creed found Wrenly’s file.” Her voice cut through me like a knife and my hand slowly lowered as I stared at her.

“My file?”

Paula deflated. “I hoped he would come home on his own.”

I let go of Travis and turned toward Paula. “What do you mean you hoped he would come home on his own?”

“I’m just now putting all the pieces together myself.” She walked over to the window and sobbed into her tissue for a few moments. She finally turned her head to look at us. “It wasn’t intentional. I kept fighting and pushing to find Bobby. It started out as just flyers and pleas to the media. I was doing everything I could to keep Bobby’s case from going cold. Talking to the media, going on Oprah, appearing in true crime documentaries.” She looked back out the window. “I’m just a weather girl, not an advocate or a celebrity.” She started wringing her hands. “At first it was a small support group, then it evolved to conferences, meeting with politicians, and I even got a call from the President.” She looked at us again. “I needed to fund my search for him. Robert already moved on, and he was stretched to his limit financially with supporting two families.” She looked back out the window. “I became a key note speaker, then made moreappearances on talk shows for money. Eventually, I testified in front of congress. So many families were missing babies and there was no support, let alone financial support. Regular people donated what they could. My life changed so much, but I never stopped searching. It was always about Bobby, and I never lost that focus.” She let out a deep breath then walked over for another tissue.

“I had just testified in front of congress when I got a call from Congressman Shaw. He was out of New York. You may be familiar with an actress by the name of Addison Shaw?”

We both nodded in response.

“She was just a teenager at the time. Anyway, he stated that his daughter was dating a young man whose father was very prominent. He was a philanthropist, and Congressman Shaw felt like this man could help. It was back when I was starting my non-profit. I’m not sure if you know this, Travis, but I run a non-profit that is constantly on standby and mobilizes when a true Amber alert is set off. We provide things like a telephone hot line, pay the expenses of other programs like search teams and we will even cover the expenses of families to travel to the parents of lost children to give them that extra support. We also do our best to cover mortgages and rent while the parents search for their children.” She blew her nose.

“Congressman Shaw invited me to dinner with a very kind but extremely successful man by the name of Alistair Creed. Not the son but the father.” She used the tissue to dry her tears then walked back over to the window. “I never met a true gentleman like Mr. Creed. He was a bit dry, at first.” She smiled. “But after a few minutes he warmed up to me. He was a father himself. He listened to every word I said, and I told him all about Bobby. The man was patient and kind, a real listener that was able to tap into my emotions and I swear the man felt my pain.”She smiled through her tears like she was remembering him fondly. “I left that dinner with two checks. One to start my non-profit and one to fund my search for Bobby. Both were donations and not loans.” She shook her head then broke down. “That man was killed in a plane crash and I never got to thank him again.”

“Oh my God.” Travis whispered.

She turned to us. “I’ve met a lot of people on this journey. Congressmen, senators, FBI agents and directors.” She glanced at me then back to Travis. “Even Generals, specifically one named General Pennington.”

“Holy shit.” Travis whispered again.

“Two years after Mr. Creed passed away, I was invited to an event hosted by The Center For Missing and Exploited Children. It was before your dad became deathly ill and I saw the photo he had of you, and also one of you with several other young soldiers. I knew you were in the military.” She cleared her throat. “While at that event I met General Pennington. He was there because his wife is a longtime supporter of the program. Congressman Shaw introduced me to him and when I mentioned my son was serving, you couldn’t have measured my surprise when he said he knew you and you were no longer serving. I had already done some Google searches but found nothing more than your dad knew, until less than a year ago. You showed up on a website for motorcycles.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I need to get back on track here. I sat with the General and his wife and we struck up a friendship that we still share today. He didn’t divulge much information about you. He protected your privacy, but then I found you on the website and my heart ached. I’m sure you could imagine my shock to learn you were so close with Alistair’s son.” She smiled. “If he’s anything like his father, he’s wonderful.”

“Did you have an affair with his father?” Travis asked.

She turned to him and her brows drew together. “Absolutely not, he was an angel, a handsome man, but absolutely not a lover to me. I am faithful to Charlie.”

I heard him scoff behind me.

“I’ll jump to the rest of the story.” She continued. “I’ve been around to see Wrenly’s life evolve. Heather always kept me updated, and believe it or not your grandmother, Patty, always kept me updated about Travis as well. Up until the day of the accident.” She wiped her tears again. “Patricia, the General’s wife, invited me to dinner with several other ladies. That was when I met Dee, her husband is the FBI director, in Washington. I was suddenly welcomed into this friend group.” She shut her eyes for a moment. “Wait, I’m skipping too far ahead. Please stick in there with me because I promise it’s all important.”

Travis and I walked to the sofa and took a seat.

“Good, you might as well get comfortable. To start again, I have to say this. Charlie was the detective on Bobby’s case. Of course we were in contact. Nothing happened between us…well nothing for many years. The first time your dad left me Charlie came over and we shared a kiss, that’s all. I was upset and it was a mistake. I wasn’t aware that Emma was already pregnant with Brock the first time he left me, even while he was begging me to make us a family again by stepping back the search for Bobby. Charlie came to my room that night to comfort me and it happened. Eventually, your father came home to try again, and it wasn’t the same. He knew about Charlie, and I knew about Emma, but I still didn’t have a clue about Brock. Charlie came over a lot, actually every time your father left me, then your dad finally gave up and moved in with Emma. That’s when Charlie and I became serious, and your father filed for the divorce.Eventually we knew we were making a mistake and by then Brock was born and your father had been hiding his existence from you for a few years. We could never get our marriage back, so we worked together and eventually rediscovered the friendship part of our relationship. It’s important to know that we were friends and no longer lovers. I ended up married to Charlie and we had Evie. The loss of you and your father in my life hurt, but it was a pain I caused myself. One that I refused to acknowledge, and I dedicated myself to my marriage, my daughter, and my work. You already left for the military and your father struggled. I had a lot to balance, but I refocused. I probably should have started with that part of the story.” She sat on the chair she occupied earlier. The only movement Travis was making was when he would blink his eyes.

“I never planned to tell you the little I knew about your life. General Pennington always steered away from any discussion about you, until lately. During the time of the terrorist attacks. I was in DC visiting friends after a conference I attended as the key note speaker, and it was like the husband’s just disappeared. They were all gone and I didn’t see any of them from the time I arrived. Patricia hosted a dinner, and we were drinking wine and sharing a few laughs when all the sudden these men in fatigues flew into the house. It was chaotic and before I knew anything I was being shoved into a vehicle with the other women, and we were taken into an underground bunker. It was two days of hearing whispers of attacks, and I couldn’t even call Charlie or Evie. It was one night when I finally broke down. I told the girls all about you, how I didn’t even know you and all these regrets came to the surface. I was never going to see any of my children again.” She stood and walked over to the box of tissues and pulled out several before sitting back down.

“There was a common area.”

“Oh my God.” Travis repeated again.

Paula nodded. “I was in the common area. The General finally came to check on Patricia, and there were people with him. Soldiers but not soldiers.”

“Shit.” Travis whispered.

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