Hey, youll get no argument from me, Walker. Ive come across plenty of those in my time. All Im saying is that it looks as if Eliza Eldridge and the agency she works for are one of the good guys. From everything Ive read, ChildFinders, Inc. has a one-hundred-percent track record for recovering the children theyre hired to find, Jason said.
And you dont find that somehow suspect?
Theres a place for everything in this world, Walker. Even miracles. If she came looking for you with some kind of message, I say go for it. What have you got to lose?
What have I got to lose? How about the bits and pieces of me that Ive managed to pull together over the past two years? Damn it, Jason
Jason felt for Walker, he really did. Hed been there for him, as much as Walker would allow anyone to be there for him, and had seen what the kidnapping had done to him. And to Walkers wife, Rachel. One tragedy had begat another. Yeah, I know.
No, you dont, Walker said with finality. You dont know. You couldnt possibly know until its happened to you what it feels like to lose your little girl. To finally have to admit to yourself that theres no hope, that shes never going to come back, never going to throw those little arms around you and hug you as if youre the most important person in the world. Never feel those tiny little lips on your cheek when youve won her heart because you bought her a stupid pair of pink toe shoes
Abruptly, Walker stopped, knowing hed said too much, had gotten too angry at a friend whose only sin was in wanting to help.
When he spoke again, his voice quavered. I just dont know if I can go through it all again, Jase. I dont know if I could live with myself.
Could you live with yourself if you turned your back on this, knowing there might be some chance, however slim, that you could find Bonnie? And that you passed it up?
Walker made no answer.
He didnt have to.
There were no two ways about it. Savannah Walters was an absolute gem. Eliza wondered what the firm had done without her before Sam had found her daughter, married her and subsequently talked her into leaving her job and coming to work for ChildFinders. The woman was an absolute whiz at the computer. More to the point, she knew her way around what was, to Eliza, the mysterious world of the Internet. Savannah could uncover information in seconds where it would have taken her weeks, Eliza marveled as she went over the stacks of files, clippings and random bits of information Savannah had assembled for her.
Specifically, shed asked Savannah to see if she could dig up any information regarding the Banacek kidnapping. Savannah had unearthed old news articles dealing with the kidnapping and any bodies that had subsequently turned up fitting Bonnies general physical description over a nine-state area. Shed also asked for the names and known whereabouts of any registered child molesters.
It was a humbling mound of information, but Eliza intended to do it all justice. Maybe reading the files would trigger something for her, she thought. She felt she owed it to Bonnie, no matter what the girls father thought of her.
Hey, theres the brand-new Daddy now. Eliza heard Megan Andreini Wichita crow almost right outside her door. It sounded as if Megan was hugging Cade. How does it feel?
Cade had taken the day before off to be with his wife, after having spent the previous evening coaching her through labor and delivery.
Ill let you know when and
if I get some sleep. Right now, Im so tired I feel like Im walking around in someone elses dream. He stopped to pop his head into Elizas office. You were right. Mike had the baby at 3:32. A beautiful baby girl. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out the instamatic photo hed taken and passed it around for the women to see. Her faces a little flattened right now, but
Her face, Eliza said, taking the photograph from him to get a better look, is absolutely perfect. And so is she. She handed the photograph over to Savannah. You must be very, very proud.
Normally a man of few words, he wasnt given to bragging. Just relieved its over.
Hey, its not over, Papa, Savannah, the mother of two children herself, told him affectionately. You should know that. Its not over for eighteen years. And even then, I hear it doesnt stop.
Megan handed the photograph back to the man she had originally met when shed come as an FBI agent to question him about his missing son. Boy, you people really know how to sell motherhood.
Nothing better in this world, Savannah swore solemnly.
Megan chewed on her lower lip, seeming uncustomarily uncertain. Thats good. She took a deep breath as the others looked at her questioningly. Because I think Im on my way.
My God, really? Savannah asked.
Megan had only been back to the office for a couple of days. She and her husband, Garrett, had finally managed to coordinate their schedules to take a long overdue honeymoon.
Wow, you certainly know how to end off a honeymoon right, Cade commented.
Eliza threw her arms around Megan, then stepped back. Megan looked at her with an unspoken question in her eyes. Eliza nodded with a smile. Yes, you are.