“You seem to be doing very well,” Amos said, meaning it.

Edie shrugged. “I do my best. I asked Millie how I can get information from Jeffrey Bunker, the guy who wrote the most recent article. It was just posted an hour ago.” She pointed to a time stamp at the top of the article. “See?”

Amos did see. He also saw that the article’s author was discussing survivors of sexual assault.

Amos had been only nineteen when he’d entered Eden, but he knew what those words meant. That Mercy had been included with “other survivors of sexual assault” made his rage begin to bubble again. But he held it back because Edie was still talking.

“Millie suggested I open a new e-mail account and send Bunker an e-mail on your behalf. So can I use your name?”

Amos nodded numbly. “An e-mail account? What’s that?”

Edie sighed. “Oh boy. It’s a way to send messages to people over the Internet.”

Amos had too many questions. But top of his list was how to find Mercy, so he nodded to Edie. “Yes, use my name. Amos Terrill. Two r’s and two l’s.”

Edie began typing and Amos didn’t try to follow everything she did. Finally she stopped typing. “This is what I wrote. ‘Dear Ms. Dawson and Mr. Bunker, I’m representing a man named Amos Terrill, who claims to be the father of Mercy Callahan and Gideon Reynolds.’” She looked over at him. “Sorry to use ‘claims.’”

“It’s okay,” Amos said. “Whatever you need to do so that I can talk to her.”

“‘Please reply to this e-mail address if you can help Mr. Terrill contact either Miss Callahan or Agent Reynolds. You can also reach him through this number.’” She glanced up at him. “That’s the library’s main line.”

“How long will it take?”

“I don’t know,” she said apologetically. “But I have to leave for my shift at the grocery store. Millie will be able to log in to this account, and I’ll leave this page open in case Bunker replies. See this circle with an arrow? You click that to refresh. That means it goes and checks for new mail. If someone replies, you just click on it to read what they wrote. Once your session time is up, Millie can log me out.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

She smiled at him. “Like I said, if my daughter or grandkids were in trouble, I’d hope someone would help them.” She gave him a piece of paper, folded in half. “This is my phone number. I can’t use my phone while I’m working, but I’ll check my messages. Millie can help you get in touch with me if you have problems. Please let me know what happens.”

He smiled, even though he felt like the earth was shifting beneath his feet. This woman had been an anchor when he’d needed one most and now she was leaving. “I will. I promise. Thank you again.”

She gave him another arm pat. “Take care, Amos.”