Page 40 of Twice Missing

The man's eyes darted between them, a flicker of hope quickly extinguished. "Have you found Kayla?"

"No," Noah admitted.

"Then I don't have time for you." He moved to slam the door, but Noah's hand shot out, holding it open.

"Please, sir. Just?—"

"Get your hand off this door," the man growled.

Noah pulled back immediately, raising his hands in a placating gesture.

"Father, go sit down. I'll handle this," a younger woman's voice called from inside. After a brief, hushed argument, the older man shuffled away, and the woman stepped outside, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold.

"You'll have to excuse my father," she said. "He hasn't had the best luck with police."

"Are you...?"

"Kayla's sister. Abigail Bravebird."

Noah introduced himself again, then got straight to thepoint. "We're following up on a potential lead of a woman that went missing ten years ago. She was found wearing a bracelet that your sister made. We're just wondering if Kayla ever mentioned visiting High Peaks, Saranac Lake, or knew a woman named Emily Carter?" He showed her a picture of Emily.

Abigail shook her head, her expression a mix of sorrow and frustration. "No. I don’t know her. Kayla might have.”

“Might?”

“Look, there's a lot about Kayla that she kept to herself. Some days I wonder if I ever truly knew her at all."

"What do you mean?" Noah pressed gently.

Abigail took a seat on the porch swing, its chains creaking under her weight. Noah leaned against the porch railing, giving her space.

"Prior to her disappearance, she had been drinking a lot. She'd just gotten out of a relationship, our grandmother had just died. Combine the two together and you could say she was feeling a little lost. I don't mean lacking direction. She was planning on becoming a midwife and was studying toward that. I mean in the sense that she was struggling with her mental health."

"The boyfriend," Noah said. "Did you ever meet him?"

"The old one, yeah. Jacob Moon. The new one, no."

Noah's eyebrows rose. "A new one?"

"Some older guy in the community she would get drugs from. But if you ask people around here, they would say she was involved with someone else over in Massena."

"And why would they say that?"

"Because she spent a lot of time there."

"Older or same age?"

"Older."

"You have a name?"

"Nope. But I do for the one in our community that she was getting drugs from. That guy was Marcus 'Mace' Rivers."

From inside the house, a voice called out, "Abigail! I need my meds. Abigail!"

Abigail stood, her face etched with weariness. "Look, I have to go care for my father. He hasn’t been the same since Kayla never came home."

"I still have questions. Can we talk to you again?" Noah asked, sensing the conversation slipping away.