27. Rhett
Istared intently at the name scribbled on my notepad - Laura Atkins. Just a teenage girl from Nashville who found herself in a difficult situation a long time ago.
With a heavy sigh, I reached for the phone, breaking the tense silence of my office. Shelby Mills, my longtime private investigator, picked up immediately. Her voice was all business, as usual. “Mr. Rivers.”
“Shelby, I’ve got a name and last known address for the case you’re working on for me.”
“How the fuck did you get that? Does this mean I’m out of a job?”
I gave a mirthless laugh. Only if she was prepared to break the rules on my behalf. “Let’s just say that the situation has become somewhat urgent, and I took matters into my own hands.”
“I see. Better for me not to know what you did, huh?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay, lay it on me.”
“Laura Atkins, from Nashville, Tennessee. She gave birth as a teenager, seventeen years old, in Charlotte. No father listed on the paperwork. The only attending family member was her mother, a Mrs. Barbara Atkins.”
“Home address on that paperwork?”
“Yep.” I reeled off the address, waiting impatiently as I heard Shelby clicking away on her laptop.
“Okay, no Atkins family in residence at that address. You’re gonna have to leave it with me. I’ll need a few hours.”
“I can give you that, but not much more. This is your number one priority until this woman is found.”
“I’m on it. Expect a call at lunchtime.”
She ended the call, and I dropped my phone on the desk. Jesus, this was exhausting.
I spent the next few hours doing everything I possibly could not to think about Scarlett, the babies and Laura Atkins. It didn’t work too well, as my mind churned through the endless possibilities. I mean, what if this woman had moved overseas? Changed her identity? Died? We’d never know, and where the fuck would that leave us? On and on my mind went.
Until my phone beeped, loud enough in my quiet office to make me jump.
Shelby Mills PI: Information in your inbox.
My heart thudded painfully hard in my chest and I almost knocked my coffee cup over in my haste to open my emails.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR REPORT
Client:Rhett Rivers Subject: Laura Parker (née Atkins)
Findings:
After conducting a thorough investigation, I can confirm the following details about the subject, Laura Atkins:
Full Legal Name: Laura Parker (nee Atkins)
Date of Birth: June 14, 1978
Current Residence: 123 Chandler Street, New Bern, NC 28562
Marital Status: Married to Ethan Parker
Children: 4 (Grace, 22, Lily. 20, Mia 15, Oliver 17)
Occupation: High School English Teacher
The subject was born Laura Atkins in Nashville, Tennessee on June 14, 1978 to Barbara and Joseph Atkins. At the age of seventeen, she gave birth to a child in Charlotte, North Carolina, though the father’s identity was never recorded.
Nothing exists on the public record from age seventeen to twenty-three, when she married Ethan Parker.
A year after the marriage, Laura commenced studies at Craven Community College, where she began an arts degree, before moving on to East Carolina University to complete her studies. She matriculated with a Bachelor of Science in Education (B.S. Ed.)
According to public records, Laura Parker works as an English teacher at New Bern High School.
Please let me know if you need any additional information.
Sincerely,
Shelby Mills
Mills Investigations
There was more. Photographs, documents, secondary family members. Laura’s parents retired to Florida, where they still lived.
I knew what I needed to do. I had to take this information straight to Scarlett and see what she wanted to do. But I was sitting there, staring at my screen like a lump, unable to move. Because I knew that this would be a huge bomb to drop on her and I didn’t know how she was going to take it. God knows, she had enough else going on right now. Still, she knew the investigation was happening; she knew I’d got the name of her birth mom, and she knew we needed the family medical history.
Just get it over with. I groaned out loud, rubbing my hands over my face before pushing to my feet.