“It’s a good thing your brother lives here. He can keep your dad company.”
“I plan on keeping him company too. If this has shown me anything, you can take nothing for granted. Here today, gone tomorrow.”
“I’ll stop for some coffee before we hit the interstate,” said Sean. “It seems like we always start these trips late at night.”
“Make mine a double.”
Sean got the coffee and they headed north.
Michelle went through five more binders and then stretched her arms.
“You want me to take over? I can hold the puke in,” he said.
“No, I’ll keep going. But if we don’t find something here, then what?”
“Just pray you do find something in that stack because there is no then what.”
Sean checked the clock on the dashboard and then pulled out his phone and pecked in a number.
“Who you calling?”
“Chuck Waters. Want to get an update. Maybe he’s got a lead he’ll share.”
“Right. And I’m going to try out for Dancing with the Stars. ”
The FBI agent picked up on the second ring. Sean and he talked for a few minutes and then Sean clicked off.
“Anything new?” asked Michelle.
“Jane got the letter in the post office box, and Waters confiscated it.”
“What did it say?”
“Something about a ten-million-dollar ransom. Only Waters thinks she pulled a fast one and fed them a fake letter.”
“Why does he think that?”
“Things in this letter didn’t match the one that was sent with the bowl and spoon. Different typewriters, for instance. And he said there was something funky about the postmark.”
“Why would she pull a switch?”
“She’s got a vested interest in this case, Michelle. From what Betack found with the second letter, this thing is personal to Jane Cox. She didn’t want anyone else to read this last letter.”
“You don’t think Willa is her kid, do you? Maybe she was fooling around on the president before he was the president? Got pregnant and handed it off to her brother and his wife?”
“I might think that except about twelve years or so ago I saw Jane Cox and she wasn’t pregnant.”
“About twelve or so years ago?”
“I mean I saw her off and on during that period of time. She couldn’t be Willa’s mom unless they’re lying about the girl’s age.”
Michelle shook her head and continued reading. A half hour later she yelled out, “Turn the car around!”
Sean nearly ran the truck into a Jersey wall. “What is it?”
“Turn the car around.”
“Why?”