Page 22 of Once Vanished
The mundane concern—so normal, so heartbreakingly ordinary—was what finally broke through April’s composure.Her shoulders shook as she cried, the sound raw and painful in the quiet kitchen.
Gabriela was at April’s side instantly, wrapping her sturdy arms around the young woman’s trembling frame.
“Come, niña,” Gabriela murmured.“Let me help you get ready for bed.”
April didn’t protest as Gabriela guided her from the dining room.Riley watched them go, her heart aching for her older daughter who still, despite everything they’d been through, could be shattered by the simple realization that her sister was missing her homework.
As their footsteps faded up the stairs, Riley turned to find Bill watching her, his eyes reflecting her own exhaustion and worry.
“You know,” he said quietly, “we’re not so good at taking our own advice.”
Riley gave a humorless laugh.“You noticed that too?”
“Hard to miss.”Bill pushed his plate away.“I’ve been sitting here telling April and Gabriela not to blame themselves, all while thinking about how I should have done something to protect our family better.”
“And I’ve been thinking that if I’d been more vigilant, if I’d recognized the patterns sooner—”
“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Bill finished for her.“I know.But knowing it here—” he tapped his temple, “—doesn’t stop us from feeling it here.”He placed his hand over his heart.
Riley nodded, understanding completely.“But he always knows exactly which buttons to push with us, doesn’t he?”
“He’s been studying us,” Bill said grimly.“Learning our weaknesses, our traumas.And he’s really good at using them against us.”
The thought chilled Riley.Leo had spent a lot of time crafting this revenge, this elaborate game.How many other traps had he laid that they hadn’t yet discovered?
Bill’s expression became more serious.“I’m still angry, you know.About you going to that cabin alone.”
“I know.”Riley met his gaze steadily.“I’m sorry.I should have called you first.I should have asked for backup.”
“But you wouldn’t have,” Bill said, not unkindly.“Because it’s Jilly.And there’s no protocol, no procedure that would have stopped you from going after any lead that might bring her home.”
Riley felt tears threatening and fought them back.“I couldn’t risk losing the chance to find her.”
“I understand,” Bill said softly.“I do.But Riley, we need to be smarter than he is.And that means working together, not taking unnecessary risks.You told me on the phone that he was recreating one of the Pine Box murders, triggering that memory.But you still haven’t told me everything, have you?”
Riley stared down at her plate.Of course Bill was right.He knew her well.And she reminded herself that they couldn’t keep secrets from each other, not at a time like this.She realized with dread that the moment had come to tell him the part that she’d been putting off.
CHAPTER TEN
Riley struggled for the right words to explain to Bill what she’d found at the Dillard family cabin.The dining room felt too quiet now.The lasagna cooling on their plates, the empty chair across from them, were constant reminders of what was at stake.This revelation would reopen wounds that had barely healed for both of them, but especially for Bill.
There was no gentle way to say it, so she chose directness instead.“Bill, the man Leo left in the box in that cabin wasn’t a stranger.It was Stanley Pope.”
She watched Bill’s face transform—first confusion, then disbelief, and finally a kind of hollowed-out horror.His shoulders stiffened, his hands flattened against the tabletop as if bracing himself.
“Stanley Pope,” he repeated, his voice barely audible.“The officer I shot at Fort Nash Mowat.”
“Yes.”
Bill’s eyes lost focus, and Riley knew he wasn’t seeing her anymore.He was back at that military base eight years ago, in the chaos and terror of the sniper situation.Back to the moment when his bullet had struck the wrong person—a young officer who had been trying to help.
“I should have told you sooner,” Riley said softly.“When I called from the cabin.I just—”
“You knew?”Bill’s eyes snapped back to hers, suddenly sharp with betrayal.“You knew it was Pope when you called me, and you didn’t say anything?”
Before Riley could answer, footsteps on the stairs announced Gabriela’s return.The housekeeper paused in the doorway, her eyes darting between them, clearly seeing the tension.
“April is better now,” she said.“I stayed until she fell asleep.The poor girl is exhausted.”Her gaze lingered on Riley.“She will be okay, Señora.She is strong, like her mother.”