Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
Maybe Doctor Hirsch is right. It’s me. I can’t accept Emma because I don’t want to be disloyal to Mom.
Seventy-Three
Eternity, Manitoba
Present day
In his motel room on his phone holding for a clerk at Manitoba’s Vital Statistics Agency in Winnipeg, Ben was encouraged.
Getting the full names of the Skull Sisters from the Tullocks was a breakthrough.
Having them was critical to determining the killers’ new identities and tracking them down.
Wherever the women are living now, I’m going to find them.
Things were coming together fast, Ben thought, as he scrolled through his notes, then clicked on the photos he’d taken. But his concentration shifted to California, Kayla and Emma.
He kneaded the muscles at the back of his neck.
The problems at home weighed on him at the same time things were moving well here with his work. He was making progress. He had to keep going. It was clear from his research so far that the girls had changed their names at some point during their incarceration or after their release.
Ben was familiar with how the process for a legal name change worked, based on the research that went into all of his books. He’d found that the basics were similar in most US states and most countries. A person usually applied to the court in the jurisdiction where they were living, then they provided required documentation and notice of the name change was made public.
But if the names of the killers from Eternity were flagged by the courts, then that would keep their new names secret, he thought.
“Mr. Grant?” The clerk returned to the line.
“Still here.”
“Thanks for holding. As for your request, we have no record in the Manitoba Gazette for the names you provided.”
“Nothing?”
“I’m sorry, nothing, sir. You can search archived editions yourself for free, if you like. They’re public. I’m sending you a link now.”
“Great, thank you.”
Seconds after ending the call, Ben’s laptop displayed the page for the Manitoba Gazette and the window to search archived government documents and notices.
One at a time, he submitted the names of the girls: Nicola Hope Gorman, Marie Louise Mitchell and Jane Elizabeth Klassyn, going back to the years they would’ve changed their names. After numerous attempts, he gave up on the database.
Nothing came up. Zip. He’d hit a wall.
They could now be living anywhere. Tapping his forefinger to his lip, Ben realized that he needed help.
He needed Tessa Fox in Washington, D.C.
Ben found her number and called.