In Her Tracks (Tracy Crosswhite #8)(78)

Tracy laughed. “I’m getting a little old to be thinking about having another baby,” she said.

“You could adopt. Daniella’s a social one. I can tell already. She and a sister would be two peas in a pod. The way I am with my sisters, some of them anyway. We know everything about each other. We still talk all the time.”

Tracy and Sarah had been the same way. They knew things about each other that they’d never told their parents. Tracy missed that. She missed that intimacy.

And that’s when the light bulb flashed.

“Tracy?” Dan said. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she said. She’d never checked to see if Lindsay Sheppard had a sibling, a blood relative, maybe even a sister.





CHAPTER 33

The following morning Tracy arrived early to her office and immediately checked Lindsay Sheppard’s foster care file, then made a call to Olympia. After half an hour of probing, she learned that Lindsay Josephine Sheppard did indeed have two older siblings: a brother, Thomas Harden Sheppard, deceased, and a sister, Aileen Laura Sheppard. All three children had been removed from their parents’ home after multiple incidents of domestic violence and drug-related charges leading to convictions. Lindsay, the youngest, had the best chance of being placed in foster care. The brother, Thomas, had been sixteen. Aileen had been fifteen.

Running the names through the same federal and state databases as before, Tracy learned that Thomas Sheppard had served time for multiple drug convictions, most notably meth, and eventually became the victim of a drug-related homicide. Aileen had also done jail time for possession of a controlled substance. A condition of her parole had been that she successfully complete a drug rehabilitation program. State records indicated Aileen had married and, according to her parole officer, her last known address was in Union Gap, just outside Yakima in Eastern Washington.

After tracking down the home number, Tracy placed a call, feigning to be a solicitor, and confirmed Aileen was home. Tracy jumped in the car. Some subjects, like the whereabouts of a sibling, particularly if that sibling turned out to be deceased, were best handled in person. The snowfall had subsided overnight. Little had stuck on the ground in Redmond, but much more had accumulated over the Snoqualmie Pass and in the towns in Eastern Washington. The sky that morning hung heavy, a dark gray shroud giving every indication of more snow to come. According to Tracy’s weather app, that would happen by midafternoon.

Just under two and a half hours after leaving Seattle, Tracy pulled up to what looked to be a modular home with a small yard and a brown picket fence. The home looked to be well maintained. The shrubs in the snow-covered yard were neatly trimmed. A car sat in the driveway and, judging by the snow on the hood and the roof, and the uncompacted snow in the driveway, the car had not been moved since the snowfall.

Tracy stepped from her pool car, her boots leaving a distinct impression in the fresh snow. She’d dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and her black down jacket, but she could still feel the cold.

She knocked on the door and hoped for the best.

A woman pulled open the door. Aileen Rodriguez—her married name—according to her driver’s license. Thirty-three years old. Barefoot, Aileen wore black stretch pants and a long-sleeve white shirt. She was stout, though not heavy.

“Aileen Rodriguez?” Tracy asked.

“Yes.”

Tracy held up her badge and her identification and introduced herself. “I wonder if we could talk for a moment.”

“You came all the way from Seattle?”

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

“The subject matter is best discussed in person.”

Aileen squinted, intrigued. “And what subject matter is that?”

“Your sister. Lindsay Sheppard.”

“Can’t help you.” She moved to close the door.

“I did come all the way from Seattle,” Tracy said quickly. “And I won’t take much of your time.”

Aileen seemed curious and to be debating Tracy’s response. She stepped aside. “You can come in, but it won’t change my answer. I haven’t seen my sister in years.”

Tracy stepped onto a floor mat and cleaned her boots. “Would you like me to remove my shoes?”

“No need.”

Inside, Tracy said, “Can I bother you for a glass of water? It was a long drive.”

“Take a seat.” Aileen nodded to a couch beneath the window, then departed, presumably into the kitchen. Tracy wasn’t thirsty, but the time alone gave her a chance to look around the interior of the house. The furnishings were also well cared for, if a bit dated. On shelving she found family photographs, most in five-by-eight picture frames. Aileen had married a Hispanic man, and it looked as though they had two teenage children. Tucked behind one of those family photographs, only partially visible, was what Tracy had hoped to find.

Aileen returned with two glasses of water, handing one to Tracy. Tracy sipped it and sat on the couch. Aileen sat in a leather chair, adjusting the pillow at her back and pulling a bare foot underneath her. She set her glass on the coffee table between them.

“As I said, I’m trying to locate Lindsay,” Tracy said.

“It’s a little late for that,” Aileen said.

“Why is that?” Tracy asked.