“I know.” This time she meant it. No more secrets. A lie about liking his tie or not was about as much falsehood as she wanted between them in the future. “Please, just trust me when I ask you to stay away from Earl.”

“You make it sound like he’s dangerous.”

“He is.”

Chapter Eighty-Two

NEW EVIDENCE IN CASE OF MISSING WIFE AND CHILD—Bethesda, MD

The case of Penelope and Delilah Young is back in the news. Police state that the case was never closed, but the discovery of new evidence has given it increased prominence. The type of evidence has not been revealed.

The mother and daughter have been missing for almost four years. While no charges have been filed, Christopher Young has long been considered a person of interest in the disappearance of his wife and daughter, age 6 at the time she went missing.

Prior to their disappearance, Young had been arrested after the police received a 911 call from his wife in the middle of a domestic altercation. The court granted her a protective order, prohibiting Young from having any contact with her and limiting his contact with their daughter to supervised visitation. He filed to dismiss the charges, but his wife and child went missing before the scheduled court date.

The former residence of the Young family has been searched several times over the years, as have the residences of several family members. Young has denied any involvement and insisted that his wife and child are alive. He also accused Faith Rabara, a domestic abuse counselor, of assisting his wife in kidnapping their daughter and leaving the jurisdiction. Rabara has denied the allegations, and no charges were ever brought against her or the charity she runs, Safe Harbor Limited.

Both Young and Rabara have been questioned as recently as this week about the new evidence and case allegations. The investigation is ongoing.

Chapter Eighty-Three
Gabby

Suicide. The official cause of death for Baines. Gabby had been notified this morning by someone other than Detective Melissa Schone, which was good because Gabby didn’t want to see anyone affiliated with the Foundation or the group or whatever the hell the connection was for a very long time.

“Surprise.”

She turned around at the sound of Liam’s voice. He stood in the hallway with two duffel bags at his feet. One looked like his, and the other one looked empty. “I give up. What’s this?”

“Your bag.” He smiled. “Okay, more like a dramatization of your bag, because I wasn’t about to go through your personal stuff and pack for you, but you get the idea.”

She had no clue. “Am I moving?”