Page 45 of Pain
"And we will look into all of this, but like I said, most of these people are fakes."
Matt glanced up. "She knew things about me that no one knows. There is no way she could have known. Things that have happened in the last month." He wished Xander was there, so he could explain to him. Xander would understand how impressive it was that she mentioned their relationship.
Matt pointed at the file. "Look, she describes the man who has her. Can we enter the information into the database and see if anyone matches, if there are any hits?"
Trenton nodded. "She's pretty descriptive on some things. It might be worth looking into."
Bryon reached out. "Can I see?"
As much as he wanted to keep reading, getting Bryon to approve letting them follow the leads was more important. He could do it at home, but he'd promised the team he would quit digging for information from his personal computer. Besides, he had stronger programs and resources here.
Bryon quietly read through the file before looking over at Matt. "What else did she say?"
"That she only contacted families when she felt the child was still alive. That if they were dead, she sent the information to the police to follow up on, but didn't think they ever did. She sounded like the police don't believe her. I mean, I get that so many are fake, but why wouldn't they follow every lead that comes in, no matter the source?" He wondered if they had more information about Faith than they'd let him know about.
"Did she say how she finds the cases?"
"She said the news. Said she would watch the news to see if Faith came home." Matt sat back, rubbing the back of his neck. "What are the chances she's real?"
"Not good. Most of these are fakes, but if you say she wasn't looking for money or seeking anything else…" Bryon shrugged. "We'll look into all this, but I don't want you to get your hopes up."
Matt sighed. "All I have left is hope. I can't lose it. I know chances are slim, but we have to try." He went to reach for the file.
"Nope, I'm sorry, but you let Carter and me handle this one. It's too close to home for you. If any of this information pans out, I don't want you running off on your own."
"I wouldn't—"
"You sure?" Bryon narrowed his eyes. "Because I know I would. I'd go in guns blazing to get my child back. Don't make the same mistakes I did in the past, Matt. You want this done right."
Matt wanted to ask what Bryon did, but his mind was too focused on the file. "Let me help. She's my daughter."
Bryon shook his head. "Carter and I will start on this right now. You go visit your family. Take some time away from here. I know how hard this is for you, but let us handle it. It's probably nothing. Don't get your hopes up."
"I know." Matt slumped. "I just don't know how much longer I can do this."
"You keep going until you have answers. One way or another. You don't give up." Trenton gripped his shoulder. "You know we will do everything we can, but when it's this personal, you won't be able to keep a clear head. You'll see things that aren't there, and miss things that are."
Bryon nodded. "I'm the only one here who can honestly say, I know what you are going through, and I do know how hard this is, but you have got to let us handle it. I know it's killing you, but as soon as we find out anything, one way or the other, we will call you in."
Matt nodded. They were right, but it didn't make it any easier. "You swear you'll call?"
"If even just one lead pops up from this," Bryon promised.
"Want me to drive you to your family thing?" Trenton asked.
"No, I'll be okay. Just wish I was here helping." Matt stood. "Thanks for following up. I know it's probably nothing, but I have to try. I can't ignore anything."
"We wouldn't expect you to," Trenton said.
Matt tried to smile, but was too nervous. "Okay, I'm off to face my mom, but I'll drop by here when I'm done. No stings tonight?"
"Kase is going out. We'll be here if you want to come sit with us, but you're off the computers until we look into this. It shouldn't take more than a day or two."
"I can work on other—"
"No, you don't even need to be in the room while we search. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." The tone of Bryon's voice left no room for arguing.
"Fine." Matt ran a hand through his hair. "Keep me posted." He turned and walked out of the house before he found himself throwing a tantrum like a child. He felt like kicking and screaming. Each day that Faith was missing seemed to push him closer and closer to having a breakdown.
