Forget to Remember

this end?”
    “I’m looking for one. There’s a photo we used when we were first looking for her. I’ve misplaced my copy, but it’s on a missing persons Web site on the Internet. Her parents had the original. I haven’t had a chance to get their house cleaned out yet. That photo and others must be there.”
    “How about her grandmother? Does she have any?”
    “I’ll check with her and see what she has.”
    “What are the names of her parents?”
    “Helen and Richard Sakai.”
    “Your e-mail says Cynthia’s last name is Sakai. Has she ever been married?”
    “No…not that I know of.”
    Frances wrote quickly on her lined pad. “And her grandmother?”
    “I’d like to speak to Carol on the phone. Can you arrange that?”
    “Yes; I’ll talk to her and get back to you.”
    “Where is she staying?”
    “With a friend.”
    “What’s the number where she’s staying?”
    “Let me talk to her first. This is going to come as a shock to her. I’ll set it up so she calls you. What did you say the name of Cynthia’s grandmother is?”
    “Listen, I’ve got to take another call. I’ll be here all day tomorrow. I’d like to talk to Carol then.”
    The line went dead. It took Frances four minutes to find the story of the plane crash in the Web site run by the Raleigh newspaper, the News & Observer . Helen and Richard Sakai and their son, Michael, had died on August 14, 2009. Judging by the length of the article, they must have been prominent citizens. An eight-figure estate—something in excess of ten million dollars—was certainly a possibility.
    Elizabeth Horton was listed in the article as being the mother of Helen. Cynthia’s name was also mentioned as their daughter with the statement that she had been missing for two years. Frances decided to look for stories about Cynthia and photos of her later on the Internet.
    Frances found the phone number and address of Elizabeth Horton in nine minutes. She punched the number into her phone. After three rings, the phone was answered with a firm voice.
    “Hello.”
    “Hello, is this Elizabeth Horton?”
    “Yes.”
    “You don’t know me. My name is Frances Moran. I was just talking to Paul Vigiano. I believe you know him .”
    “Of course. He’s the lawyer who’s handling the estate of my daughter and son-in-law.” She spoke with a slight southern drawl.
    “Yes. He’s also trying to locate your granddaughter, Cynthia.”
    “Poor Cynthia. I don’t hold out much hope for her. First my husband died, then Cynthia disappeared, and now my daughter died. I don’t know if I can take any more tragedies.”
    Frances decided to downplay what she was going to say. “You have my sincere condolences, Mrs. Horton. There may be nothing to this, but Mr. Vigiano called me because I’m working with a young woman who has amnesia. Mr. Vigiano saw her picture and thinks she looks something like Cynthia.”
    “Oh.”
    When Mrs. Horton didn’t say anything more, Frances continued. “There’s a way we can definitely prove this woman isn’t your granddaughter, if that’s the case. It’s called a DNA test. She’s already taken the test. If you take the same test we’ll compare results. If you don’t match, she’s not your granddaughter.”
    “And if we match?”
    “That doesn’t prove she’s your granddaughter, but it’s strong evidence that would be taken into consideration along with other things. Of course, you’d want to meet her if you match.”
    “Does it hurt to take the test?”
    Frances gave her a description of the DNA test. Mrs. Horton agreed to take it. Frances told her a little about Carol, but in such a way that she wouldn’t get her hopes up. When they were about to end the call, Frances asked her a question.
    “Do you think you’ll tell Paul Vigiano you’re taking the test?”
    Mrs. Horton paused before answering. “You know, now that you’ve put a bug in my ear, I don’t believe I will. He’s got a vested interest in finding Cynthia. The terms of the wills provide that if he locates her, he’ll receive several million dollars as a finder’s fee, over and above his fee for handling the estate. I don’t want him…tampering with the evidence.”
    “Interesting. Do you have a recent picture of Cynthia you could send me?”
    “Nothing in the past two years since she’s been missing. When she disappeared, I gave some of my pictures of her to Helen and Richard to use in trying to find her. I’ll see what I can dig