Page 65 of Little Child Gone

“Rebecca was born two years later,” Nikki said. “Is there any kind of divorce record for Bianca and Shane?”

Liam’s grim expression made her hopes sink. “Yeah, Shane Lincoln died in a car accident in 2005. I’m trying to see if Bianca remarried, but it’s like finding a needle in a haystack without more information. At least a date.”

“What about the last certificate?”

“Bailey Carrero.” Nikki thought of “Bailey” written on the whiteboard in Taylor Hall’s locker. “Bianca Carrero is listed as mother, and there’s no father. This certificate says it’s a copy.”

“Nothing that explains why Taylor Hall had Bailey’s name and the date the family disappeared?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

Nikki opened her laptop and typed in “Bianca Carrero,” expecting to see dozens of options. Her heart hammered inside her chest. “There’s a missing persons page.”

“What?” Miller asked. “How did the Hendrickson attorney not discover it?”

“She didn’t have the right name,” Nikki reminded him.

The page appeared to be run by Elena Carrero, an older cousin of Bianca’s. “According to this page, Bianca and her three children went into hiding the summer of 2015 and were never heard from again. Elena has been searching for them since then.”

“So she did remarry,” Miller said. “Or at least have another relationship that resulted in Bailey. If he is the abusive one, that could be why the birth certificate is a copy. Bianca may have changed his name so that he’d have her last name instead of his father’s.”

Nikki skimmed through the photos Elena had shared. Bianca had been a beautiful, dark-haired Latina, and all three children appeared to favor her. Nikki understood Stephanie Bancroft’s jealousy. Both Bianca and Rebecca were stunning. Nikki kept scrolling until she reached the page’s earlier posts.

“Listen to this.” Nikki had found the first entry from late 2015. “Bianca endured abuse from her boyfriend until he moved on to her daughter, Rebecca. That’s when she decided to run.”

“She give the boyfriend’s name?” Liam asked.

“Redacted.” Nikki liked Elena’s style. “Literally, it says “redacted” instead of a name.”

Miller glanced at his vibrating phone. “It’s Chen.” He answered the call. “Hey, Lieutenant, what’s up?”

“Comm center got a 9-1-1 call from one of Christy Hall’s neighbors. She found her lying in the yard, blood everywhere, and called the police. They are headed there now.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Nikki rode with Miller, with Liam in his own car. “The caller didn’t give any indication about the condition of the rest of the family?”

Miller shook his head, gripping the wheel. “You think she’d kill them all and then herself?”

“I don’t know,” Nikki admitted. “I don’t think her and Jared’s relationship is everything they make it out to be, but Christy might have snapped.”

“Or Jared confronted her about Taylor.”

“Why would he do that?” Nikki asked. “We think Taylor left on his own.”

“Right, but circumstantial evidence says that might be due to his bad relationship with his mother.”

Nikki’s fingernails dug into her armrest as Miller turned sharply onto the Halls’ road. Emergency lights lit up the cul-de-sac, but Nikki didn’t see an ambulance. Hopefully that meant Christy was still alive and had been rushed to the hospital. Every window in the house blazed with light. Nikki prayed the kids were okay.

She nearly jumped out of Miller’s SUV before he stopped behind the Stillwater police car she recognized as Chen’s. The lieutenant emerged from the house as she and Miller jogged up the sidewalk.

“Just her,” Chen said. “No one else in the house.”

“Thank God.” Nikki’s relief disappeared. “Is Christy alive?”

Chen nodded. “The neighbor heard what sounded like firecrackers and then screeching tires. He found Christy and called the police. She’s hanging on.” Chen shined his light on the snow toward the garage. “Blood trail comes out the garage door, past the Chevy Suburban in the garage, into the snow. She’d fallen face down.” He shivered and looked up at the sky. “Frigid temps might have saved her life.”

“The Suburban’s in the garage?” Nikki felt hot inside her coat despite the cold air freezing her face. “What about the Chevy Tahoe?”

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