Forgiven (Ruined) by Rachel Hanna

Author:Rachel Hanna [Hanna, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Charleston, South Carolina, lists wedding records online. Out of curiosity and to see how it works, I type in my mother's name and come up with the record of her marriage to Bruce. Which is great, only David Reynolds got married in Atlanta, Georgia, and Atlanta wants to get paid for providing such info. All I want is her name, for goodness sake. I stare at the form. I could fill it out, preferably not on wi-fi since I'll be providing a payment. Or, if I had a driver’s license, I could drive there and check it out. I understand why public agencies charge for their information, but it's less the fee and more the wait that bothers me.

So where else? Wedding announcements. And thanks to the interview, I know when David and Heather got married. I enter it and, ignoring a horribly named website called CheckMate for investigating whether or not someone you're thinking of dating is already married, I find the announcement within about 20 minutes of phishing sites, catfishing sites, sites that flatly lie about what they can do, and popups, by going directly to the newspapers and looking there.

Bingo. David Reynolds' late wife's maiden name is Shelton, and her sister Stacee was her maid of honor back on her wedding day. And from there within instants Facebook is asking if I want to "friend" Stacee Jacobs. I don't, but happily I don't have to. Like most people who have nothing to hide, or who don't believe the social media site is capable of hiding anything anyway, her settings are pretty much open.

Especially the photos.

Feeling a little like a voyeur, I head into the family photos. Aimee and David, looking radiantly happy. Aimee and David and the first of the babies and then both babies. There are family pets and family events. And family.

In more than one photo there's a girl a little older and a little heavier but otherwise she looks like Aimee, with the red curls and porcelain skin David had mentioned. Captioning the photos: Stacee and Aimee. Dates, locations, times.

Sisters.

* * *

It's a shock to realize I recognize her. Can't quite figure out where. I can't remember seeing her the day I did the interviews with Emmy manning the camera. I haven't seen her around the station. Or on campus.

Or anywhere near the house? The benefit of living right off the beach is living right off the beach. Not such a benefit is having all and sundry people right outside the house. The beach outside Bruce's house is public.

I'm certain I've seen this woman. On the beach.

Right outside our house.

And then, with a sickening feeling, from the photos in the box she sent Kellan.

* * *

So now that I know, what do I do?

Find her. Talk to her. Try to reason with her.

Right. Because people who leave threatening notes on your doorstep are always reasonable, right? Of course she'll want to help Kellan overcome his past and go on to make a difference in the world.

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