According to the missing person report, Cal hadn't seen Lori that day, but the coffee shop barista stated otherwise. Lori was a regular there and they all knew her. It didn't make any sense.
This was Knox's favorite kind of case. One big mystery wrapped up in knots. He loved to pull at the strings and see what came loose. Usually it was a big pile of secrets and lies.
Speaking of lies...He could totally believe that his brother Cal hadn't told the truth. That didn't mean he was responsible for Lori's disappearance but Knox had to also admit that it made his brother look suspicious.
Not suspicious enough for the local police though. They'd taken that text as complete proof that Lori wasn't a "missing" person and they hadn't done much investigating after that. Chris hadn't been able to find much either. Knox was going to need Jenna to fill in the details because they didn't have much to go on.
She'd ordered dinner, poured him a glass of wine, and they'd settled onto her couch to talk. He made sure to keep to his end of the sofa, wanting to make sure that things stayed completely platonic. He wanted her to see that he was serious about his conditions for taking this case. To be honest, he'd assumed that she'd agree. He'd already sent Logan and Reed a text asking about taking some time off. He rarely took any vacation so he had quite a bit saved up. Just the other day, Reed had been bugging him about booking some time off so Knox didn't think this would be an issue. If a big investigation came in, he could come back quickly or fly out to the job location.
"So tell me the whole story," he said while they waited for dinner to be delivered. "Every detail. Start at the beginning. How did you meet Lori?"
Jenna visibly took a deep breath before diving in. Now that he was sitting and relaxed, he could see that she was anything but. Her whole demeanor was one of tension, her hands wringing together tightly until the knuckles were white. He had a sudden urge to reach out and press his own hands on top of hers but he instantly quelled it. Those feelings weren't welcome anymore.
It was probably just a habit. He'd get over it soon. He was like this, though. Always wanting to protect someone in distress. How many times had he stood between his mother and his sisters? Too many to count. There hadn't necessarily been violence but there had been yelling and ugly name calling. There were always tears and hurt. When he'd left that house and joined the military he'd been filled with guilt, leaving his younger siblings to deal with his neglectful and histrionic mother all alone. Jenna brought all of those unwelcome instincts out in him.
She's not mine to protect.
"I met Lori in school. We were just kids in fifth grade but we hit it off immediately. She was fun and outgoing and we had so much in common. We became best friends and spent all of our free time together. I was an only child so she became like a sister to me." Jenna paused and then grimaced. "I didn't have the best home life, to be honest. We were poor and there was never enough food in the house and my clothes were always old and didn't fit right. I was an only child and I spent most of my time alone. My mom tried to work when she could but her health wasn't great. My dad was a huge loser who never could hold down a job and was always drunk. So needless to say, I was thrilled to be invited over to Lori's house because it meant that I didn't have to be in my own home. My parents never noticed when I wasn't there so it wasn't a big deal."
Logan could understand a great deal of Jenna's story. His mother wouldn't have won any prizes either and his father was no better.
"I spent every moment that I could at Lori's house. Her family had money - lots of it - but her parents thought it was important for her and her twin sister Michelle to go to public school. They didn't want their kids to get stuck up or not realize how other families lived. They were the nicest people and they sort of adopted me. I ate dinner at their house and often spent the night. Lori and Michelle shared their clothes with me. When their parents would take them anywhere like out to dinner or to the zoo, they'd take me too. We were like the Three Musketeers. We were so close. We didn't have any secrets from one another and we wanted to be together all the time. Lori's family was amazing, and I can't imagine what my life would have been like without them. They really taught me what family meant. I didn't have any idea before that."
"They sound like wonderful people," Knox said when Jenna paused for a moment. "You were lucky."
"I was lucky," she said, her gaze far away, the memories painful from the expression on her face. She looked...sad...and disappointed. But mostly, she looked hurt as if she was in physical pain. Once again, Knox had to fight the impulse to reach out and comfort her. It would only confuse matters. "My parents never should have had a child. They weren't equipped to deal with me or anything to do with raising
