I felt guilty that I’d chosen to tell all this to my mom rather than updating the FBI with what I’d seen at the house. I never used to brazenly keep secrets or flout authority but ever since I found out this messy truth about my family history, it was like I’d become someone else completely. After a long, tense pause, I said, ‘No, not yet. It’s all pretty fresh and I’m still processing it but I’m not sure I have anything concrete to really give them.’ I didn’t quite make eye contact with her until I was done speaking.

She pursed her lips. ‘I don’t want you going out there anymore, Lizzie. I don’t know if anything you saw means he’s the killer but you shouldn’t take that chance. Promise me you won’t go up there again. Especially not alone.’

I understood my mom’s concerns but I didn’t know if I could keep that promise. That would mean I may not ever get the answers I was so desperately looking for. It may mean the end of any contact with my biological family. But as I looked at my mom’s worried expression I knew I couldn’t put her through that stress. We’d already been through so much in the past month, it was unfair to pile onto that.

‘I promise, Mom. I don’t have any other trips planned right now anyway but what do you think? Am I crazy for reading into all this supposed evidence? I’m so worried that if I help them point the finger at Cris and it’s not him, I’ll have played a role in ruining an innocent man’s life. He’s already suffered enough with losing so much of his family. And what if the real killer gets away? There’s two innocent women missing who could die and we may never know the truth. Which would mean I may never know if it’s safe to get to know my biological family.’ I stopped my tangent, taking a few big breaths to stop myself from completely spiraling out of control.

My mom clenched her lips together and then exhaled loudly. ‘You’re not crazy for seeing potential evidence around you, sweetheart, but it is possible that these are all just coincidences. Most people have those bins for storage, we even have a few to store our old stuff. And a lot of people are really organized, including yourself, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything sinister. All that aside, you can’t blame yourself if the crimes remain unsolved. I know that would be a devastating outcome but it’s not your job to sleuth clues for the FBI, although you should tell them if you know something already that may help. Is there anyone else in your biological family that it could be?’