Page 41 of The Familiar Stranger

I entered their information into the search bar and found the file of contacts, narrowing it down to the people I needed to call, then turned toward Maddie. “What do you think? Should I call?”

“You should,” Maddie said. “Right now.”

CHAPTER28

I decided to start with Savannah’s father, Noah, just to get a feel. Years before, when he’d hired me to find his missing daughter, the case took a dark turn when his wife, full of grief, overdosed on pills and died. If only she’d had the will to carry on a little longer, she would have been reunited with her daughter.

My call with Noah was short, with him confirming all was going well. I called Olivia’s mother, Kris, next, but the number was no longer in service. I called the landline, and it, too, had been disconnected, indicating there had to have been some big change in their lives. I texted Kat, asking her to see if she could track down the new cell phone number.

Then I placed my phone on my lap and waited.

Kat’s text came through fast, as I’d hoped it would:Different names, new location, new number. I think she doesn’t want to be found.

She gave me the new phone number for Kris … and her new name, Mary. It seemed the FBI itself had worked it out for her, thanks to an agent friend—not witness protection, but enough that she could start a new life.

But why?

Perhaps it had been because of all the press around the kidnapping at the time. Everyone in the country was talking about it back then. It was a lot—overwhelming for the families.

I called Mary, using her current name, and she answered, much to my surprise, thinking it was possible the years may have made her less wary. I reintroduced myself, and there was an uncomfortable silence before she responded with, “How did you get my number?”

I wasn’t about to admit the truth.

“I’m a detective, after all,” I said.

“Oh … kay.”

“I know it’s been quite a few years since we last spoke. I’m just calling to check in on your family.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, no … no. Everything’s fine.”

“Just seems weird to me, to hear from you out of the blue, after all this time.”

My attempt to make it seem like I was just checking in wasn’t working. I shifted gears, blaming it on nostalgia in my old age, and she’d chuckled at that.

“Those are times I’d rather forget,” she said, “but I can only imagine, as a detective, how you might want to check in and make sure everything is fine on our end.”

“That’s the reason for my call,” I said, holding my crossed fingers behind me back.

“Well, good to hear from you, but yeah, everything’s great.”

We got caught up on the last ten-plus years. Her daughter, Olivia, now Jennifer, was thriving, but not in Jackson Hole. They’d moved to the East Coast—somewhere in North Georgia. Kris/Mary had chosen a common girl name for each of them, and their last name was Jones. They’d changed many details about themselves, including their dates of birth. All the better to meld into the background.

“And your husband—Terrence? I take it you’re not together anymore.”

“Not in the least bit. He didn’t take it well that I ended things. He refused to grant me a divorce, so I did what I had to do. I pulled some favors. He has no idea where we are, and I aim to keep it that way.”

They’d changed names, moved, and started a new life, a life away from her husband—not that I blamed them. When I worked the case, I’d met the guy. To say he was difficult to deal with was a gross understatement.

“Did he hurt you or Olivia, or both?” I asked.

“In more ways than one, but not in a physical way. In fact, it’s worse than that, because … oh, Sloane. How could I have not seen it from the get-go? The reason it didn’t work out was because I couldn’t get over the fact that he didn’t love my daughter.”

“That’s … so awful,” I said.

Our conversation went on for thirty minutes, her describing the man’s outright disdain for her daughter, his stepdaughter, Olivia. How she would never tolerate a man who didn’t accept her daughter as part of the marriage package. How she’d found out about some of his illegal hobbies involving gambling and shady business deals.

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