I gave him a quick hug. “Deal. But I want real ice cream this time. Not that gelato stuff you tried to convince me was good.”

He laughed, but his laughter ended abruptly at the sound of Mom’s footsteps descending the stairs. Everything stopped. It felt like nobody breathed. Mom kept her head down, avoiding eye contact like she always did. Dad reached out and helped guide her down the final step and into the entryway with everyone else.

“Kate, this is Dean Thompson.” Dad pointed to Dean, and he stepped forward, reaching out his hand toward Mom. “He has been helping me search for you all these years. He’s probably almost as relieved to have you home as we are.”

Dean smiled. Mom tentatively shook his hand before tucking her arm back around Shiloh. The woman behind Dean stepped forward. Her dark hair was pulled straight back into a tight ponytail, making her wide forehead look even bigger. She wore a light-blue shirt buttoned all the way to the top.

“My name is Camille. I don’t believe I’ve met anyone,” she said, shaking Dad’s hand first, followed by Mom’s. She turned to me next. “And you must be Abbi?”

I nodded.

She pointed to the men behind her as an afterthought. “That’s John, Carl, and Hernando. They’re part of my team.” They nodded their greetings in return. Camille eyed the house. “Why don’t we move into a more comfortable place where we can sit down and get started?” she asked.

Meredith stepped forward. “Would you like some egg bake?”

“No, thanks. I’m fine,” Camille dismissed her and walked into the living room. We all followed behind her. “Why don’t you sit there, Kate?” She pointed to the couch on the opposite wall. Camille took a seat in one of the club chairs, perching on the end of it so she was as near to Mom as possible while still giving her enough space to handle Shiloh. John, Carl, and Hernando immediately went to work pulling weird-looking electrical equipment out of their bags and setting up their gear.

Dean sat in the opposite chair while Dad, Meredith, and I stood behind him awkwardly. Mom jiggled Shiloh against her, trying to keep her asleep. There had been more people in our living room before, but it had never felt so crowded. My chest tightened. Mom kept her eyes glued to the carpet as if she were mesmerized by the design.

“Are you ready to get started?” Camille asked.

Mom nodded.

Camille pulled out a device from her pocket and set it on the coffee table. “Do you mind if I record this interview?”

TWELVE

MEREDITH

NOW

“You guys were in there for over three hours—what do you mean she didn’t say?” I asked Scott. Camille had wanted all of us there as witnesses when she got Kate’s consent for the videotaped interview, but she’d asked us to leave after that. She’d asked Scott to leave, too, but Kate had grabbed his arm as he walked past her on the couch.