Page 9 of Special Agent Jennie

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you look into his background or family?”

“Not really. I only know what he shared. Like, I knew he had a father and an older stepbrother, but he never said too much about them. I always had the feeling they didn’t get along. According to Kane, his dad was a loser and his stepbrother worse. After his own mother died giving him birth, he’d lived with his aunt. Unfortunately, when he turned twelve, she passed on also. That’s when his dad came to get him.”

“So, he lived with them.”

“Uh-huh. But it wasn’t a happy situation. I’d known things were tough, not that he said a lot, but I kind of heard what he left out when I saw the bruises he couldn’t hide and knew how dysfunctional their home must be. See… the thing is, I knew how much he wanted a good education. Leaving at seventeen would have meant he wouldn’t be able to finish high school, and he had great marks, loved his classes, and had so many ambitions.”

“What made you give up the search?”

“Other than there was no trail? Well, I ended up having a tough pregnancy for the first trimester. Baby, even then, you were a tough cookie. I couldn’t get far from a bathroom and missed a lot of school because of my condition. Thank goodness for Baba who went every day and picked up my homework assignments. No way would she let me fail a year.”

Lisa had to grin at Jennie’s remarks. “Baba is the best.”

“Yes, she is. Now quit stalling and tell me how you found Kane?”

“Truthfully, I’d looked into his background when we did a stint at school on learning how to get files from the library on old news clippings, you know, microfiche.”

“Yes, I know what you’re talking about. So, you went to the library. What files did you look up?”

“On a hunch, I decided to scan the newspapers around the time of his disappearance and found that his father and brother had been in a bar fight and put a man in the hospital. He’d been left for dead outside the bar, but the owner found him in time and called the ambulance. He survived, but only for a few weeks, and the doctors all agreed he’d passed on from the injuries that had occurred from the beating. The authorities had already been looking for them but with murder now as their motive, they got serious. Seems they’d disappeared… the night of the crime.”

Jennie’s face whitened. “You figure they took Kane with them.”

“Makes sense.”

“Do you remember the date?”

“Sure. March 17th, Saint Patrick’s Day.”

Jennie stiffened. “The same day we… uhhh… never mind.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he’d run. Especially if he found out they’d beaten a man senseless. The boy I knew had morals that wouldn’t allow that.”

“Yet he disappeared too.”

“Yes.”

“And he never came back.”

“He didn’t know about you. I swear. In fact, the night he took off had been the only time we’d taken things to the next level, and I conceived.”

“So, he left the best part of himself behind.”

Jennie laughed. “I swear, one day you’ll break your arm patting your back.”

“It’s called self-respect, Mom. Something you and Baba pounded into me every chance you got.”

“It’s called conceit, a fine distinction, but nonetheless there. Quit fooling around. Tell me how you found Kane.”

“You won’t believe me. After you became an FBI agent, why didn’t you ever look for him?”

“How do you know I didn’t?”

“You didn’t, did you?”

“Nope.”

“Why?”

Jennie winced. “Devastation took over after he’d left me. All the crushing love I’d felt turned to hate. I’m ashamed to admit that just his name made me see red, and the idea of chasing him after his horrible behavior couldn’t be borne. Truthfully, I’d hoped never to see his sorry ass again.”

“It must have been some shock for him to turn up out of the blue tonight.”

“You’ll never know. I came close to retrieving my firearm.”

Lisa laughed but the grin slid off her face when she saw her mother’s expression. “You really do hate him.”

“With all my heart.”

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