Three days after I was released from the hospital, Jacob stopped by the house. It was Edward's first day back to work since the shooting. He didn't want to go back but he was out of vacation days.
"What's up Jake?" I asked after we sat down with coffee.
"How are you?"
"I'm okay"
"That's good." He set his coffee down on the coffee table, "Do you remember several months ago when you asked me to find out who police thought was you?"
"Yeah"
"I finally found her."
"What took so long?"
"She wasn't reported missing until a couple weeks ago. She was reported missing the day after the shooting."
"What's her name?"
"Victoria Wilson" He took a deep breath, "She was married to James."
I jumped up, "What?! How? I don't understand."
"Victoria's parents died when she was young. She was raised by an uncle who had one child named Laurent. Her uncle died shortly after she graduated from high school. It was just her and Laurent until she met James. That's all Laurent would tell me. He wants to meet you."
"When?"
"He flew into town last night. He wants a DNA test to confirm that it's Victoria."
"When?"
"He's waiting for me to call him."
"Call him"
Laurent showed up about 30 minutes later. While waiting for him I called the detective and arranged for Victoria's body to be exhumed.
"What exactly happened?" I asked after we were seated on the couch again.
"Victoria was completely in love with James. When they got married, they moved across the country. She called about a week later. In the background, I heard him yelling at her. He was telling her that she was forbidden to ever call me again. That was the last time I spoke to her until about two years ago. She called me and told me that she was leaving him. She told me she was coming home. I never saw her."
"Why didn't you report her missing then?"
"I thought she had changed her mind. Then I saw the shooting on the news. They did an entire segment on what happened with you and James. I knew something was terribly wrong so I reported her missing."
