truth about how she ended up with him—or maybe she’d blocked it out. And insult to injury, after she was rescued by Detective Max Jenkins of the Chicago PD, no one from her family stepped up to claim her. Not even the national media coverage afterward shed light on what had happened to her. That aspect of her past had remained a black hole. And she’d given up trying to find where she’d come from.
Looking into the details of her childhood nightmare had always been too painful.
“Yeah, well, back then DNA wasn’t used to solve crimes like it is now,” Sam said. “But an old case caught the eye of this local police chief. And he sent in evidence he had stored in archives to the state crime lab. When the lab ran its findings against the CODIS and NCIC databases, the chief told me he got a hit on DNA evidence—and his first new lead in over twenty years.”
Jessie’s mind worked double time, thinking how a DNA test would link to her. The FBI maintained both the Combined DNA Index System and the National Crime Information Center. The first held DNA profiles in a database, while the other was a repository for specific criminal records on known fugitives, missing persons, stolen property, and other details. Such database information was available to state and federal law-enforcement types and was meant to be shared across jurisdictions. Since she’d been a missing person as a child, her gut twisted with the implications of where Sam might be going with this.
“He got a hit . . . on what?”
“Since you were a missing kid, your DNA is on record, Jess. The Wisconsin crime lab got a hit on your DNA. It puts you at that crime scene over twenty years ago.”
“What?” Jessie grimaced. “I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t either. That’s why I put in a request for that DNA report. I could have our crime-lab boys take a look at it, decipher what it means. When I get it, I’ll let you know.”
“That’s great . . . I think.”
“I also called that local LEO in La Pointe. His name is Tobias Cook. I only asked questions and didn’t tell him anything. I wanted to talk to you first,” Sam told her. “According to him, that DNA hit on you was a dead-on match. Unless there’s a serious mistake, it looks like you’re connected to that murder somehow, but that’s not all.”
“Oh, great. The hits keep coming.”
“Chief Cook was asking about your mother. He’s looked into your story, Jess. He knows about Millstone and what happened to you as a kid. He asked why no one ever came forward and claimed you after the rescue.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him I didn’t know anything about that. And he’d have to talk to you about it.”
“You did good, Sammie. Thanks.” Jessie swallowed hard. “Did he say why he was asking about my mother?”
Hearing the word “mother” always flashed her back to a haunting memory that had been with her since she was a little girl. She remembered a sunny day with fall colors and a woman’s smiling face. She held those images close to her heart, of a woman playing with her in a park. She must have been someone very special because the memories always made Jessie happy. Although she still couldn’t be sure the woman in her dreams was really her mother, Jessie needed to believe she’d once had someone who loved her like that.
She’d always fantasized that if she saw the woman again, she’d know it. Something in her eyes would give it away. At least, she’d always hoped that would be true.
“The chief only told me that he was running down leads, something about kids being seen at the house where the murder took place.”
“Was the murdered woman . . . my mother? I mean, did my DNA match . . . hers?”
She ached with the thought that her mother might have been dead all these years. And the very thing she’d longed for was never going to happen.
“Sorry. He didn’t tell me anything more about his case. Believe me, I asked, but he got a call and had to jump. That’s why I wanted to see that DNA analysis myself. I swear, Jess. The minute I get that report, I’ll call you. Promise.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“We don’t know if your mother was there at all. Without a peek at the DNA report, there’s no sense buying into more trouble. Even if she was there, she could have been a witness.”
“Or a suspect.”
Jessie had a hard time thinking about her mother after all these years, but she had an even tougher time considering what dark scenarios had put her at that crime scene.
“Don’t go there, Jessie.”
“Either way, I don’t see a family reunion in my future. My luck doesn’t work that way.”
“You’re still breathing, aren’t you? I’d say your luck is better than most.” Sam heaved a sigh. “Besides, if your mother had been connected in some way to a murder, that would explain why she never came forward after you were rescued.”
What Sam said made sense. It had always pained her that no one had claimed her after her ordeal with Millstone, especially with all the national media coverage. Given the scant memories she had of a woman she believed to be her mother—a child’s wishful thinking—Jessie didn’t want to even think about the woman’s being involved in a killing. The life she led before Millstone had been a black hole so far, but maybe this local cop could fill in the gaps. Jessie would have no way of knowing anything for sure unless she contacted him.
“So now what?” Sam asked. “People here at CPD know we have a connection. They’re letting me handle this bulletin request for information, but I can’t stall them.”
“No, and I don’t expect you to.” Jessie chewed the inside corner of her lip. “Give me the 4-1-1 on this chief dude.”
Sam gave her the man’s name and phone number.
“Chief Cook asked you to call him. He thinks he can clear things up over the phone.”
“Not good enough. Not for me.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m flying to Chicago as soon as I can arrange a flight, Sam. I’ll call you when I get there.”
“You want me to pick you up at O’Hare?”
“No . . . I’ll get Harper to do that. But I’ll call when I get a chance, okay?”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m driving to La Pointe. You can tell Chief Cook that I’ll see him face-to-face late tomorrow. I gotta know what evidence he’s got on that case. And if there’s a connection to my mother, or a reason why I ended up with Millstone, I have to know.”
“Look, Jess. I know this is hard for you, but if you need to talk, call me.”
“Thanks, I will.”
Her past never went away. For the first time in her life, Jessie had a future and prospects, working for the Sentinels. She wasn’t just a bounty hunter drifting from case to case, living in a crappy apartment on the fringe of society in Chicago. And since Seth Harper had nudged his way into her life, she also felt good about herself. He had known about her past and accepted her. The scars she carried on her body and on her soul weren’t an issue with a guy like Harper.
It scared her to think that her only memory of someone who could be her mother might have been wrong. Was she ready to kill the only good thing she remembered of her past?
“I can never catch a damned break,” she muttered as she got out of bed.
Dressed in a tank top and boxers, Jessie trudged into her living room and logged onto her laptop to look for a flight to Chicago. She had breakfast plans with Alexa Marlowe that she could still make on her way to LaGuardia. Her new partner would need to know that she was leaving town, but Alexa didn’t need to know everything.
Very few people knew the details about the nightmare of her childhood ordeal, and she preferred to keep it that way.
Norma’s Restaurant in Midtown West was packed. Bright and bustling, the place had high ceilings, wood paneling, and faux-silver-edged tables that gave a modern yet comfortable feel. It was a popular cafe for breakfast
