Page 11 of Waves of Reckoning (Echoes of Camano Island #1)

Chapter Ten

N ikki woke up in a cold sweat.

At first, she couldn’t quite put her finger on why until she leaned across and picked up her phone to check for messages. That was when she saw one from Paul:

What time do you want us to come over?

Her eyes widened, and her heart started racing. They were supposed to meet with the private investigator. Once more, feelings of paranoia, excitement, and anxiety overwhelmed her, and she slipped from the bed to wash up.

She splashed cold water onto her face and smoothed her hair back with her damp palms. It didn’t matter how she felt—she wanted to meet Amy, and it was—is—what Trish wanted her to do.

She returned to the bedroom and replied to Paul before she made a beeline for the closet to pick out something decent enough for a visitor.

It was already nine, so she had roughly an hour to get ready. She was sitting by the kitchen island, clutching her coffee mug nervously between her palms when the doorbell rang.

This is it!

“Hello,” she said as she pulled the door in. “Come in.”

“Hello,” the gentleman replied and walked by her.

She smiled up at Paul and followed the man, allowing him to close the door.

The private investigator looked just as she imagined he would—military-cut hair, clean-shaven face, and a sturdy gait.

He was dressed in a pair of jeans, a white polo shirt, and loafers—very textbook, but he had a kind and gentle demeanor as he turned to face her with an extended hand.

“I’m so sorry about your sister,” he said.

Nikki took his hand. “Thank you. I have no doubt she’ll dodge this. She’s very good at making narrow escapes.”

The man smiled broadly. “I hope you’re right.” His eyes shifted to Paul, and he lifted the large manila envelope he carried. “I don’t mean to be hasty, but I have another appointment in an hour.”

“Oh yeah, no problem,” Nikki replied, showing him to the living room. “Please, have a seat. Would you like anything? Coffee? Water? Juice?”

“If it were another time, I’d ask for chicken parm, but not now,” he said as he made a crack at Paul.

Paul laughed. “Anytime, Greg. What do you have?”

He rubbed his palms and motioned for Nikki to join him. She felt like her heart was creeping up her throat, and when she sat next to Paul, she could barely breathe.

Greg was very deliberate in his motions, it seemed to her—it took far too long to take a couple of pictures and a few sheets of paper from the envelope.

But then, she wasn’t sure if he was moving too slowly or her mind that was just going too fast. She sat gingerly on the edge of the seat; her hands clasped together.

She jumped when Paul reached out and took her hand. “It’s okay,” he told her.

She was relieved that she wasn’t alone. Greg looked at them, his hands suspended in the air and gripping Nikki’s heart at the same time.

He leaned forward and handed her a large picture. “This is Amy Foster.”

Nikki’s hands shook as she took the picture, and instantly, she clapped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened as she stared at the young girl looking back at her.

“Wow,” Paul said over her shoulder. “She looks just like her.”

“I guess it’s safe to say then that we have the right person,” Greg replied humorously.

Nikki laughed nervously. “You could say that,” she said as she stared at Amy. Her hair was long and had ombre highlights. Her eyes were happy and kind. She seemed to have had a good life. “I can’t wait to meet her,” Nikki said listlessly.

“What else do you have?” Paul asked while Nikki continued to stare at the picture. Her eyes welled up with tears as she reflected on the fact that Trish had looked just like that when they had gotten into the fight.

“She was adopted by Bob and Linda Porter, and she lived with them in Seattle until she graduated from high school. Bob is a factory worker, and Linda worked at a daycare. Amy is currently living in an apartment with a roommate and working as a server.”

“Already?” Nikki asked and knitted her brows. “She isn’t in college?”

Greg sighed. “There’s more,” he said and pulled out another sheet of paper. “Over the years, Amy and some of their neighbors have called the police.”

Nikki couldn’t feel herself breathing. “Did he hit her?”

“It seems Bob is an alcoholic and would often get into a rage and strike Linda, but there’s no mention here of hitting Amy,” Greg said with a sigh.

Nikki was disheartened that Amy had grown up in an environment like that. “She must have been so unhappy,” she mused. “No wonder she moved out as soon as she could.”

Greg handed her another picture of a boy—he had dirty-blond hair that was spiked, a dragon tattoo on his neck, and a dangerous look in his eyes. He was the kind of cute, daring boy young girls would fall for, and Nikki dreaded what Greg was about to say next.

“That’s Jake Tapper, Amy’s on-and-off boyfriend,” he said.

There it was.

“I hope she let him go,” Nikki said, narrowing her eyes at the obvious playboy.

“From what I’ve gathered, they’ve broken up a couple of times, but it didn’t stick.”

Nikki instantly began to get concerned. She remembered how Trish had been left on her own when she’d gotten pregnant with Amy by a playboy. She didn’t wish to see the same thing happen to her daughter.

Greg handed Nikki the envelope. “Everything else you might need is in there—addresses, friends, etc. Feel free to contact me if you need more information, but I think that should do it.”

Paul instantly stood and held out his hand as Greg did the same. “It was a pleasure, man.”

Greg smiled, nodded his head, and walked off toward the door. Nikki followed, carrying the picture of Amy still in her hand. She stared at the picture as she walked back to the living room and sighed as she sat.

“Still feeling nervous about meeting her?” Paul asked as he stood next to where she sat.

“I can’t help it,” she replied, and her hands dropped onto the seat. “She might not have had the best life growing up, but she seems to be doing okay now. What if we disrupt her life with this news? What if she doesn’t even know she’s adopted? We could ruin everything for her.”

Paul sat next to her and took her hands in his.

She stared at them for a couple of seconds before she raised her eyes to meet his.

Instantly, an unfamiliar thought raced across her mind as she looked into kind eyes.

Why did she break up with him all those years ago?

She blinked rapidly to dispel the thoughts and cleared her throat.

“I know you’re worried about all of this, but what if it makes her life easier to know? What if she already knows she’s adopted?”

“I know, but when has life ever gone the way we wanted it to?” She sighed.

Paul chuckled. “I know, right? But this is what Trish wanted, and it’s only fair that if Amy doesn’t already know, she gets the chance to make up her own mind. You can’t keep this from her.”

“I know,” Nikki replied.

“Look, it’s not like you’re going to be asking her to call it quits on her life and pack up her things and move. You’re just going to tell her about her real mother. And her aunt. And that she was never ‘given away.’ She was always loved. That’s it. The rest is up to her.”

“Yeah, but now I’m also afraid of rejection,” Nikki admitted. “This is the child I’d wanted. What if she doesn’t want me now?”

“You won’t know that until you give her the chance,” Paul advised. “Just stop panicking. It’s not doing any of us any good.”

Nikki slipped her hand from Paul’s hold and wiped them down her face. “I pray this works out the way it’s supposed to.” She cast her eyes upward to heaven. “At least once.”

Paul chuckled. “Okay, I’ll leave you alone to absorb this and get your head right. We leave on the weekend, so no freaking out before then.”

She laughed. “I promise. Thanks, Paul. For everything.”

“No sweat,” he said and left.

Nikki knew she had to tell Trish about the discovery. She knew it would give her an additional reason to fight. As soon as Paul left, she was out the door too.

Her feelings of elation were instantly subdued when she walked into Trish’s room and heard the constant beeping of the machines.

She sighed as she pulled up the chair next to the bed—it had gotten harder with each visit to see her sister like that, but if she could really hear her, she didn’t want her to be keen to the sadness in her voice.

She plastered a smile onto her face and took her hand.

“I have good news for you. We found your daughter, Amy. Isn’t that good news?

” she asked and paused, like she was hoping for an answer, and wiped tears that spilled from the corners of her eyes.

“She lives in Seattle and looks beautiful—just like you did when you were her age. I can’t wait to meet her and for you to meet her when you wake up.

You just need to promise to wake up. I’ve done my part.

Now you need to do yours.” She sniffled and stroked the back of Trish’s hand. “We both need you.”

Then she laid her head against Trish and closed her eyes as she prayed for a miracle.