Page 88 of Fear of Flames
Sarah.
That wasn’t the subject Michelle expected. “They never mentioned her. It was as if she never existed.”
“It was easier for them that way. You were so young. You weren’t responsible for what happened.”
She sat straight. “What? I was two. Of course, I wasn’t responsible.”
“Your parents didn’t want you to know, but I’m afraid that your skills are as good as Arrow said. Now that you have the power of the agency behind you, you could learn the truth. I thought it would be better if you heard it from me.”
“My sister was abducted.”
“No, your sister fell down the basement stairs after she tripped over you. It was an accident.”
An accident.
A tragedy.
“Tripped? Over me? I don’t understand.”
“Your mother was home with the two of you. She went down in the basement to do laundry. The two of you were running around and playing. The next thing she heard was a scream and then the falling. She tried to get to Sarah in time, but her little body was contorted. Her neck was broken.”
Spine fracture.
“You’d fallen too. According to what was recorded, you didn’t make it to the bottom of the stairs. You stopped on the landing; however, Sarah continued the fall.”
Michelle was frozen, unable to move or speak, paralyzed by this information.
“Because of the agency, Tracy and Dennis chose not to alert the authorities of the accident. Instead, they constructed a tale about her playing in the yard and disappearing.”
Words began to form. “The body that was found, was it Sarah?”
“They believed so. Dennis was able to facilitate the mix-up in evidence. DNA testing was never done.”
“They cremated her.” Michelle’s voice was a mere whisper.
A chill scattered over her.
Flames.
Peterson nodded. “It was a horrible situation. If the police would’ve gotten involved with the accident…your parents didn’t want you to grow up with the knowledge you facilitated your sister’s death. Imagine how that would look now, with the current grand jury.”
“I was two. I wasn’t responsible.” Michelle felt the way she had when she tried to defend herself regarding her mother’s death. “I’ve been lied to.”
“Not anymore. Now you know the truth.” Peterson’s chair scooched across the vinyl floor as he stood. “We do good things here. I didn’t want you to spend any more time on a case that will remain closed. We need you to concentrate on the cases that we can affect.”
Michelle sat in silence as Peterson walked away.
Her coffee was lukewarm.
Her parents covered up the death of her sister. They were secret spies. And her father was not only involved in the prevention of child trafficking, but quite possibly in the assistance of child trafficking.
“Chell,” Fletch said, a bit out of breath. “I’ve been looking for you. Come see what we found.”
Michelle wanted to share what Peterson told her, but it was too new. Instead, she picked up her coffee and followed Fletch back to the computer lab.
Chapter
Forty-Three
