Samantha did a quick, almost unconscious scan of his body. His muscular build told her he wasn’t kidding.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll leave it up to you.”
She remembered the picture just then, and picked it up from the pile of papers on her desk. She handed it to Wil. He studied it, not speaking for such a long time that Samantha wondered what he was thinking. Finally he put it into his file.
“It’s a good shot,” he said. “I’ll put it through Missing Persons.”
“You seemed very interested in it,” Samantha said.
“A thought had occurred to me when I met Julie in the kitchen,” Wil said. “I was studying the picture to see if it happened again.”
“Did it?”
“Yes,” Wil replied. “You haven’t mentioned this, so I’m sure it never crossed your mind. Julie looks a little bit like you.”
Samantha leaned back, a look of surprise on her face.
“Really?”
“Especially around the eyes and nose,” Wil went on. “The eye color isn’t the same, but the shape is. And you both have very straight brows. It’s almost as if you’re related.”
Samantha brought a hand to her forehead, shaking her head. This new revelation was almost too much to consider on top of everything else.
“Coincidence,” she said. “I don’t have any relatives. I’m an orphan myself.”
“Then you don’t have any relatives you know about,” Wil said thoughtfully. “But it isn’t impossible they know about you.”
Samantha closed her eyes and rubbed them.
“I hope you’re wrong,” she said. “The idea of having lost relatives is more than I can bear right now. I don’t think I could handle another shock like that.”
“Fine,” Wil said to appease her, although he intended to keep the idea in his own mind.
He stood up.
“I have some other avenues to go down on this case,” he said. “I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, maybe you should let up on the kid a little. It’s possible that something will come back to her if she isn’t pressured.”
“You’re right,” Samantha said. “I have been pushing her.”
“Why don’t you take her someplace special?” Wil asked. “I hear there’s a great new water ride at Rocky Point Park.”
Samantha smiled. “What a great idea! A day of fun is just what that little girl needs.”
Wil returned the smile. “Seems to me she isn’t the only one who needs it.”
He and Samantha walked to his car together. When he turned to her, there was so much concern in his deep blue eyes that Samantha half-expected him to put his arms around her. And she wanted him to, wanted to feel affection from a virtual stranger, because right now she needed someone as much as Julie needed her. But theirs was a business relationship, barely a few hours old, and she had no right to expect such a thing. Unconsciously she backed up a step.
“Please, trust that I’ll do my best for you,” Wil said. “Put your worries out of your mind. Whatever’s going on here, I promise I’ll find some answers.”
Samantha nodded. “Thanks. I really feel good about having hired you.”
“Remind me to thank John Brightman for the referral.”
They exchanged good-byes. As Wil drove away, Julie came running up to Samantha.
“I like him,” she said. “He’s a nice man.”
“He sure is,” Samantha said, watching the car disappear down the road.
“Do you like him?”
Samantha laughed. “You mean, like a boyfriend? For heaven’s sake, Julie, I just met him.”
But she had also noticed a strange stirring inside herself when Wil was there. Embarrassed to think she had a crush at her age, she turned the topic away from the detective.
“Would you like to do something extra special today?”
“What?” Julie asked eagerly.
“Wil says there’s a new water ride at Rocky Point Park,” Samantha said. “It’s just a half-hour’s drive from here. Why don’t we spend the afternoon there?”
“It sounds great!” Julie said.
Twenty minutes later the dogs were kenneled and Samantha and Julie were on their way to the amusement park. Samantha was determined not to think for a moment about the strange things that were happening. She would follow Wil’s suggestion and give Julie an afternoon that was pure fun.
28
LORRAINE WAS THE first to be awakened as sunlight broke through the clouds and seeped through the wooden planks overhead. She sat up slowly, one elbow resting on the makeshift bed Donny and Sandy had made out of their jackets. Donny had a protective, warming arm around his girlfriend. Lorraine thought it would be nice to have someone to hug her too. She thought of Bettina, but for now there was only a vague sense of longing.