Silent Run

look like Sarah, but it’s close. Her hair is much shorter, straightened and blond, but the features are similar. In the articles, the police say they have no idea what happened to Jessica. The woman had no known enemies. She worked as a receptionist in a law firm, a temp job, so no one knew her very well. Her neighbor said she thought Jessica was dating someone, but she never met him. She just heard them out in the hall a few times. However, no boyfriend came forward to look for Jessica. It’s all very sketchy."
    â€œSo the only thing we really have is that this woman looks a little like Sarah."
    â€œThere are a couple of other facts that support my theory, like that Jessica’s parents died in a car crash, same as Sarah’s."
    â€œAnything else?"
    â€œCatherine says that Jessica grew up in foster care with her."
    â€œFoster care? Sarah certainly didn’t mention that. I don’t know, Dylan. It sounds very circumstantial or coincidental."
    â€œMaybe she didn’t tell you because it was part of the past she wanted to hide from you. Jessica also had a doll named Caitlyn and a grandmother in Boston named Sarah. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a few too many coincidences."
    Jake’s mind raced with the implications. “Okay, so what’s next?"
    â€œI want to bring Catherine down to meet Sarah. I think if they’re face-to-face we’ll know for sure."
    â€œThat sounds like a good idea. When can you get here?"
    â€œUnfortunately, not until late tonight. Catherine is teaching an art class, and she can’t miss it. I doubt we’ll get on the road before six o’clock. And it’s probably a three-hour drive from here. What’s happening on your end?"
    â€œWe’re at Sarah’s apartment. We found a pile of fake IDs and birth certificates for Sarah and Caitlyn,” he replied. “Sarah has been a dozen different people over the years, and it appears that she’s been on the run for a while."
    â€œThat would jive with Catherine’s story."
    â€œYes, it would. And if Sarah is Jessica, and she really grew up in foster care, then that could explain her lack of relatives. It would also give us a concrete place to start looking for her past. If she was in the foster care system, there have to be records."
    â€œAgreed. I also want to dig further into the Chicago connection. Jessica had neighbors, coworkers, friends there. Someone has to know more than we do."
    â€œYou’d think so. By the way, Sarah’s neighbor here in LA called her Samantha."
    â€œAnother alias."
    â€œYes. Her neighbor also told us that someone may have tried to attack Sarah earlier this week, which could have triggered her run up the coast. There’s a sketch of the attacker here in the apartment, and Sarah seems to think it’s the same guy who was in her hospital room."
    â€œI wonder if Sarah was running here to see her old friend Catherine,” Dylan suggested. “Although, aside from a cryptic unsigned note, Catherine said she’s had no contact from Jessica in the past eight years. It’s possible I’m completely off base here. I hate to get your hopes up, Jake."
    â€œWell, until we know for sure, keep working the contact."
    â€œI will. I’ll let you know when we get on the road."
    Jake felt a rush of optimism as he ended the call. If they could trace Sarah to this Jessica, they would be a lot closer to finding out the story of her life, why she’d disappeared eight years ago, and what kind of trouble she’d been in. Maybe Chicago was where it had all started.
    Slipping his phone back into his pocket, he looked around the apartment once more. Was he missing something? Sarah had zoned in on the hidden vent beneath the carpet. Were there other hiding places? Would she have been paranoid enough to use more than one location to secret away the clues to her past? The answer to that question was a definite yes.
    He walked through the apartment, running his hands along the walls to see if he could find anything out of the ordinary. Nothing jumped out at him. He walked back to the bed, to the crib. He’d been trying very hard not to look at that crib, because it was the one piece of furniture in the room that really bothered him. Now he knew he had to face it head-on.
    He moved over to the crib, putting his hands on the rail. Gazing down at the mattress, he could picture his daughter lying there