But then hed also thought that Colton Chisholm was just trying to get her attention all those years ago. Well, he certainly had her attention now.
Chapter Three
How could you believe the letters were from Jessica? he demanded.
Millie was crying and wringing her hands in the cloth of her apron. Her husband looked as if he was trying to restrain himself. Colton was glad he hadnt opted to come here without the deputy because he was having the same problem not going for Sid Grangers throat.
A persons handwriting can change, Millie was saying through her tears.
If she was alive, why wouldnt she call? Colton demanded. Why was Jessica so afraid to let her own family know where she was unless she hated you so much
You punk! Sid Granger sprang to his feet.
It was you she was trying to get away from.
Why would Jessica send me a letter asking me to run away with her if I was the problem? Colton demanded, not backing down as he, too, shot to his feet.
Colton, the deputy warned as she stepped between them again. Mr. Granger, I need to know why youre so angry at Mr. Chisholm.
Colton narrowed his gaze at her. Clearly, she was looking for just one more reason to hang him, but he stepped back, raising his hands in surrender.
What was it you thought Mr. Chisholm did to your daughter? Halley asked again.
Sid Granger seemed to have trouble speaking. He swallowed several times, his Adams apple bobbing up and down. Tears filled his eyes. He hastily brushed them away with his shirtsleeve. Anger reddened his face. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
He got her pregnant, Millie said from the rocker where shed been sitting crying.
Colton took the news like a blow. He lowered himself to the couch. Looking up, he saw the deputys face. Shed obviously been anticipating something like this. Was this the news Jessica had wanted to tell him that night?
He knocked her up and refused to marry her, Sid finally managed to get out.
No! Colton bellowed. Thats a lie. I didnt know. She never His voice broke with emotion as it sank in. I didnt know, he said more to himself than to the people in the room. He could feel Halleys gaze on him. He doubted she believed him any more than Sid Granger did.
As Mr. Chisholm said, your daughter wrote him a letter before the night she was to leave, the deputy was saying. That letter was lost and only delivered today. In the letter, she said she wanted him to run away with her. Do you know if she met him that night?
Why dont you ask him? Sid snapped. Hes sitting right there.
Im asking you. When was the last time you saw your daughter?
Millie spoke up from where the rocker. I saw her that afternoon. She said she needed to run an errand. I wouldnt let her take the car so she had her friend Twyla pick her up.
Twyla? Halley asked.
Twyla Reynolds. Millie looked to Sid. He had sat back down again and now had one arm over his face. Sid, when was the last time you saw Jessica?
That evening after she came home, he said, his words muffled. She said she was going to bed. I just assumed
You have to understand, Millie said. The letters We wanted to believe that she was alive. If I noticed something different about the way she wrote, I just thought it was because shed changed over the years.
Didnt you ever wonder what shed done with the baby? Colton asked, still angry because something had been wrong in this house or Jessica would never have been at their secret spot that night. She would never have needed to run away. She would still be alive today.
He could see that Deputy Halley Robinson was asking questions as if she still thought Jessica might be alive. She was the only person in this room, though, who believed that now.
Id hoped that she had the baby and was raising our grandchild Millie looked away.
Id like to have a handwriting expert look at the letters that were sent to you, Halley said. If you get any more, please try not to handle them so we can dust them for prints.
Millie nodded distractedly. We werent due to get another one for almost a year. I would imagine they will stop coming now.
Only if the killer finds out that Jessicas disappearance is being investigated, Colton thought. But the way news spread in this county, if the killer was still around, he would know soon enough.
Do you have anything Jessica wrote before she left that we could compare it to? Halley was asking.
Millie pushed herself to her feet. Im sure there is something in her room. Its just as she left it.
Colton started to rise to follow the deputy and Millie upstairs to Jessicas room, but Sid Granger stopped him.
You arent going in her room, Sid said, blocking his way. If you hadnt gotten her pregnant
Why dont you wait outside, Halley suggested to Colton.
He could have put up a fight, but he didnt have any fight left in him and there was nothing more to accomplish in this house, even if he could stand another moment in it. All he could think about was Jessica. She had been pregnant with his baby. But theyd been so careful. Not that any of that mattered now.