“All this publicity and no hint or word of his mother?”
“I’d thought the same so I searched court records for any history of a paternity suit or child support hearing but there was nothing at all. Without so much as a birth certificate for Keiran, his mother would be pretty hard to trace.”
“What about school records? He was eight when he came into John’s care so he must have been in school.”
“Blank, babe.”
“So he just appeared out of thin air?”
“The only way you can keep someone a secret is if they want to be kept a secret or if they aren’t alive to tell you otherwise.”
“You think the mother’s dead?”
“Why not? Ten years and no trace of her?”
“So there would be record of her death.”
“Without a name, how would we find it?”
“Someone has to know something about who Mitch was dating.”
“Not necessarily…”
‘What do you mean?”
“Rich guys like that change women more than they change their underwear. She could have been just another notch on his belt – used and invisible.”
“The only person who would know is John but I’ve never even seen the guy. He’s never around,” I thought long and hard before a thought occurred to me. “Where are they from? If they were from a place like Six Forks it wouldn’t be nearly impossible to figure out. People gossip.”
“Beauty and brains. My hero,” he chuckled.
“Some days I don’t feel so smart…”
“That’s because you let your vagina do the talking, babe.” He quickly tapped his keyboards and only after a few minutes he came across something. “He’s from Camden. That’s only a two hour drive.”
“So it’s close.”
“You aren’t seriously thinking about going there are you?”
“Why not?”
“Maybe because this whole family seems shady as fuck? You can’t just show up on someone’s doorstep and starting asking questions about something they obviously kept so hard to bury. Think about it, beautiful…Keiran was a child when he was found…he didn’t hide all this himself.”
I thought hard about what he said but knew I didn’t have a choice. This was becoming more than just a need for revenge. I wanted answers. I needed answers. “What else can I do?”
Instead of replying he went back to typing. “It looks like he had a housekeeper.”
“How do you know that?”
“Her resume was uploaded on this social website for professionals who use it to make connections.” He studied the resume and then turned to look up at me. “What month is Keiran’s birthday?”
“February, I think.” I shrugged nonchalantly when he grinned at me with a cheeky expression.
“You think?”
“Ok, I know.”
“Well it looks like Mrs. Jenkins was dismissed.”
“When?”
“Nine months before he was born,” he answered dryly.
“Shit! Well maybe we can find out where his father disappeared? No one just leaves all that wealth behind.”
“On it. But I got to head back. My parents are going to kill me if I stay for much longer,” he said as he packed up his computer.
“Thanks, for everything, Jesse. I know you want to do more but I can’t let anyone fight my battle – not anymore.”
“Just promise, you’ll be careful.”
“I’m not so good with promises, Jesse.” Not after the two most important people in my life broke theirs…
“Right. Catch you later.” He gave me one last hug and was gone.
*
Thunder rolled and lighting flashed, lighting up my bedroom. The setting was so cliché and one straight out of a horror movie, especially when it illuminated the tall figure standing across the room. I came fully awake and jumped when I realized I wasn’t dreaming and someone was actually in my room. His back was turned and I guess I made a sound because he suddenly turned.
It was Keiran. He was standing there, drenched and soaking from the rain. His shirt was plastered to his skin outlining his chest and abs. His breathing was deep and uneven.
“What are you doing here?”
“Was it here?”