Jules’s thick brows lifted. “Came to get you? You mean this wasn’t done at a courthouse? They just picked you up one day?”
Rachel frowned. She’d never thought of it that way. “But I have my revised birth certificate. So, they did adopt me.”
“Is it legal?”
“What?” Rachel couldn’t believe her ears. “Of course it’s legal.”
Jules took a bite of her hamburger and chewed slowly as her mother let the last question roll around in her head.
“It just seems odd, Mom. Doesn’t it seem strange to you?”
It hadn’t seemed odd at all. If Jules had known what her life had been like before leaving with Julie and Gordon, she’d understand. But now that Rachel was finally talking about it, the story did have a lot of holes.
“It is weird, I’ll give you that,” Rachel finally said. “But no one came looking for me. I never saw my face on a milk carton.” She laughed, but it felt forced.
“I’m not saying they took you illegally, Mom. But it sounds strange. Is that what’s upsetting Aunt Julie now? The past?”
Rachel nodded. “Julie was so upset this afternoon. She wanted to tell me privately about my brother. She kept apologizing like she’d done something wrong. She even said I might hate her if I knew the truth. I really thought she was just rambling on. But now, I’m not sure.”
“Do you think she knows something you don’t?” Jules asked.
Rachel took a sip of her soda. “Maybe. But I don’t know what it could be. And I don’t want to press her about it in her current state of mind. It might just be a delusion on her part, too.”
Jules lifted her eyes to her mother. “Have you ever searched for your parents or brother online? That might answer all your questions.”
Rachel had thought of doing just that, years ago. And once, she’d even typed in her parents’ names, but nothing came up. She’d decided back then to let it all go. “I have no reason to search for them. They didn’t care enough about me to stay in contact, so why would I try now?”
Her daughter gave her a quizzical look. “Maybe they didn’t contact you because they didn’t know where you were. Your last name had changed. You said you moved from state to state before ending up here. Maybe Aunt Julie made sure they couldn’t find you.”
Rachel had thought that very same thing as she’d let her mind wander this afternoon. But her Aunt Julie wasn’t like that. She’d always been open with Rachel about everything. Still, they never talked about Rachel’s parents or brother after they’d moved away, except for letting Rachel write to her father. Could her aunt and uncle have been that devious?
“I guess I could do a search on them,” Rachel finally said. When she saw her daughter pull out her phone, Rachel shook her head. “Not here. I’ll do it at home, in private. Who knows what I’ll find?”
Jules looked disappointed but didn’t argue. “At least tell me what you find out, if you learn anything, okay?”
Rachel nodded. “I will. But I doubt after thirty-five years, I’ll find out anything at all.”
***
An hour later, Rachel returned home and headed directly to her office. She still had the grocery store campaign to finish, but that wasn’t foremost on her mind. Ever since telling her daughter the truth about her early years, she couldn’t get the idea of searching for her family out of her head. It was worth a try.
Opening her laptop, Rachel waited while it started up. She opened Google, and her shaking fingers hovered over the keyboard. Did she really want to unlock her past? What good would it do her now? She hesitated.
“It’s just a search,” she told herself. “It’s not like I have to ever see them if I do find them.”
With new determination, she typed in, “Keith Parnell, Casita, California.” The few seconds it took to display a response felt like an eternity. Finally, a list of headlines and links appeared.
“Keith Parnell, Life in Prison for Murder.”
“Keith Parnell Murder Case.”
“1985 Murder Case, Keith Parnell.”
Rachel stared in shock at the headlines. That couldn’t possibly be her brother. There must be a thousand other people named Keith Parnell, she thought. But then, the next headline from a 1985 article in the Casita Daily News made her eyes go wide.
“Eight-year-old Murder Victim Identified as Rachel Parnell.”
Rachel sat back and stared at the news headline in horror. “They think I’m dead.”
Chapter Three
Early the next morning, Rachel drove to her aunt’s care center and walked hurriedly to her apartment. She’d hardly slept all night after reading the many articles about her own murder and her brother’s conviction. She still couldn’t believe any of it was true. But the trial transcripts and the pictures of Keith being led into court wearing a prison uniform and chains made it all too real. Her brother had been serving the last thirty-four years in prison for her murder—but she was very much alive.
As Rachel neared her aunt’s apartment, she almost collided with Shirley.
“My, my. What’s your hurry, dear?” Shirley said, studying her. Rachel was aware of how drawn and disheveled she looked. She’d thrown on her clothes from the day before and had quickly run a brush through her hair before rushing out.
“Sorry, Shirley,” she said. “I didn’t mean to run into you. I’m on my way to see my aunt.”
“Is something wrong?” Shirley asked. “Can I help?”
Rachel shook her head. “No, thank you. I just need to talk to my aunt in private.”
Shirley looked concerned but only nodded. “Be sure to buzz me if you need anything, okay?”
Rachel nodded and headed to her aunt’s door. She knocked twice, then opened the door a little. “Aunt Julie? It’s Rachel. I’m coming inside.”
Julie was sitting on the small sofa, gazing up at the television that hung on the opposite wall. An old episode
