Page 40 of Shrouded Past

Bryce clicked a photo of the ID and then showed it to Piper.

“He looks much younger here, but that’s him.”

“I’ll send the photo to Stella and see if this is the man who picked up Piper.” Bryce noticed the time and grimaced. “It’s late. Hopefully, I won’t wake her up.”

The noise of additional vehicles arriving had Will heading for the door. A message flashed on his phone. “That’s the team.” He opened it and let the members of Hope Island Security inside.

“Sounds like we’ve got someone worried,” Katrina said with that brilliant smile. She dropped her bag on the sofa. The younger woman appeared sweet on the outside but Bryce had a feeling she was tough as nails when she needed to be.

“Why don’t we set up office in the kitchen?” Bryce suggested. “That table is big enough to fit us all.”

“Sounds good. How are you holding up?” Rachel asked when she spotted Piper.

“I’m okay.” Piper gave her a hug.

Laptops came out, and each member of the team brought up the case file.

“Seems like we have a lot of new information coming in.” Janine focused on Bryce. “And you had no idea there was a possible connection between you two?”

“None. Of course, we’d never met before, but it’s strange that the man connected to Jenna’s death was looking for Piper.”

“I’ve done some searching on the name EdmonBabikov in public records,” Declan told them. “No record of him living in Wyoming. I then searched the first name Edmon only thinking maybe he kept his first name but used a different last name. Sometimes when people are on the run it’s easier for them to keep part of their real name. It helps them not to slip up.” Delcan glanced down at his laptop. “There are a dozen Edmons across the country. I pinpointed ones that were close to Maine, Michigan, and Wyoming.” He glanced around the room. “As I said, none were in Wyoming. The only one in Michigan was our Edmon. Despite his attempts at covering up his location. It took a while, but I was able to locate him. I’m guessing that’s how his killer did as well.”

Bryce sat forward. “Did you find anyone in Maine by that name?”

Declan looked him in the eye. “I did and I think this may be our guy as well. An Edmon Rostov lived near Cape Elizabeth . . .” He paused and waited for the connection to sink in.

“That’s the location where the young child with my name died,” Piper exclaimed.

“Exactly, and there’s more. Edmon Rostov has a sister by the name of Marina.”

All the color drained from Piper’s face. “That’s the name Edmon mentioned before. He said he’d never let them hurt me like they had Marina.”

“This has to be the same Edmon.” JT shifted toward Will. “Can you see if we can get more information on Edmon and Marina?”

Will nodded. “I have a good friend who is a detective on the force. I’ll give him a call now. Excuse me.” Will left the kitchen.

“It won’t be easy finding information. There’s no record of either Edmon or Marina since around three years ago . . . right around the same time you were in Wyoming, Piper.”

“This is our connection,” Eli confirmed Bryce’s thoughts. “We know where Edmon ended up, but where’s Marina?” His attention shifted to Piper. “From the sound of it, something bad happened to her.”

Bryce felt the same way. “If Edmon is the person who picked up Piper in Wyoming, he introduced himself as Piper’s uncle. What if Marina is Piper’s mother? Do we have any photos of Marina?”

“Let me check.” Declan squinted at the screen as he typed in several commands. “Not since more than twenty-five years ago. I have her driver’s license photo from back then. It was taken in September of 1998.” He turned the laptop around where Piper could see.

The cup she held in her hand clattered to the table spilling its coffee contents. Her hand flew to cover her mouth. “That’s the woman in the white kitchen with the flour.” She homed in on Bryce, her eyes large glistening pools of color. Tears and terror shimmered in them. “That’s my mother.”

Chapter Eight

As she stared at a younger version of her mother, something ugly tried to break free. “No.” She couldn’t let it out. It was just too horrible.

“Piper?”

Her eyes focused on Bryce who had been trying to get her attention. He’d asked her something.

“You’re certain that’s the woman you remembered in the kitchen and that she’s your mother?”

She had no doubt. They’d been so happy together until . . . Whatever was hidden in her past—whatever had happened to her mother was dark and ugly, and she’d witnessed it all.

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