The Lost Bones by Kendra Elliot

5

“He killed my baby!”

Kori screamed the words, and George lunged around the table as she lurched toward the three of them, her eyes locked on the bone. Cate leaped from her chair and caught the young woman as her knees buckled. Together, she and George guided Kori to a chair at the far end of the table, away from the mandible. The distraught woman’s body trembled with a massive force, making Cate and George support her as she sat. Ellen sank to her knees at Kori’s side and wrapped her arms around her daughter, as if trying to absorb the grief.

Ten minutes later, the room was quiet, but the sorrow and pain permeated every corner.

Cate had forgotten how emotionally draining the Jade Causey case had been. During the time she’d spent with Kori seven years ago, she’d grown used to supporting the woman through her grief and pain, but she’d been completely unprepared for the onslaught of the last few minutes.

“It’s Jade,” Kori continued to whisper as she sat at the table. Cate had insisted on putting away the mandible once they all had taken a good look. Kori was convinced the little silver crowns were on the same teeth as Jade’s.

“We’re not positive—” Cate had started to say.

“Don’t you think I know my baby’s smile?” Kori had shrieked at her.

Cate had given up trying to cushion the blow. There was no point.

“I have dreams she’s alive,” Kori said quietly. “Many times a week they invade my sleep. I’ve taken a lot of comfort in them. It was all I had left.” She paused. “Today has destroyed those dreams.”

“I’m so sorry,” Cate said. She would never be able to say it enough.

Empty words.

Ellen sat by her daughter, their hands clasped tight. George had retreated to his chair, arms crossed on his chest, his watchful gaze on Kori.

“Where did you get it, Cate?” Kori asked, all emotion gone from her voice. She sounded as if she’d run a marathon, her energy drained.

Cate told the story of the box being left at Shiny Objects. Kori appeared to listen, but Cate wasn’t certain she’d heard all the words. There was a disconnect in Kori’s eyes.

Something had broken.

“Why did you come here?” Cate asked Kori. “The FBI said you wouldn’t talk to them and then disappeared. They wanted to inform you about the mandible.”

“There was something in the voice of the man who called me . . . I couldn’t talk to him . . . I didn’t want to know what he had to say.” She circled a fist near her stomach. “Somehow in my gut I knew he had bad news.” She looked from her mom to her dad. “I felt a need to be with my parents. Turns out I was right,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Cate said again.

“They told me you left the FBI and that Jade’s case was assigned to someone else now. But here you are. Once again, someone in law enforcement lied to me,” Kori said dully.

“No, I’m not supposed to be here . . . well, I am here, but they didn’t lie that I no longer work for the FBI. I’m helping out simply because your parents live so close, and the bone was delivered to me.”

“Why did it come to you?”

“I assume someone knew I handled the case.” Cate grimaced. “I was mentioned in Jade’s articles frequently back then, so it wasn’t hard to discover. They figured out I live here now. I’ve been involved with a few other cases on the island in the last year, so a simple internet search would reveal that.” She considered the young woman and decided Kori had recovered enough from the initial shock for a few questions. “Has anyone approached you about Jade recently?”

Cate hadn’t mentioned the newspaper article or the handwritten message to her yet.

Too soon.

“No,” replied Kori.

“Any news of Rich?”

“No.” Kori looked at her hands. “I think he’s dead too.”

“Why do you say that?” Cate asked sharply.

The woman shrugged. “Dunno. Just a feeling.” Her gaze rested on Cate’s bag. “He let go of Jade. He wouldn’t have done that if he was still alive. He has to be dead to give up his hold on her.”

“You mean you think he’d . . . keep her remains with him?” Cate asked delicately. She didn’t know how else to phrase it.

“He told me he’d never let me go, even if I was dead.”

Jesus Christ.

“But he essentially let you go when he left,” Cate pointed out.

“Only because he had Jade to control instead. He had to have something under his thumb, you know?”

Cate thought of the plea for help on the newspaper. “What if he found someone else to manipulate?”

Kori considered. “I used to wish that someone would catch his attention and he’d cast me aside.”

Ellen closed her eyes, regret rolling off her. Cate wondered if she’d ever forgive herself for supporting Kori’s wish to marry Rich.

“I could see that happening,” Kori added. “He has an obsessive streak.”

No shit.

“Maybe he’s not dead, then,” said Cate.

Kori’s gaze locked with Cate’s. “What are you saying? You know something about him? Has there been another sighting?”

Cate told her about the handwritten message. “Keep in mind that we don’t know how long ago it was written.”

Kori pushed to her feet and started to pace around the table, her fingers twisting her long hair into a braid near her face.

The gesture punched Cate in the gut. I forgot she does that. Kori braided when she was stressed. During the initial investigation, her hair had thinned in the spots where she habitually braided. She’d even created bald spots.

There was no evidence of balding now. Cate took that as a sign that the woman led a mostly stable life.

“He’s got someone else,” Kori muttered. “I should have killed him when I could. It’s my fault he’s able to do this to another woman. Oh, my god, what if he kills another baby?” Her voice rose; her eyes were distraught. “I should have stopped him.”

Cate stood and halted Kori’s pacing, gently taking her upper arms and making the young woman look her in the eye. “You were practically a child when you were with him. You are not responsible for what he did to you or responsible for stopping him from doing it to anyone else,” she told her emphatically. “The only person responsible for his actions is Rich himself.”

“I could have put an end to it,” Kori said. “There were many times I thought about shooting him. I could have done it.”

“And gone to prison for the rest of your life?” Cate gave her a little shake.

Déjà vu.

The conversation was very similar to their dealings seven years ago. Kori getting emotionally worked up and Cate bringing her back down. She’d done it multiple times a day back then.

“Someone else wouldn’t be suffering if I had followed through,” Kori whispered.

“Listen to me,” Cate said firmly. “You know Rich better than anyone. If anyone can help this other woman and her child, it is you. Stop focusing on what didn’t happen in the past and help me focus on the now. I need to find this woman and get her away from Rich.”

Not my investigation.

Cate ignored the little voice of logic in her head. She was suddenly determined to see this new development in Jade’s case through to the end. After meeting with Kori and her parents, she had now been sucked back in. She couldn’t walk away and go back to baking muffins after interacting with the family.

Exactly what Phillip had wanted in the first place.

Did he know I’d come around after talking to the Astons?

It was a moot point. Cate was emotionally up to her neck in the case. Again.

Nothing was going to tear her away from searching for Kori’s ex-husband and stopping him from ruining another woman’s life.

And her child’s.

“Where is the rest of my baby?” Kori whispered, her eyes searching Cate’s. “What did he do with her? I need to find her . . . I need her with me.”

Cate understood. Kori needed closure.

“I can’t help her anymore,” Kori said softly. “But I can protect her. Help her rest. I need to know where she is.”

“I’ll find her for you,” Cate promised. She’d made several similar promises to Kori over the years, knowing it was a long shot that the FBI would find Jade. But something told her that this time, she could actually do it.

Finding Jade’s remains wouldn’t be the result anyone wanted. But it would allow their long-open wounds to finally start to heal.