Page 58 of Den of Iniquity

“It is,” Caroline conceded. “Believe it or not, I still have it. Jeremy’s never seen it because I keep it in my bottom dresser drawer. It’s the only thing I have left from my childhood. My mother didn’t keep report cards or school photos or anything like that, but I managed to hang on to Mindy.”

“If you ever do get around to speaking to your aunt Marisa, she’ll be thrilled to know that. It was something her parents—your grandparents—gave her when she was a little girl. By the way, the only time she ever saw you in person was the day she gave you that teddy bear.”

“My mother never mentioned having a sister,” Caroline objected. “She told me she was an only child.”

“Then she lied about that,” I said. “Your DNA says otherwise, and DNA doesn’t lie.”

“So what happened? If this Marisa person loved me enough to give me the teddy bear, where’s she been all my life? Why don’t I know anything about her?”

“The truth is,” I said quietly, “nothing your mom told you about your history was true. She wasn’t kicked out of the house because she got pregnant. She ran away when she was only fifteen and earned a living as a stripper. She met a guy named Salvatore del Veccio at the club where she was working. I believe they married, although I have yet to verify that.

“I’ve also learned that your father’s family, and especially his father, Bernardo, had serious ties to the mob. When he was arrested and charged with a mob-related homicide, he warned his son, your father, that he was taking a plea deal and was going to testify against some of his former associates. Bernardo advised his son to take his family and disappear. I believe that’s when the US Marshals Service swooped in and took you and your mother into Witness Protection.”

“Me and my mother but not my father?”

“Apparently the Marshals got to you and your mom in time to get you out of town. Your father didn’t make it. His remains were found years later, and his death was ruled as a homicide. I don’t know if the case was ever solved. As for Bernardo? He was murdered shortly after going to prison. Once your father’s remains were located and identified around five years ago, Marisa fully expected that you and your mother would be found dead in the same location. When you weren’t, she began looking for you, and she’s been searching ever since.”

“But how did she find me?”

“I’m afraid that’s my fault,” I admitted. “I’m a private investigator now, but I used to be a cop. I’m also a grandfather. When Kyle showed up at our house, let’s say he was more than slightly upset. He told Mel and me about you, and not in the most flattering of terms. That’s why I ran a background check on you—to find out who you were. The background check turned up a string of aliases for both you and your mother. The Caroline Richards identity is relatively recent, but the first time Phyllis and Lindsey Baylor surfaced was when you were in kindergarten. That’s when I started wondering about Witness Protection.”

“I remember that night,” Caroline said suddenly. “I woke up because someone was pounding on the front door. Then I heard people yelling. When I came out of my bedroom, there was this bunch of strange men with guns standing around in the living room, and one of them was yelling at my mom. ‘You have to go, and you have to go now,’ he said. ‘You can bring along two suitcases, and that’s it!’

“I didn’t know what was happening, and I was scared to death. Mom packed suitcases, and they hustled us out of the house. Momhad her purse, and I had Mindy. They took us to an airport and put us on a plane—to what turned out to be Seattle. I cried for what seemed like hours. I remember some guy in the row of seats in front of us turning around and growling at my mother, ‘Can’t you get that kid to shut up?’ She couldn’t.”

And that, I thought,was the beginning of a whole new nightmare.

“They must have given my mother some amount of money because we were all right for a while,” Caroline continued, “but once that ran out and she had to go to work... well, I guess you know how that turned out. It wasn’t good. In fact, it was hell. But you still haven’t told me how you figured all this out.”

“You smoke,” I answered.

“Yes, I do, but...”

“Kyle asked one of his friends to raid your garbage cans. We got a DNA profile off one of the cigarette butts he dug out of your trash. Once we had your profile, someone ran it through NamUs. That’s a national missing persons database. Marisa had already posted her own profile there in hopes of finding you, and it worked.”

“What about my mother?” Caroline asked. “Have you found her, too?”

My heart gave a lurch. She still didn’t know that her mother was dead, and now I was the one who had to deliver the news.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you, but your mother passed away in 2016.”

“Of what, an overdose?”

“No,” I replied. “Natural causes. Hep C.”

“Not surprised,” Caroline returned with a singular lack of emotion. “Those last few years were awful. She was using all the time. We had no money. I finally told her that she was supposed to be the mother, and that I couldn’t take care of her anymore. We hada huge fight, a real screaming match. I said I was leaving, and that I hoped I’d never see her again. I saw her one more time when she bailed me out of jail, but that’s it.”

“I can tell you where she’s buried if...”

“No,” Caroline said quickly. “I don’t want to know or need to know. When I said I was done with her, I meant it, and I still do.”

There was nothing I could say in response to that. Serena del Veccio and Lindsey Baylor had been betrayed by everyone. No wonder this young woman had found it necessary to escape into being someone else entirely, namely Caroline Richards. Who could blame her?

“So what am I supposed to do about this so-called aunt of mine, Aunt Marisa?” Caroline asked at last.

“That’s up to you,” I told her. “I can tell you that she was beyond thrilled to know that you’re still alive. I know she’d love to talk to you at least, and she’d like to meet you in person. I’ll text you her number, and then you can decide if you want to contact her or not.”

“What about Jeremy?” Caroline asked. “Are you going to tell him?”

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