Chapter 15
Avery followed Bree out of the sheriff’s office to her vehicle with the Nebraska tags, silence stretching between them. Yes, she wanted to talk with this unexpected twin. They needed to talk.
Once in the passenger seat, Avery was stumped for how to start a conversation with her only living blood relative.
A sister. Her breath lodged in her throat.
This was the first time she’d been alone with her mirror image—another human being who, not only shared common DNA, but had shared a womb with her.
Bree backed out of the parking space and pulled out onto the street. “Now’s the time you tell me you’re going to press charges and send me to jail for impersonating a federal officer…?”
“I should,” she answered without thinking, regretting it immediately. “But I won’t. I’d really like to know why you did it.”
For a long moment, Bree said nothing. “I’d lost the only mother I’d known—my best friend.
When I took the DNA test, I was still hurting.
It was a whim. I was curious about my heritage, never expecting to find a match so close that it indicated a parent.
I was at the anger stage of grief. It pissed me off that I’d lost the mother of my heart, a selfless woman who’d chosen to love me and give me a home.
Finding out that the woman who’d given birth to me and dumped me at a hospital was alive and well in Texas.
..hit a chord. Made me mad. I took off work and drove down.
I didn’t have a plan. I was running on adrenaline and anger. ”
“You say the ancestry app listed her as living in Shadow Valley, Texas?”
“Yes, but they don’t give specific street addresses.
Her name was listed as Sandra Raynes. When I arrived in town, I’d driven all the way without stopping to eat.
It was early morning. The diner was hopping, and I figured it might be a good place to ask if anyone in this small town knew a woman named Sandra Raynes.
A young waitress directed me to an older one. ”
Avery’s lips twitched. “Letha Herrin?”
Bree shot her a look. “That’s her. She said she knew most everyone in town but didn’t know anyone by that name.
She suggested I check with the sheriff’s office, but that they were busy because they’d found the bodies of two murder victims and were scrambling to find the killer before he struck again. ”
“Word got around town quickly,” Avery said.
Bree nodded. “As it does in most small towns. I went to the sheriff’s office, hoping I’d catch someone not involved in the murder case I could ask about Sandra Raynes.
I walked in. Agent Bradley pulled me into the conference room, saying she was glad I’d finally made it, and started laying out the information they’d gathered so far.
Every time I started to set the record straight, someone would interrupt before I could get started.
Then I saw the photographs of the women.
” She glanced toward Avery. “They could have been me.”
“Not you, but me. I was the one the hitman came after,” Avery said. “No one knew you were coming or that you even existed.”
“I played along because I felt they needed help solving the case before any more women died. In the meantime, I’ve been looking for the non-existent Sandra.” Bree sighed. “That’s my story. It’s not a good excuse, but it’s all I have. I came angry and stayed to help.”
Avery understood how Bree had felt. She, too, hadn’t wanted to find her biological mother.
What mother would abandon her child and just walk away?
Now she knew it wasn’t just one baby, but twins—separated so they would have no chance of being placed together to grow up knowing they were sisters.
“I can’t claim to know the reason our biological mother left us, and at different hospitals.
I am curious about the match you got on the ancestry site and why you can’t find her.
If she’s your biological mother, she’s mine, too.
Finding her would answer our questions about her motivation to let us go. ”
“Except, for all my research, I can’t find a single Sandra Raynes who lives in Shadow Valley now or ever has.”
“Could she have put a false address in the application?” Avery asked.
Bree’s brow furrowed as she pulled into the parking lot of TJs. “I guess she could have.”
“Maybe she had a reason for putting down a fake town.”
Bree nodded. “That did cross my mind. What if she wanted to find us but didn’t want anyone else to find her?”
“You think she could be in hiding?” Avery tilted her head. “Did she try to contact you through the app?”
Bree shook her head. “No. I would like to find her. If for no other reason than because I want to hear her side of the story, not the one I’ve told myself for the past thirty-four years.”
“After we find the killer’s lair, I’ll see what I can do to help find her. Grant has connections with a computer guru who can tap into just about any online database. He might be able to trace her through the app.”
“He’s a hacker?” Bree asked.
“I don’t ask,” Avery said. “The man is one of the good guys. So, he might be tapping into restricted data, but for all the right reasons.”
“I didn’t just hear that,” Bree said with a grin.
“And I know nothing about a certain Detective Bree Lansing impersonating a federal agent.” Avery nodded. “I’m not going to report you.”
“Thanks.” Bree pushed open her door and got out of the car.
Avery joined her at the entrance to TJ’s, and they entered together.
They approached the counter. The clerk at the register checked for their order status. “Your order will be ready in just a few minutes. You pay now or when it comes out.”
“Now will work,” Avery said and handed him Grant’s credit card.
Once he ran the card and gave her the receipt, he waved toward the tables behind them. “You’re welcome to have a seat.”
Avery chose a booth nearby and sank onto the bench. Bree sat across from her.
Avery stared across the table at the woman who looked so much like her it was like staring into a mirror. Her heart swelled. “Not to be sappy or anything, but just so you know, now that I’ve found you, I want to get to know you.”
“Same,” Bree said with a shy smile. “It’s not every day you get a sister.”
A young man with a familiar face walked through the room to the far side. Avery frowned when she realized it was Seth Ryland, Mr. Logsdon’s caregiver. Mr. Logsdon wasn’t with him, which left her concerned. If he was at TJs, who was with Mr. Logsdon, making sure he didn’t wander off and get lost?
“What’s wrong?” Bree asked, turning around to see where Avery was looking.
“I’m not sure about anything,” Avery said.
“Ladies,” the clerk approached with two bags. “Your order.”
Avery and Bree stood, each collecting a bag.
Avery cast a glance at the table where Seth sat across from a young woman, smiling and laughing like he planned to be there a while.
“You know, I’d like to make a detour on the way back to the hospital,” Avery said as they left the bar and grill, already texting the sheriff for Mr. Logsdon’s address.
Sheriff Taylor answered immediately, which told her the hitman wasn’t talking yet, and they were bored standing around waiting for him to wake up. She brought up the address on her cell phone and gave Bree the directions.
As she left the parking lot, Bree said, “You know, Grant will lose his shit if you’re not back in the next five minutes. That man’s crazy about you.”
And Avery was crazy about him. And crazy to have driven him away, though it had been for his own protection. “I’ll text him and let him know we’re going to do a wellness check on Mr. Logsdon.”
“Should I know this man?” Bree asked.
“Grant and I ran into him yesterday. Or rather, he ran into me. He mistook me for the daughter he lost years ago.”
“Alzheimer’s?” Bree guessed.
“Or dementia,” Avery said. “He escaped his house and was on his way to work.”
“Let me guess, he retired a long time ago.”
Avery nodded.
“Why the sudden need to perform a wellness check on him?”
“His caregiver walked into TJ’s right before we left and sat down like he was going to stay a while.”
“And if he’s at TJ’s, who’s keeping an eye on a man who’s no longer right in the head?” Bree nodded. “Now, I’m curious. Maybe the caregiver has backup so he can take a break now and then.”
“I hope so. And if not, did he lock the old man in the house or just leave him to fend for himself and possibly burn the house down or wander off and get lost in the woods?” Avery’s lips twisted.
“I don’t know Mr. Logsdon, but for the one time he ran into me.
Still, he seemed like a nice man who’d seen a lot of pain. ”
“Wouldn’t hurt to check on him,” Bree said. “The others can wait a minute or two for their food.”
As they pulled up in front of a single-story gray-blue clapboard house with the white trim, Avery thought it looked like a place out of a storybook, neat, clean and well-maintained.
The drive was empty, and the blinds had been drawn in the windows.
The sun had dropped low on the horizon, casting long shadows.
If she didn’t get moving, she’d break her promise to Grant by not getting back before dark.
Bree shifted into park. “Doesn’t look like anyone is home.”
“Perhaps Seth drops Mr. Logsdon off at a senior center in the evenings while he catches a bite to eat.” Avery pushed open her door. “I’ll just go knock.”
“Coming with you,” Bree said and caught up with her as she climbed the front porch.
Avery knocked on the door, straining to hear sounds from inside the house.
Nothing.
She knocked again. “Mr. Logsdon? It’s me, Agent Hart.”
She listed.
“I hear footsteps,” Bree whispered.
Avery heard them, too.
A moment later, the door handle jiggled as if someone on the other side was unlocking it, then it turned.
Mr. Logsdon peered through the gap. When he spied Avery, his face lit up. “Sarah! You’re home. Come in. Come in. Your mother will be so happy.”
Avery smiled at the old man. “Mr. Logsdon, I’m Avery Hart, not Sarah. I’ve just come to see if you’re all right.”
“Not Sarah?” His brow furrowed. Then he turned his head and spotted Bree standing to the side. His frown deepened. “Sarah?”
Bree shook her head. “No, sir. I’m not Sarah. I’m Bree Lansing. Are you okay?”
He shook his head, tears welling in his eyes. “You’re my Sarah,” he said, his gaze going from Avery to Bree and back. He staggered backward, his legs shaking.
Avery hurried forward and slipped his arm over her shoulder. “Mr. Logsdon, let’s get you to a chair. Is there anyone here with you?”
“Oh, Sarah, I missed you so much. Your mother has been crying for days.”
Bree got on the other side of the man and looped his other arm over her shoulder.
Together, they eased him back through the door and inside to a small living room with a floral overstuffed sofa in shades of pale pink and blue. They eased him onto the seat and stood back.
“Can we get you something to drink, Mr. Logsdon?”
“Fetch Maggie,” he said. “She’ll be so happy. Her little girl has come home.”
“Is Maggie your wife?” Avery asked.
“Yes, yes,” he said and scrubbed a hand down his face. “The love of my life. I fell in love with her the first day she came to work at the mill. Prettiest girl I ever saw, with hair as black as yours.” He reached out and touched Avery’s long hair, which she hadn’t pulled back that morning.
“Mr. Logsdon, are you here alone?” Bree asked.
He shook his head. “My sweet Maggie is here. She’s fixing dinner. It should be ready soon.”
Avery straightened and crossed to the fireplace, where a shiny silver and black urn stood on the mantel. Words had been engraved in the metal.
Margaret Logsdon
Beloved wife and mother.
Avery’s eyes stung.
She’d found Mr. Logsdon’s Maggie.
The front door swung open.
A frowning Seth Ryland entered, carrying a bag with TJ’s Bar and Grill logo printed on the side. “Agent Hart, I didn’t expect to find you here. Is everything okay?”
“Ms. Lansing and I stopped by to visit Mr. Logsdon,” Avery said. “We stayed because we were concerned that he was alone.”
“He was asleep when I stepped out to pick up dinner for the two of us.” Seth went to the older man. “Are you feeling okay, Mr. Logsdon? I brought dinner.”
“Did you see?” Mr. Logsdon smiled up at Seth.
“Sarah’s home, and she brought her...” The man stopped talking, his smile fading, a frown furrowing his brow.
“I don’t understand. Sarah...I know it’s you.
..” He turned to Bree. “But you’re Sarah, too.
” The man’s head shook from side to side. “I don’t...understand.”
Seth left the room, then returned with a glass of water and handed it to Mr. Logsdon. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a bottle of pills and shook one out into his hand. “It’s time for your medicine, Mr. Logsdon.” He placed the pill in the man’s hand. “It’ll make you feel better.”
“I don’t understand,” he murmured.
Seth guided Mr. Logsdon’s hand to his mouth. “Take the pill and a drink of water.”
The old man put the pill in his mouth and drank some of the water.
Seth straightened. “Sometimes, when he gets overwhelmed, he can get violent. You need to leave. It’ll take time to calm him.”
“Don’t send her away,” Mr. Logsdon cried. “Sarah’s finally come home.”
“Is he going to be all right?” Avery asked, backing toward the door, not ready to leave the man, but her presence seemed to make him increasingly agitated.
“He’ll be all right,” Seth assured her, walking with them to the door. “You can stop by tomorrow if you’d like. But maybe just one of you.”
Avery nodded. “I’m sorry if we disturbed him.”
“Again, he’ll be all right. He forgets from one moment to the next.”
Bree hooked her arm. “We’ll just be leaving.”
When Avery stepped out on the porch, someone wearing a coverall and a ballcap pulled down low over his forehead stood beside Bree’s car.
“Can I help you, sir?” Bree called out.
Seth came out to stand between Avery and Bree. “Do you know that man?”
“No,” Bree said and started down the steps. “That’s my car.”
“Bree, wait for me,” Avery called out.
Something stung the back of her neck. She reached up to swat the offending insect but couldn’t quite lift her arm that high. She started down the steps to follow Bree, but her legs wobbled on the last step. She fell forward, landing on her hands and knees. “What’s wrong with me?” she whispered.
“You’re not feeling well,” a voice said against her ear.
“Avery!” Bree cried out.
“I’m not feeling...” Avery’s eyelids drooped, turning dusk to dark, “...well.”