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
He took more photos of pages of students and teachers.
Ben then drove to the far side of the railyards to the White Spruce Estates. Figuring it unlikely someone would be living here for more than twenty years, Ben went to the manager’s office in the middle building. Sure enough, the superintendent confirmed the longest any tenant had lived in the complex was nine years.
“We got a high turnover,” said the man with the toothpick tucked in the corner of his mouth. “If you want to check the records, you gotta call head office in Brandon.”
Ben thanked the man, then drove north of the railyards, picking up the smell of the slaughterhouse as he made his way by the dilapidated houses and shabby apartments, stopping at the ramshackle duplex Jurek had shown him. He got out and knocked on the door of the unit attached to where one of the girls had lived.
No answer.
Enduring the stench, Ben leaned on his rental car trying to guess if Janie or Nikki had lived in this unit. He’d have to find out who the landlord was at the time and check rental records. Or he could go to a municipal office and request a search of property records. Ben took out his notebook when his phone rang.
It was Tessa Fox.
“Is this a good time, Ben?”
“It is.”
“Got some results for you.”
“Already? You’re fast.”
“I pushed my best contacts, people with high-level clearance and access to restricted databanks, so you must protect your sources, Ben.”
“I always do.”
“All right, now some of this information goes back a few years so I can’t confirm if it’s up-to-date. I’m still working on it. I’ll send you all the spellings and details in an email but I wanted to share what I’ve got so far.”
“All right.”
“Nicola Hope Gorman became Noreen Nicole Gruning and moved to the US.”
“The US?”
“All of them moved here. Hold on. In the US, Noreen Leslie Gruning changed her name to Lucy Isabel Lavenza. That’s her current name. Moved around. I’ll send you details and spelling. Her last known address: New York City. The Bronx.”
“Good.”
“Now, Marie Louise Mitchell, was changed to Melinda Spencer-Glantz, then changed again to Rita Mae Purvis. Lived in Oklahoma but moved to Texas. Last known address, Lufkin, Texas.
“And Jane Elizabeth Klassyn was changed to Sheila Beth Stratton. But that was changed to Vanessa Claire Prather. I have her in Maryland. I’m still following her, she moved around, as well. I’ll send you last known contact information that I have for all of them.”
“This is fantastic, Tessa.”
“I’ll get back to you.”
Ben stared at the names he’d written down.
He was getting close.
Seventy-Five
Cielo Vallee, Orange County, California
Present day
Emma struggled to focus on her work that morning.