“Where are the photos of the mother and father or fathers?”

Falco shook his head. “There aren’t any. I noticed that in the other albums. All the photos were of Sela. The more recent ones were Sela and her husband. I didn’t find anything before she was ten years old.”

“Strange that the mother wouldn’t have photos of Sela or her sister when they were small. You know, little kids or babies.”

“Maybe those are in storage somewhere,” Falco offered. “The furniture in this house belongs to the Abbotts. What happened to the mother’s belongings when she moved in with her daughter and her new husband? Sold? Donated? Stored?”

All valid questions. “It’s possible she sold or donated everything. Except photos or special mementos. Those she would surely keep. Maybe you’re right, and her personal things are in storage somewhere.”

“Unless she was like me.” Falco tidied the stacks of albums. “I kept nothing of my former life.”

“Why?”

He looked at her for a long moment. “Because I couldn’t keep any part of that life. Why hang on to the reminders?”

Before Kerri could delve into the questions she wanted to ask, he grabbed another album. “I took a second look at this after what the detective from San Diego told us.”

Kerri placed the first album he’d handed her onto the stack on the coffee table and accepted the next one. This one was from Sela’s time at San Diego State University.

“Flip to the final two pages.”

Kerri did as he said. There was a congratulations card that had been opened and placed on the page so that you could see the note written inside.

I expect great things from you!

The note was signed Dr. Elizabeth Saxon, Dean of Students.

“Maybe no one here knows the real Sela Rollins Abbott,” Falco suggested, “but there are people in her past who seemed to know her pretty damn well. Like that detective.”

Her partner was right. “Whenever we find what we think might be a lead, it drags us deeper into the past. Maybe we should see what else is back there.”

He nodded. “That’s what I’m saying. This whole thing goes way back, Devlin.”

“I’m with you on that one. As a matter of fact, all those prescription bottles in the mother’s room go way back too. They all expired like five years ago, and the pharmacy isn’t a local one. But it’s a chain we have here, which is why we didn’t pick up on the irregularity.”

Falco tapped the card signed by the dean of students. “We’re moving in the right direction. I can feel it.”

Less than ten minutes were required for Kerri to locate a number for Elizabeth Saxon and to get her on the phone. It was two hours earlier in San Diego, so thankfully she wasn’t tied up in church or out for Sunday brunch with family.

Kerri couldn’t remember the last time she’d done either.

“Dr. Saxon, this is Homicide Detective Kerri Devlin from Birmingham, Alabama.” She had the call on speaker so Falco could listen as well. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about a former student, Sela Robbins.”

“All right,” Saxon said. “Let me just say first that I have not seen or heard from Sela since she graduated.”

“I understand, ma’am,” Kerri responded. “We’re looking for information about her when you knew her.”

“Very well. Certainly, I remember Sela. Hardworking. Excellent student. She had her future all mapped out.”

“Can you tell me a little about the map she had planned?”

“I’m sorry, did you say homicide detective? Has something happened to Sela?”

“I can’t share the details, Ms. Saxon, but I can tell you that Sela is missing. Her mother and her husband were murdered.” All things the public already knew. “We’re trying to find her. We’re hoping someone from her past has heard from her or can provide some insight into where she might be.”

A moment of silence. “Are you saying she killed her husband and mother?”

“No, ma’am,” Kerri explained. “I’m saying she may be in hiding from whoever did this. She may not know who to trust. Or she could be the victim of an abduction.”

She exchanged a look with Falco. Hopefully this tactic would work.

“Sela was very focused on building a career in law enforcement so she could dedicate her life to preventing other women from becoming statistics as her sister had. I’m sure you’re aware of the Janelle Stevens case.”

“I am.” She was now, anyway.

“The loss of her sister had a tremendous impact on her life. She wanted more than anything to help protect others from that awful fate. As I said, I haven’t heard from Sela since she graduated, but you might speak with a professor to whom she was particularly close. His name is Carlos Percy. Give me a moment, and I’ll find his number for you.”

Kerri muted the speaker while Saxon searched for the number. “We need to speak with the Abbotts and learn whose idea it was to move back to Birmingham. I think at this point we can safely conclude it wasn’t just because Ben’s mother had a heart attack.”

“Here it is.” Saxon recited the number.

Falco entered the number into his phone.

Kerri tapped the key to unmute the speaker and offered, “Thank you, Dr. Saxon.”

“I hope you find her unharmed,” Saxon offered. “Sela has been through a lot with her mother’s illness. I had hoped her life would turn out well.”

“Her mother’s illness?” Kerri prompted.

“Poor thing, she was diagnosed with cancer just before Sela graduated.”

Either the mother had been diagnosed with cancer twice—which was entirely possible—or Sela had lied about one or both times. Dr. Moore had found no indications of a recent illness. “Thank you again, Dr. Saxon. I assure you we will do all we can to find Sela.”

When the call ended, Kerri entered the number her partner had saved on his screen for her. The call went to voice mail, and she left a message for Professor Percy. No sooner had she finished than the phone in her hand vibrated, snatching her attention back to it. She recognized the number. The Abbotts. “Devlin.”

“I apologize for missing your earlier call, Detective,” Mr. Abbott said. “If you still need to meet with us, we’re home. Feel free to come at your leisure.”

“Headed there now, sir.”

Kerri had a good many questions for Abbott, and not all were about his son or the missing wife.

Daniel Abbott and T. R. Thompson had obviously been close for most of their lives. There was no way Abbott didn’t know Janelle Stevens or at least about her case.

Abbott Residence

Saint Charles Drive, Hoover

As promised, Mr. and Mrs. Abbott were waiting when Kerri and Falco arrived. Mrs. Abbott’s eyes weren’t so red and swollen as they had been the last time they’d visited, but it was clear she was deeply enveloped in grief. Judging by the glazed look of her eyes, she was medicated as well.

Falco started the questioning. “How well do you know Sela’s family and history? Would your son have conducted a background search before becoming involved with her?”

Mrs. Abbott simply stared at Falco. Her expression didn’t change, and she said nothing.

Mr. Abbott did the talking. “Ben generally had a background check done on anyone with whom he interacted. Employees, associates, and certainly the women he dated. He didn’t allow anyone close to him who hadn’t been properly vetted.”

“So there was a background check on Sela.” Kerri was surprised Abbott’s people hadn’t found the connection to Janelle Stevens.

“I questioned him about her when he brought her home for the first time. My son said he knew everything there was to know about her. He trusted her. She made him happy.”

“Did Sela ever mention her older sister?” Kerri popped this question to see the man’s reaction. Surprise? Confusion? Those were the two she expected. Instead, his face remained clean of emotion as he shook his head in answer.

“I was under the impression Sela was an only child like Ben. He talked about that being one of the things they had in common.”

So, the husband hadn’t known Sela’s big secret either. At least not in the beginning.

“Have you found her?”

This question came from Mrs. Abbott, and she stared at Kerri with such blankness that she wondered if the lady realized she had said the words out loud.

“No, ma’am,” Kerri said, “but we are doing everything we can to change that.”

Mrs. Abbott nodded and drifted back into silence.

“She had an older sister, Janelle,” Kerri explained, her attention shifting back to Mr. Abbott. “She moved to Birmingham right after college and went missing. Her case is still unsolved. Are you certain Sela never mentioned this? It seems odd that she would move to Birmingham and never mention the family tragedy that happened here. Surely her mother mentioned it.”

He shook his head. “She never mentioned it that I can recall, and I certainly believe I would remember such a thing. As for her mother, we rarely saw her. Sela said she suffered with a mild case of agoraphobia and didn’t deal well with social activities.”