CHAPTER 12
The more Connor thought about it, the more certain he was his parents were still alive. It wasn’t simple denial. He knew that. There was something that Olivia had said, something that didn’t sit right with him. It wasn’t that the killer had removed the victims’ teeth—he’d seen enough crime shows to know killers sometimes kept trophies from their victims. It wasn’t that the killer had called to tell the police where they could find the bodies, or even the fire itself. Although all of these things seemed a little strange. It was something else.
But what?
Connor reviewed the conversation with Olivia as he went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. The argument with her had left his throat dry, aching. His mind jumped from one part of their exchange to another. She had asked if they could sit down. He had accused her of not doing her job, told her about his conversation with Adriana. He had asked about DNA testing, looked at the photos she had brought, said the scrap of fabric matched his father’s shirt, the ring was his mother’s.
He filled a glass with water from the tap, and as he was about to take his first sip the answer occurred to him. Could that really be it?
He scurried back to the living room to get his cellphone and called Olivia. “The ring you showed me. How did you know it was my mother’s wedding band?”
“We found it on the ring finger of her left hand. It just made sense. Why?”
Connor hung up. He wasn’t ready to answer that question yet. He had to be sure he wasn’t mistaken.
In his parents’ walk-in closet, he found a pair of photo albums and a box. One of the albums was blank and the other was only half full. It was the box that held most of his mother’s cherished memories. Although she kept promising she would sort the pictures in it, she never did.
He quickly scoured the photo album, but couldn’t find what he was looking for, so he dragged the box out of the closet and dumped the contents onto the dining room table. Connor’s old report cards. Elementary school artwork. Photos. Used plane tickets.
The photos had been dated on the back with a black magic marker. Connor picked them out one at a time, noting the dates as he did so. He was only interested in those that included his mother and, in particular, those where he could see her left hand. A photo from three years back confirmed what he remembered his mother telling him about her ring, but he wanted something more recent. Finally, he found it.
The picture was of his father and mother, her left arm draped over his shoulders. Behind them was a Christmas tree. The photo was dated December 24. That was only seven months ago, and probably the most recent picture he was going to find.
He looked closely at his mother’s hand. The ring was on her middle finger, just as it had been three years ago.
He remembered her telling him she had lost weight some years back and couldn’t find a jeweler to size her ring. Doing so would distort the pattern on the band. His dad had offered to replace it, but she had said no. She liked having the original, and besides—it didn’t matter which finger the ring was on.
So, that couldn’t have been his mother in the fire. Her ring, yes. Not her body.
The man who had abducted his parents wanted the police to think they were dead. That was why he had set the bodies on fire instead of dumping them in the harbor. That was why he had taken their teeth.
His parents were still alive.
Connor grabbed his phone out of his pocket, ready to call Olivia back and give her the news, when he noticed something else—a document, and on it a flash of letters. He hesitated. The document was a marriage certificate. The letters that got his attention spelled out the name Matthew A. Jones. The person he had married? Kimberly D. Snider. Connor’s mom.
Stay out of my system or I’ll make sure Matt finds out what you’ve been up to.
He sat back in his chair, feeling a cold prickle on the back of his neck. His mother had been married before, and Ion knew about it.
Then, another memory. Something Adriana had said: She said she knows what it’s like to lose someone.
Adriana had been talking about Connor’s mom. He had already ruled out both of her parents as the mysterious “someone.” Now, at least, he had an idea of who his mom must have been referring to. Matt. According to the date on the certificate, they had gotten married three years before Connor was born. He must have died shortly thereafter.
Now that Connor understood who Matt was, he wasn’t surprised his mom had kept that to herself. But how would Ion know about him? Had he dug up more about Connor’s life than just his email address? The answer to that was an obvious yes, so how crazy was this guy? Was he crazy enough to come after Connor’s parents as some sort of payback for hacking into his website?
If the information on TruthSeekers.com was a reflection of the man’s mental state, he was out there, for sure.
Connor wouldn’t call Olivia yet. The killer wanted the police to think his parents were dead. Maybe he should leave it that way for now. At least until he knew a little more about the man behind that website.
CHAPTER 13
Connor had come to the conclusion that Ion must have tunneled his way back into Connor’s computer while they were connected. It would explain how he had managed to shut down Connor’s system. It would also explain how he had gotten Connor’s email and enough information to start digging into his life.
That sort of tracing
