CHAPTER 8
Pam Middleton walked into Lizzy’s office downtown at exactly twelve noon. She wore dark slacks, a white sweater, and a strand of pearls. Her blonde hair, streaked with auburn, was pulled back with a clip. Her face looked pinched, her eyes tired. Her lips appeared as a thin red line.
After introductions were made, Lizzy gestured for Mrs. Middleton to have a seat in the empty chair next to Hayley.
“Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.”
“Not a problem. Hayley told me that you need us to locate someone for you. Why don’t you give us the specifics?”
The woman’s hands were clamped tightly on her lap. “Everything we talk about today will remain in the strictest of confidence?”
Lizzy and Hayley both agreed.
“Twenty-five years ago, at the age of sixteen, I had a baby girl. My boyfriend, Dillon, and I struggled with the decision to give our baby up for adoption, but in the end we felt we had no choice. We were young. My parents threatened to throw me out of the house. His parents were devastated. It was a horrible time. Neither of us had a job. There was no way we would be able to provide for our child.”
The woman took a steadying breath before continuing. “So the decision was made, and, because we thought it was only fair to the adoptive parents that we stay out of the picture, we never looked back.”
Mrs. Middleton toyed with her pearls before she found her voice again. “Seven years later, I married Dillon and we went on to have another child. A daughter.”
The woman’s eyes watered and her bottom lip quivered. She took a moment to gather her thoughts while Hayley and Lizzy exchanged looks, both waiting for the other to offer words of comfort and support. Instead, they merely sat there, unmoving and blank-faced.
“Recently,” Mrs. Middleton went on, “our sixteen-year-old daughter developed severe stomach cramps and was rushed to the hospital. Within twenty-four hours of bringing her to the hospital, we learned that she had a rare form of leukemia.”
“I’m sorry,” Lizzy said.
A tear dripped down the side of Pam Middleton’s cheek.
Lizzy offered her a tissue.
The woman dabbed at her eyes and then said, “After my daughter is given radiation and chemo, she’ll need a bone marrow transplant to replenish her red blood cells.”
“What happens if she doesn’t find a donor?” Hayley asked.
“She’ll die.”
“You need the daughter you gave up to save your younger daughter,” Hayley stated.
“Yes,” the woman said. “Can you help me find her?”