Tess stared at the text on her cell phone.
It was Lisa.
She read it over again, her heart pounding that Lisa had found her.
LISA: Hi, Tess. I know that this text will be out of the blue, and I don't know if you want to, but I'd like to meet with you. I've been trying to forget my past, but now that I'm on my feet again, I eventually want to go back to Paradise Hill and see my old place, connect with my old friends and family, but baby steps, right? I live in Spanaway, south of Tacoma and have a favorite restaurant I go to that's part of my recovery. We could meet there. What do you think?
What did Tess think?
She was ecstatic.
"Look," she said and handed her phone to Michael, who was reclining on the couch beside her, his hand behind his head as he watched the game on the flatscreen TV.
He took the phone and read the text, then he turned to her, his eyes wide.
"Holy crap," he said and read it once more. "Lisa?"
She nodded. "I can barely believe it. I never thought I'd see her again, but she's alive. She wants to meet up with me."
Michael shook his head. "Lisa should contact police, so they know."
"She should, but she probably doesn't want to go through it all again. I'll text her back."
Tess took her cell back and wrote to Lisa, her stomach filled with butterflies at the thought that Lisa was alive and well.
TESS: Of course I want to see you! I'm so glad to know you're alive. All my life, since it happened, I've thought of you -- probably every single day. I even studied criminology and became a crime reporter because of what happened back then. When can we meet? Are you going to contact police and let them know you're okay and what happened? Did you know Eugene was arrested and escaped custody?
Tess sent off the text and waited eagerly for Lisa's response.
LISA: Yes, I did read about Eugene. It wasn't him who sent me to Seattle. It was John Hammond and Eugene's dad, Daryl. I hear they're both dead.
TESS: But didn't Eugene kidnap you? Didn't he rape you? He told me he did.
LISA: He did but he was going to let me go. It was Daryl and John who sold me like a piece of meat. Thank God they're both dead. I didn't know Eugene escaped. What do police know?
TESS: We've been out of the country, so Michael wasn't involved in the case from the start, but police think he's with his prison girlfriend and are on their way to Vegas or something. That's what she said to friends and family, so we think they're together.
LISA: Good. I hope he stays away. If I'm going to come back, I don't want to have to worry about him.
TESS: Of course not. Where are you living now?
LISA: I've been in Tacoma for a few years, but I was in Bellingham and then Spokane as well as Portland for a while.
TESS: You were in Bellingham?
LISA: Yes, it was the first place I went to live after I was sent to Seattle.
TESS: Did you live with a man named John?
LISA: They were all named John, Tess...
Tess smiled, surprised that Lisa could joke about her experience.
TESS: Well, he called himself John. His real name is Richard Parkinson. He was arrested on charges of rape and abduction of girls as part of a pedophile ring operating in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. He had a big mansion south of Bellingham. I thought maybe you were one of his victims.
LISA: I might be. There are a number of rich old pedophiles living in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellingham area like anywhere else in the US. Hard to say unless I saw a picture of him from back then.
TESS: Of course. Are you going to contact police? Let them know what happened to you?
LISA: I'm still considering it. I don't know if I'm up for the kind of circus that would follow.
TESS: I understand. When would you like to meet?
LISA: Any time. I'd prefer to meet in Tacoma if you'd like to come and see me.
TESS: Have you contacted Kirsten yet?
LISA: Not yet. She was always a bit of a bitch to me. I think she was jealous of my friendship with you.
TESS: She was, but I know she'd be thrilled to know you're alive and well. I know she was haunted by your disappearance as much as any of us, and of course, she was married to Eugene for all those years and had no idea.
LISA: You think she didn't know? How could you not know your husband was a serial child killer?
TESS: From what I've read about them, they keep their families separate from their perversions. It's good cover for them, so I believe Kirsten when she says she had no idea. She did feel that Eugene was distant and didn't love her, but she figured it was because their relationship died, and he was staying with her for the boys. She had no idea he was a pedophile.
LISA: I suppose him marrying her when she was only fifteen wasn't a clue...
TESS: If she hadn't been pregnant, I'm sure they would have called police on him when Mrs. Carter found out he was sleeping with Kirsten. Because she was pregnant, they wanted to see the two of them married for appearance's sake.
LISA: Same old story, right? Sorry to be so cynical but that's my life.
TESS: I'm so glad you contacted me. Honestly, I've wanted to try to find you for years, but everyone always said that if you wanted to be found, you would have been. I assumed you wanted to leave the past behind you and that's why you didn't let anyone know you were still alive.
LISA: I did want to stay lost, but lately I've been missing having people around me who feel like family. I wanted to connect with you and see if we could rekindle our friendship.
TESS: I'm glad you did. Michael will go crazy when he hears that you contacted me. Everyone told me to stay away because if you wanted to be found you would. I used to walk along the street asking people if they knew you or if they've seen you. If they knew what happened to you. No one seemed to recognize you. Michael said he saw some pictures that were found at John Hammond's place, taken not long after you were abducted, but they lost track of you.
LISA: I was all over the place. I finally got clean after moving back to Seattle, but I didn't want to stay there. When I had the chance to move to Tacoma, I took it. I've been teaching art at a shelter for runaways. It feels really good.
TESS: I'm so glad to hear that. I can't wait for us to get together.
LISA: The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. How about tomorrow?
TESS: I'll check my schedule and see. Michael and I have been out of the country for almost a week and just got back. I have to catch up on my work it, but maybe tomorrow afternoon.
LISA: Sounds good. Where would you like to meet?
TESS: Can you make it to Seattle? Or do you want me to come to Spanaway?
LISA: If you could make it to Spanaway, that would be great.
TESS: That sounds good. Where should we meet?
LISA: There's a nice restaurant next to the Shell station outside the city on Highway 7. I could meet you there. I won't get off work until five. Can we meet around five thirty?
TESS: Text me the address and I'll meet you there at five thirty.
LISA: See you then and Tess? I'm so glad we connected.
TESS: Me, too. You can't begin to imagine how happy I am.
Tess put her cell phone away and smiled to herself. She turned to Michael.
"I'm going to meet her. Can you believe it? After all these years."
"That's great," Michael said and reached over to give Tess a hug. "Why did she decide to contact you?"
Tess shrugged. "I don't know. All the publicity about the case in Paradise Hill must have made her think about everything and she wanted to make contact again with her old life. She wants me to meet her in Tacoma. I'll drive there tomorrow evening."
"You really should talk her into contacting police. They'll want to clear up the cold case and make sure she's okay."
"I'll talk to her," Tess replied, agreeing with him but concerned that Lisa may not like the idea. "She's been through a lot, and I don't want to push her at all. We'll see how it goes."
They embraced and Tess felt her heart swell at the thought that finally, she'd be meeting Lisa again after all the years and after everything that happened to her.
Maybe, just maybe, the rekindling of their friendship would go a long way to helping Lisa return to a normal life.
If Tess could be part of that, it would make everything worthwhile.
"Poor Kirsten. She must be sick about it."
"Yes," Michael said. He leaned over and kissed her. "I feel bad for her, but I feel happy for you and for Lisa."
"Mostly for Lisa," Tess said. "My life's been great since that night, but hers has been a long nightmare. I'm glad it's over."
"Me, too."
"What's on your to-do list today?" she asked.
"I'm going to investigate the crime scene at Deming. See what more we can find out about Rachel’s father.”
"Oh, yeah," she said and frowned. "Do you think those babies were murdered?"
Michael shrugged. "Could be. Could be stillbirths that were never reported. He was a survivalist. Not a fan of the government and its bureaucracy."
After they finished breakfast, Michael grabbed his messenger bag and went to the door. Tess followed him and kissed him goodbye.
"I'll be gone all day out of town, and will probably be working late to finish my report for Nick, but you should text me and let me know how it's going."
"I won't be meeting Lisa until later this afternoon, but I'll let you know how it goes. We'll likely have supper at the truck stop restaurant," she said. "Lisa wanted to meet there, so that's what we'll do."
He nodded. "I may not be back until late, but if I'm back in time, if you want, I could come with you."
Tess shook her head. "I think it's better if Lisa and I meet alone the first time. Maybe you could come along the next time. She'll probably want to feel me out first before she does anything more public."
"I understand," Michael said and then kissed Tess once more.
"Talk later."
"Text me if anything interesting comes up."
"I will."
Then he left and Tess went back to the bedroom to get ready for the day.