William took a long, slow drink, feeling the heat in his throat spill down to his chest. Steven set his glass on the counter. “I know this is a lot. It’s why she wanted to meet you. She could hardly wait. For obvious reasons—but she also wanted you to read the letters that she and your great-grandfather, along with Dr. Martin, wrote about Lynn’s disappearance. And also for you to see the recordings where you were both questioned. So you could start at the beginning and perhaps begin to understand how it’s all tied in to what’s happening now.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“Let’s have that conversation with Miss Blue. After all, she’s our expert. She may be the oldest woman I’ve ever known, but her mind hasn’t dulled at all. Even I, who have spent my whole life researching this—and I’m old too—don’t know as much as she.”

“How is she even alive? And how are you here with her? Does my grandmother even know?”

Steven’s mouth twitched. “It’s complicated, William. But the short answer is no. Lynn—your grandmother—doesn’t know.”

William leaned forward. “She doesn’t know her own mother is alive?”

Steven shook his head. “Sadly, she’s never even read the letters.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. How can the Corcillium have them and my grandmother does not? Especially given that my great-grandfather, Bud, didn’t even want to communicate with Rex Martin.”

“Bud did later have a change of heart. But only because he later needed the Corcillium’s assistance.”

“I don’t understand.”

“After Rex Martin died, the Corcillium continued to reach out to Bud to try and study the abduction site where Lynn was taken. They repeatedly reminded him that he would not have his daughter if it weren’t for Rex Martin and his research. So Bud, at last, conceded and allowed a group of Researchers to come to the property. Apparently Lynn witnessed the Researcher’s arrival, and Bud swore to never allow them to come again until she had moved away. When Lynn married Tom and left for Illinois so he could go to law school, Bud learned he had liver failure. It was at that point he asked for the Corcillium’s help.”

“Help?”

“To keep Lynn away from the woods. If we assisted in making sure she never moved back, he would allow access to the site, and give the letters he wrote for Lynn to the Corcillium, as well as his correspondence with Dr. Martin. As you can imagine, the Corcillium certainly made sure a job opportunity was presented to Lynn. I became one of Bud’s contacts at the university. No one, including myself, could have imagined what would happen next.”