From Pharaoh's Hand by Cynthia Green

Author:Cynthia Green [Green, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cynthia H. Green
Published: 2013-03-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Hope Deferred

June 2006

In the weeks that followed the backpack discovery, John and Carolyn managed to raise the reward amount to $250,000 by getting a second mortgage on their home and selling some of their luxuries like the fishing boat in the garage. John knew he would never be able to enjoy fishing again anyway, and nothing was more important than finding out what had happened to his little girl. Against the advice of the police, they contacted the media and arranged to have a press conference detailing the new reward.

“If anyone out there has information leading to the whereabouts of our daughter, Elizabeth Merriweather, please, please come forward. You can remain anonymous and still collect the reward if our daughter is found, dead or alive. We just want the information. Please, please help us find her. If you are holding her hostage, contact us to arrange for the ransom money to be delivered in exchange for our daughter. Elizabeth, if you are watching, we love you. We want you to come home. We want you and our grandchild. We don’t care where you’ve been or what you’ve done. Just come home to us. We love you.”

They were not prepared for the chaos that followed in June. Leads came pouring in from all over the country, and a few from outside the country, further raising the Merriweather’s hopes that their daughter was, indeed, still alive. There were so many new leads that the police were having a hard time following up on them all. The hotline they had set up rang constantly. Each time it was someone claiming to have seen Elizabeth in their neighborhood, at a convenience store, hitch hiking through the mountains, or shopping for groceries. Volunteers were brought in to man the phones and take down crucial contact information so that the police could follow up each lead.

The investigator was brutally honest when he spoke to John about the case. He was not jubilant, as John expected, but rather somber.

“You realize that the money has brought out every crazy in the woodwork, don’t you John. You may have slowed the investigation to a crawl.”

“I don’t see it that way. At least we’re getting leads. Just because you guys have to do a bit of work to keep up, that’s not my fault.”

“John, we don’t have the manpower to keep up the pace. As harsh as it sounds, your case is not our only case.”

“What are you saying? That you won’t follow up on these leads?”

“No, I’m not saying that. I’m saying that we will do our best, but we have other cases to work. Don’t expect too much is all.”

“I fully expect you to follow up on each and every lead as if it were the one to bring my girl home. Do you understand?”

“I understand. As long as you understand, John, that raising the reward money does not guarantee we’ll find her.”

“I’m fully aware of that. Now get back to work finding my daughter.”

“There are at least three very promising leads I need you to be informed of, John.

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