‘Andie! You’ll never believe the email I just got,’ I said loudly, cutting her off as I pulled the phone closer to my face in excitement, reading over the words again quickly in my head.

‘Hey, don’t try to change the subject here,’ she said, smirking.

‘No, seriously, I just got a reply from Adam’s old employer with his phone number. I really didn’t think that man was gonna give it to me.’

Andie bounced in her seat excitedly. ‘Okay, you totally get a pass. Call him right now.’

‘Wait, I want to do a reverse phone look up first,’ I said as I navigated to the website.

Andie rolled her eyes. ‘You and your sleuthing,’ she said under her breath. ‘We’re almost at Gram’s so speed it up.’

The results popped up instantly and my heart pounded faster in my chest. ‘Okay, it looks like it’s still owned by Adam and it’s a Massachusetts area code.’

‘Are you gonna call or what? We’ll be at Gram’s in like, a minute.’

Before I could talk myself out of it, I dialed. The phone rang several times before an answering machine clicked on.

A smooth, deep voice reverberated across the line, ‘You’ve reached Adam. Can’t come to the phone right now but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Talk soon.’

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting but I felt a tinge of disappointment in my gut at how inviting his tone sounded. Would a killer sound so normal and welcoming? Then again, it was just a recording and I’m sure a killer would know how to mask their true intentions to the outside world. I decided to leave a message, unable to contain my curiosity.

‘Hi Adam,’ I said, trying to keep any obvious nerves out of my voice. ‘My name is Liz Catalano and I’m Rodrigo Dominio’s great-granddaughter, who I believe was your uncle. I’m trying to connect with my relatives, so I would love the chance to speak with you. If you could please call me back, I would greatly appreciate it.’ I ended the message by leaving my cell phone number.

‘Damn,’ I said, disappointed that he didn’t pick up.

Knowing that Adam was alive out there caused such a tangled web of emotions. On the one hand, I was intrigued and excited to have another relative to get to know. On the other, what if he was a murderer? It would be a relief if it were him instead of Cris. Though, there was still a chance the killer was hiding somewhere in my mysterious father’s side of my family tree, so maybe I would just gain another relative. Massachusetts wasn’t too far away.