Page 85 of Fear of Flames
“Yes.” She stretched her neck and twisted her sore shoulders, trying to recall. “They said gone.” Her head shook. “Mostly, neither of them would talk about her. You said disappeared, as in abducted?”
He nodded.
“Was she ever found?”
“Have you ever tried to search for information about her?”
“No. I think that was out of respect for my parents. The subject was too difficult for them. Mom said it was a tragedy. Dad said it was an accident.” She met his dark stare. “Was she found?”
“I truly don’t know. There were remains found not far from where you lived. They weren’t found until fourteen years after her disappearance. It was suspected to be Sarah, but the body was cremated before DNA testing could be conducted.”
“Why?” she asked puzzled.
“IMPD said there was a mix-up in evidence.”
“But Dad worked for IMPD.”
Fletch nodded. “Maybe as agents within the agency, your parents didn’t want the publicity that would come from such a discovery.”
Michelle stood. “I can’t believe my parents lied about her.”
Fletch stood too, reaching for her hands. “Maybe they misled you.”
“But if those dates are right, I knew her.”
“I’m not sure what we can recall from our early childhood. I don’t know. Maybe acting as if she didn’t exist was easier for them than living with the idea that she was taken from them.”
Sighing, Michelle tipped her forehead to Fletch’s chest. The steady thump of his heart was reassuring. She looked up, meeting his gaze. “The remains. Did they determine the cause of death?”
“Spine fracture.”
“An accident. A tragedy.” Michelle’s lips gaped open. “What if she wasn’t kidnapped?”
“What do you mean?”
“Mom told me it was a tragedy. Dad said it was an accident.” Her hands began to tremble. “I can’t fathom my parents would hide the death of a child, much less their own child.”
“Chell,” he said softly, “with your writing and what we do here—it’s easy to let our imaginations run wild. Your parents experienced a horrible tragedy and made the choice not to share that with their young daughter. They were protecting you.”
She pressed her palms over her temples. “It’s like I was saying about when the police questioned me. Learning that my parents hid the agency from me and now, Sarah. What else did they hide?” The computer screen caught Michelle’s attention. “Look.”
“It looks like a match was found.”
Michelle eased back into her chair and began typing. “It’s a huge file.” She read off the numbers. “Can this computer handle a file that large?”
“We’re better off taking it into the lab tomorrow.”
Michelle sighed. “I know you’re right. I have a weird feeling, like I could learn things I don’t want to know about my dad.”
Fletch offered her his hand. “Let’s go to bed.”
Chapter
Forty-One
Michelle tossed and turned throughout the night. Despite her exhaustion, her mind swirled with the new revelations about her parents. What kind of people could live a double life the way they had done? The kind of people who could lie.
There was no getting around the fact that Tracy and Dennis Holdcraft were liars.
