Page 69 of Homecoming

My baby sister is gone,August had written along with photos he’d posted of them together from the time they were young children. Judging by those early pictures, he was about five or six years older than her.Tanya’s smile lit up our world. She filled our lives with joy and laughter and a childlike sense of wonder that she never outgrew. We’re forever changed by thisloss and will do everything in our power to get justice for our Tanya. Sleep in peace, sweet girl.

The post had generated an outpouring of sympathy for August and his parents as well as their extended family.

He clicked on the link to Tanya’s Instagram account and scrolled through a year’s worth of posts, looking for insight into her life. She’d graduated from high school in Madison, Connecticut, and had attended the University of Connecticut. She was a proud Huskie, often posing in UConn sweatshirts and other clothing, due to graduate in May.

She’d loved spending summers in Bar Harbor, where she worked as a sailing instructor at the Northeast Harbor Sailing School.

Dan fell into a social media rabbit hole as he read through posts and comments. One of the posts from May caught his attention. She’d posted a selfie in which she looked reflective.Sometimes things don’t work out the way you hoped they would. People show you who they really are, and that can be super disappointing. Thankful to all my sweet friends who are there for me when I need them.

The comments were equally revealing.

He didn’t deserve you. I never thought so.

You’re better off without him.

You won’t be single for long, girlfriend.

We’re here for you! Glad you threw out the trash!

Dan sent an email to Clarissa, one of the female investigators who worked for his innocence project in Los Angeles. She was young and hip and understood social media at a level he never would. He sent her the link to the post that had piqued his interest.How can we find out who the guy was?

As a defense attorney, his goal was to introduce reasonable doubt into a case, to show the jury that the murder could’ve been committed by someone else who had a motive. Tanya’s ex was apossible avenue in that direction. Was it a long shot? Sure, but it was a place to start.

Clarissa emailed him back a short time later.Hey! Let me dig in. I’ll get back to you tomorrow. How’s Maine?

Thank you. Maine is interesting. Lots of family dynamics at play—and not all of them the good kind. Appreciate the assist.

Happy to help.

Dan continued to read through Tanya’s posts until his eyes were crossing from exhaustion. Yawning, he closed his laptop and got up to stretch out the kinks. He did a double take when he saw the clock on the stove, which read 2:10 a.m.

He moved quietly through the house, got ready for bed and snuggled up to Kara’s warm body, his thoughts full of another young woman, whose life had been taken from her far too soon.

Chapter

Fifteen

Kara woke earlywhen she heard Bertha and Buster moving around, getting ready to go to work. With a burst of energy she hadn’t experienced in months, she got up to see them before they left.

“You’re up with the chickens,” Bertha said when Kara appeared in the kitchen.

Kara kissed her grandmother’s cheek and breathed in the scent of the Jean Naté that would forever remind her of her beloved Bertha. “Don’t you mean I’m up with the lobster people?”

“That, too.”

She went toward Buster, arms extended in question. He gave a brief nod, giving her permission to give him a light hug, which he tolerated from her even though he didn’t like to be touched. He’d told her once that he’d welcome hugs from her as long as they weren’t tight ones.

He patted her shoulder as she rested her head on his chest. “How you feeling?”

“Better today.”

“Glad to hear it. Don’t do that again.”

She laughed at his way of saying he’d been worried about her. “I’ll try not to.”

“You want to come out with us today, hon?” Bertha asked.

“I’d love to, but I want to wait until Dan can come, too. He’d love to see you guys in action.”

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