Cris picked up the photo and squinted at it. ‘That’s definitely Frank and our father, Rodrigo. Sorry, I don’t recognize this other boy. We’re talking what? Fifty some odd years ago?’ He shrugged. ‘My memory isn’t that great these days. Maybe one of his friends from the neighborhood. I have no idea.’ He looked at the photo again, pulling it closer to his face. ‘They’re a bit out of focus, and my eyesight isn’t too great either. I’m sorry, I really can’t make out the boy’s features,’ he said, before placing the photo back on the table.

Hannigan picked it up. ‘Since no one else is mentioned in Frank’s manifesto or represented in evidence at the cabin, we are confident that Frank acted alone. Other than the women, only Frank’s DNA was found at the scene and Addie and Zoey never saw anyone other than Frank until you rescued them. We’ll hold onto this photo in our file but we have no reason to believe the boy in this photo is relevant to the case.’

I nodded, a little bothered that I didn’t have the answer to the mysterious boy, even if he wasn’t relevant. It seemed I could never turn off my curious brain. Loose ends were my pet peeve.

‘Anyway, that’s about all we’ve got so far on his methods,’ Hannigan continued, placing the photo back into a folder. ‘It’s a bit more than what we are releasing to the press but we thought after everything you’ve both been through, you deserve the whole picture. And Liz, from the entire task force, we want to extend our gratitude for your help in this case. But please, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation again, call law enforcement instead of investigating yourself. Not only do crime scenes need to be preserved to be used in court but you must put your safety first. You were lucky the killer had passed away and you weren’t in danger at the cabin.’

‘Well, hopefully this is the last evil relative lurking in my family but thank you for holding up your end of the bargain,’ I said with an apologetic smile.

We all rose and shook hands. Hannigan promised to let us know of any other major developments. Before I left the room, I turned to face them one more time.

‘Wait,’ I said. ‘What about Addie and Zoey? You said you interviewed them. Are they okay?’

Hannigan gave me a smile, warmer than any I’d received from him since we first met. ‘I can’t release any medical information to you but physically, they’re going to be just fine. It’ll take time to heal but they have their whole lives ahead of them, thanks to you.’

I gave him a tearful smile.