Alyssa wasn’t sure calling the police yesterday would’ve produced different results, but even if it had, there was no rewind button for a do-over. So, instead of dwelling on what couldn’t be changed, she redirected the conversation back to the Bensons. ‘I want to return to the topic of Hayden. Did Elizabeth ever talk about his family or even her own?’

‘Definitely not her own. Apparently, when they learned she was pregnant after Hayden disappeared, they screamed at her for being an ungrateful whore who was going straight to the fiery pits of hell with her unborn bastard.’ Her mouth twisted into a grimace as a muscle near her eye pulsed rapidly. ‘That night Elizabeth took what she already had packed and never looked back. All these years later, she said they’ve never tried to reach out to her, and she wouldn’t risk putting her son in such a poisonous, hateful situation anyway.’

‘Did she have any siblings?’

‘Not that she’s ever mentioned to me.’

‘And what about Hayden’s family?’ Alyssa prodded.

‘I can’t really say how much contact she had with them. But I do know she tried to keep in contact with his sister. Rose or Ramona’ – she snapped her fingers – ‘Rosalyn, that’s it! But she never really said much about her. I’ve seen her a couple of times when she’s stopped by to visit Brandon. She’s always seemed so absolutely in love with that little guy. And she always invites Nate to go with them on their little explorations.’

Alyssa’s phone chimed with a text. She glanced down and saw Joe’s name. ‘Excuse me,’ she said while she read the message.

Monroe is out of surgery. She’d lost an awful lot of blood, so might be some brain damage. Won’t know for sure until she’s awake, but for now anyway, they’re keeping her in a medical coma. Sorry.

Alyssa had to swallow past a sudden lump as she thought about the seven-year-old boy wearing superhero clothes and offering her his magnifying glass who was far too young to lose his mother, mentally or physically. She fired off her response.

Thanks for the update. You may as well take off since there’s nothing you can do but wait. I’ll swing by the hospital when I finish up here.