The Lost Bones by Kendra Elliot

4

George Aston was sitting on the porch when Cate arrived the next morning. She parked her car on the street, wondering if Kori’s father frequently sat in the adirondack chair or was waiting for her. The small neighborhood was cute. It was a beachy-looking cluster of tiny cottages painted in varying pale shades of coral, teal, pink, and white. Cate knew this wasn’t a neighborhood of tourist rentals. The people who lived in these little homes were islanders. They had jobs in the towns or worked on the water.

Or were retired, like George and Ellen.

Cate stepped out of the car and waved at George. He slowly lifted a hand.

The email from Phillip that morning was on repeat in Cate’s head. The female agent he’d sent to interview Kori Causey yesterday had been unable to locate her. Kori’s roommate had said she hadn’t seen her that day, and Kori hadn’t responded to texts or phone calls from the FBI agent or her roommate. Phillip wasn’t happy.

Will Ellen and George know how to contact Kori?

If so, will they tell me?

Cate wasn’t so sure.

She approached and noticed George’s eyes were as sad as she remembered and wondered if his eyes had been that way before Jade had vanished. He was a gray-haired man in his late sixties with a gentle stoop to his shoulders and long thin legs. He unfolded himself from the chair and stood.

“Good morning, Mr. Aston.”

“George, please,” he answered, with a somber expression. “Ellen is inside.” He opened the screen door and gestured for Cate to go ahead of him. The morning was already warm, the humidity quite high for the island. Usually the constant breeze kept the humidity manageable, but today there was no wind, and the air was heavy. Cate’s skin was damp.

Inside the door, Cate stepped into a magazine layout of a traditional beach home from the eighties. Heavy wood furniture with a high-gloss lacquer. Glass sea floats in rough netting. Seagull figurines and water bird paintings everywhere. A huge canvas photo of Kori and Jade hung above the redbrick fireplace. Kori’s arms were wrapped around her daughter, joy in her expression, and Jade’s eyes were as light blue as Widow’s Bay on a sunny day.

Cate’s throat tightened, and the evidence envelope suddenly seemed to weigh down her shoulder bag. Phillip had asked her to get the mandible from the county sheriff’s office, which was holding the bone for the FBI lab. He thought the sight of the small ivory jaw would push the Astons to be more forthcoming.

Cate didn’t want to show them. It felt manipulative. A photo of the bone would suffice. But after Kori’s vanishing act yesterday, Phillip wanted answers from the grandparents.

If George or Ellen delivered it to me, they’ve already seen it.

Cate didn’t know what to expect.

What if one grandparent did it without the other’s knowledge?

She glanced back at George, who was straightening a throw on an easy chair. The man was very quiet, but from what she remembered, that was his nature. It wasn’t an indicator of deception to keep to oneself when that was one’s normal behavior.

Ellen appeared, drying her hands on a kitchen towel. The wide kind smile that Cate remembered was unchanged. Her hair was a pale silvery blonde, worn short and curly. She wore walking shorts and a T-shirt that read Salt Hair, Don’t Care.

Living on Widow’s Island wasn’t like living on a Hawaiian island or in the Florida Keys, but issues with the salt air were the same on islands worldwide: it affected everything.

“Special Agent Wilde. So good to see you.” Ellen held out her hand.

“Just Cate, please. I’m not with the FBI anymore,” Cate said, shaking the woman’s hand.

“I know. But you earned that title, so I’m going to use it. You were a great comfort to us and Kori when Jade disappeared. I know how hard you worked to bring that baby home.”

“I did,” Cate said softly, the sting of the unfinished case suddenly raw and fresh. Her shoulder bag grew even heavier. She looked at George, whose gaze was on his wife. He glanced at Cate and quickly looked away. He had yet to hold eye contact with her for more than a split second.

Cate didn’t like it.

Please don’t be involved in this.

“Come sit,” Ellen said, leading Cate to a charming nook with large windows. “I’ve got fresh cinnamon rolls from—oh! From your place!” Ellen’s laugh was a lovely soft sound. “I saw you in the bakery for the first time just last week, but I didn’t want to interrupt. I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about seeing someone from a case during a nonwork encounter, and I didn’t want to ask why you were here instead of with the FBI. I assumed that was personal.”

“You should have said hello,” said Cate. “I would have loved to catch up.” Ellen’s genuine warmth was impossible to ignore. It was a steady welcoming light.

“Well, we can do that now.” Ellen indicated a chair and grabbed a plate of rolls as Cate sat. George brought the coffeepot and poured.

Cate noticed the elegant dishes and how perfectly clean the kitchen was.

They prepared for my visit.

She was flattered and wished she’d known earlier that the couple lived on the island. The three of them made small talk as Ellen dished up the cinnamon rolls. They’d moved to Widow’s because George’s cousin had died and left him the house. It’d been a hard decision to leave Orcas Island, but Ellen had been ready for a change.

“Tell me how Kori is doing these days,” Cate finally said. “She had decided to train as a dental assistant last time I talked to her.”

“She’s been working in a dental office outside of Bellingham for over a year now,” said Ellen. “She loves it and lives with another assistant who works in the same office. She dated a nice young man for a few months, but it didn’t work out. It was a learning experience for her, though.”

“I bet,” said Cate. “I remember that Rich was the only man she’d dated before she got married.”

Ellen sighed. “Now I can see all the red flags about that man. But at the time, George and I had thought Rich was good for her. She was so naive and struggled with independence. We thought having someone to support her was perfect.”

I don’t consider what Rich did to be support.

“Asshole,” muttered George as he took a bite of roll.

That’s putting it mildly.

“He wasn’t protecting and supporting her; he was isolating her,” Ellen said. She laid down her fork, her roll half-eaten, and dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Both her and Jade.”

“You’ve never heard from him or had anyone tell you they’ve seen him since then?”

Both Ellen and George emphatically shook their heads.

“Every now and then I search online,” said Ellen. “I don’t sleep very well, and some nights my brain simply won’t stop. I get up and poke around various websites. I’ve done age progression on Jade’s photos and used them in reverse image searches, hoping to stumble across her somehow. I’ve searched with every possible name variation that I think Rich might use.” She looked down at her hands, which were clasped tightly in her lap. “There’s a lot of rabbit holes to get lost in when you’re searching for someone.”

Cate agreed.

“I have a cousin in Puyallup that’s convinced she’s seen Rich a few times. She sends me useless photos that add to my sleeplessness at night.” Ellen shrugged.

George cleared his throat. “Her elevator doesn’t go to the top floor.”

“She means well,” Ellen added, with a reproving look at her husband.

“She’s a nosy busybody who can’t keep to herself. All she does is get you upset.” He made a dismissive noise.

Cate eyed the man. It was the most he’d said since she’d arrived. And it sounded very heartfelt. His gaze went to the photo of his daughter and granddaughter, and pain flashed in his eyes.

“When did you last hear from Kori?” asked Cate.

“Yesterday,” Ellen answered. “She called just before the FBI called us. She was upset that someone she didn’t know from the FBI was asking questions. She told us not to talk to them unless it was you.”

“Did she say if she was going out of town or anything?”

Ellen frowned. “No. Why do you ask?”

“They’ve been unable to contact her since that initial phone call. They stopped at her home yesterday, and she’s not returning texts or calls.”

“Of course not. You know she’ll only talk to you.”

Cate fought to keep exasperation out of her voice. “But I don’t work for the FBI anymore. She needs to cooperate with whoever contacts her. I can’t help anymore.”

“Yet here you are,” Ellen said with a wide smile.

“Only because you live in close proximity. This visit is a single exception.” She glanced at George. “It doesn’t seem odd to you that she ignored their attempts to reach her? Would she answer a call or text from you now?”

“She should be at work,” said Ellen. “But I’ll text her.”

Ellen stretched to grab a pair of reading glasses from the kitchen counter and pulled a cell phone out of her pocket.

Cate turned her attention back to George. “I’ve been here ten minutes, and no one has asked what prompted the FBI’s new interest in Kori’s case.”

“I figured you’d tell us when you’re ready,” said the quiet man. “Not one to pry.”

“You don’t pry when it comes to your granddaughter’s kidnapping?”

“You’ve always kept us informed of what we need to know.”

He won’t let me push his buttons. Or at least he won’t show it if I do.

“I assume you got a report of a sighting of Rich,” said Ellen, setting her cell phone on the table. “That’s what it usually is.” She seemed as content as George to wait for Cate to bring up the new evidence.

My interviewing skills are rusty. I can’t prod anything out of them.

Maybe there’s nothing to come out.

The mandible in her bag was impossible for Cate to ignore. As if it had a flashing light that only she could see.

“Yesterday someone dropped off a package for me at Shiny Objects. It had my name and the bakery address on it but somehow ended up at the wrong place.”

Polite interest showed on their faces. Nothing else.

“We also have problems with the mail sometimes,” Ellen added.

Cate leaned forward, her forearms on the table. “Inside the box was one of the old newspaper articles about Jade’s disappearance. Handwritten on the margin was a message that implied that Jade didn’t survive, and this person was scared that Rich would do the same to her baby. Then it asked for help.”

Both the Astons were silent, mild confusion in their eyes.

“I don’t know what to think of that,” said Ellen. “You used the word ‘implied’ . . . it didn’t say this person knew for certain that Jade didn’t . . . survive?” Her voice cracked on the last word. “Maybe they’re making an assumption. A lot of people believe she’s . . . gone.”

Cate was at a loss about how to bring up the mandible. She’d mentally rehearsed a dozen different ways, exploring various outcomes, and now she had no recollection of what she’d decided was best.

There was no good way to show a child’s bone to grieving grandparents.

There’s a chance it’s not Jade’s.

The FBI still needed to compare the mandible to the records they had from Jade’s past dental work. But in her heart, Cate knew it was Jade’s.

That’s not a good enough reason to show it to these grieving grandparents.

She’d brought it to see if they’d reveal they were the ones who had dropped it off. Or admit anything else. But Cate’s gut was telling her they weren’t involved.

“Where’s this other baby?” asked George, fidgeting in his chair. “Why’d they send a note to you? If someone needs help, they should go to the police.” Anger flashed. “Although that didn’t help Kori.”

“Wait . . .” Ellen touched Cate’s arm. “You said ‘package.’ Was there more than a newspaper article?”

Cate’s stomach churned.

Why did I agree to this?

“There was a bone in the package,” Cate said, deciding to get it out. “It was the mandible of a child. It was implied that it belonged to Jade, but we don’t have absolute proof yet.”

Ellen covered her mouth with both hands, her chest heaving. George went very still, his gaze on Cate.

“I’m sorry to be so blunt,” Cate said. “But obviously the note and bone have the FBI’s attention, and they want to investigate both.”

The Astons were silent. Ellen rapidly blinked as her eyes grew wet.

Her mouth dry, Cate pulled her bag onto her lap but made no move to open it.

“Jade had little silver caps on some of her teeth,” Ellen whispered from behind her hands.

“Yes,” said Cate. “The bone does too.” Using the word “bone” instead of “mandible” was easier for her to say—more generic, softer.

Ellen gasped and covered her eyes. George got out of his chair and moved to stand behind his wife, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Show us,” he ordered.

He knows I have it.

Cate wanted to vomit. “I have a photo that—”

“You have it in your bag,” George stated. “Don’t you?”

Horror filled Ellen’s gaze. “No, I don’t want—”

“I’ll look,” said George. He glanced at the photo above the fireplace, his fingers digging into Ellen’s shirt. “I have every square inch of that little girl memorized. I’ll know.”

Cate took a breath. “There needs to be a forensic dental—”

“I’ll know,” he repeated.

Cate exchanged a long look with Ellen, who gave a small nod, resignation in her eyes.

After slowly opening the bag, Cate lifted out a large evidence envelope. She fumbled as she pulled on a pair of gloves and then opened the envelope and slid out a small plastic bag onto the table. The tiny silver crowns glittered in the light.

Ellen bit back a cry.

George was silent, his stare focused on the bone.

Cate’s heart broke for them. “I’m sorry,” she said. “But remember, it may not be Jade’s.”

There was a loud knock at the front door, and it immediately swung open. “Mom?”

The three of them turned at the voice.

Kori.

She looked the same. Pale-red hair, thin . . . but Cate immediately picked up on a confidence she hadn’t seen before. Something about the position of her shoulders and how she lifted her chin.

This wasn’t the girl who’d clung to Cate seven years ago.

Kori set aside a small carry-on and dropped her backpack on top of it. Surprise flashed in her eyes as they met Cate’s. “Cate! I wondered if I’d be seeing you before long.”

Kori’s gaze moved to the clear plastic bag on the table, and confusion filled her face. She took two halting steps closer, unable to look away from the mandible.

Oh, no.

Cate covered the baggie with her hand. Too late.

Kori stared at her. “Is that Jade’s?”