Page 19 of Shrouded Past

“We’ll have to loop in Will.” JT confirmed what she already knew. “We don’t have a way to test DNA ourselves.”

This was what she wanted. Her life back. Even if it meant finding the skeletons hidden there.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

Bryce smiled at her courage. She’d seen him smile before, but this time it actually appeared to reach his eyes. For a moment, everything around them faded and it was just her and him watching each other like two people who had discovered something unexpected.

Someone cleared his throat. “I’ll give Will a call.” JT rose and stepped away.

Piper dropped her gaze to the table. Heat seared up her cheeks. What had just happened? She didn’t even know if she were married, if she had kids, or really anything about her life. Romance was the last thing that should be on her mind. And yet . . .

“I’ll get the bag with the clothes.” Was it her imagination or did Bryce’s voice sound unsteady?

Ridiculous. She was being hunted by a man who was ruthless, and Bryce had his own past that weighed him down.

Bryce scraped back his chair. Bella began mewing. He opened the carrier and retrieved Bella before handing the kitten to Piper. “She’s a little shook up, and I think she’s taken to you.” He excused himself.

Piper held the frightened kitten close. In a way, she felt like Bella. Lost and a little uncertain about what was happening.

“We should have Will fingerprint you and see if he can get a hit on the prints.” Janine tapped her pen against the table. “There might be an easy answer, and we can identify you quickly. Especially if your family is looking for you.”

“Unless, they’re part of the problem,” Declan reminded her. “Sounds like this Protector guy, however screwed up he might have been, was actually keeping Piper safe.” Declan typed something into his laptop. “I’m checking DMV records around Maine and Michigan for a Piper Alexander.”

Could it be that simple?

“Nothing useful,” he said with a deep sigh a few moments later. “There are two Piper Alexanders living in Michigan. Both are over the age of forty. Wait . . . there’s one in Maine.” Declan sat up straighter. “This Piper Alexander died when she was five.” He focused on the screen. “She’d be about twenty-five now. How old are you?”

Piper stroked the kitten’s fur. She had no idea. “I’m not sure.”

Declan smiled sympathetically. “Well, I’d say you fit into that age group.”

“If that’s the case, then we can probably assume the name’s a fake. Someone, probably the man who called himself the Protector, decided to call you that. What’s the name of the town?” Bryce asked.

Declan skimmed the article he’d been reading. “Cape Elizabeth. That’s only about forty-five minutes from here.”

“What can we assume from this? Do we think Protector took Piper from around the Cape Elizabeth area? That doesn’t explain why the kidnapper boosted a car in Michigan.”

JT ended his call and returned to his seat. “Will’s on his way. What’d I miss?” Rachel filled him in. “Curious,” he said. “So, we’re working on the hypothesis that Protector kidnapped Piper from around Cape Elizabeth and then disappeared to the remote area where he lived in Michigan—where was the location of the stolen car again?”

“Bridgewood,” Bryce confirmed. “The car was stolen around two and a half days ago as best we can tell. Maybe longer since the old man who owned the vehicle didn’t keep tabs on it.”

“Bridgewood’s only twelve hours from here by vehicle,” Eli confirmed on this laptop. “Piper, you said it’s been around two days since you were abducted by the skull man?”

She nodded. “I call him Skeleton Man, but yeah. A couple days.”

“The timeline doesn’t work,” Janine concluded. “Not if the car was only missing for two days.”

“That was just an estimate. It could have been longer,” Bryce pointed out.

“We need to check out a fifty-mile radius around Larada's place and see if we can find a location that looks like where Piper was held. Can you give us your best description of the place?” JT retrieved a tablet and pen. “I know it was dark out when you escaped, but if you can give us as many details as possible including what the inside was like, it could help us narrow this location down.”

Piper closed her eyes and went back to the night she’d escaped. “There was a porch light on . . .” She remembered the sight of it had sent terror through her. The house had been quiet, and she’d first thought Protector might be outside. If so, he’d see her escape.

“I think the house is white. I went out through the garage, which appeared to be at the back of the house. Oh, there was a small shed a little away from the house.”

JT smiled at her. “That’s good. Anything else. What about the inside?”

She’d caught glimpses of the inside as she’d fled, but Piper had been in the living room and kitchen before. She gave the best description she could of those rooms. “I can, however, tell you about the basement in detail.” She’d never forget it as long as she lived. “The room’s small. Probably about ten-by-ten. There’s a single bed against the wall. Above it there’s a rectangular window. There’s also a small bathroom and a closet.” She’d known the house was in the middle of nowhere even before she’d escaped because there hadn’t been any sounds of traffic or airplanes. No kids playing outside. She told JT as much.

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