portrait.
“In all the packing, Ernie found the negative. He knew how much I loved that picture, so when Juliana came home, he presented one to each of us. This one belongs to her.”
Seth turned to examine it again. “Her eyes aren’t green here.”
“Oh, right.” April gave a wry grin. “That picture was taken right before her eighteenth birthday when she was heavy into her assimilation phase.”
“I’ve heard of a rebellious phase, but what’s an assimilation phase?”
She grinned. “Well, all children go through phases. While most children want to be different from their parents, sometimes adopted children want to be more like them. Ernie called it her assimilation phase.”
“And since you and Ernie adopted Jules, she wanted to be more like you?” Made sense to him.
“You got it.” Her eyes softened as she glanced at the portrait. “Juliana dyed her hair blonde, wore colored contacts, and even called us Mom and Dad for a bit. But her hair never went completely blonde; her red always shined through. And she hated wearing the lenses. Plus, she felt like she was betraying her own mother by calling me ‘Mom.’”
“So where’s Jules been for the past several years?” He turned to face April. “I mean, you’ve mentioned having a daughter, but I’d never met her before two nights ago.”
“She’s been away.” April frowned and chewed on her lower lip. “Finding herself.”
Before Seth could ask about her curious answer, his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. Jones.
“Excuse me a moment, April. I need to take this.” He moved away in an effort to gain a little privacy. “English here. What do you have for me, kid?”
“It’s not Jones,” the captain barked in his ear, “it’s Captain Peterson.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Just kidding, it’s me.” Jones laughed.
He picks now to develop a sense of humor?
“Damn it, Jones, stop screwing around,” Seth hissed into the phone. “If you’ve got something for me, then get to it. Otherwise, stop wasting my time.”
“Right, I apologize, Detective.” Instantly, Jones sounded like his typical stoic self. “Good news is I checked out the local tattoo artists in the city and found one who identified our vic’s ink as his artwork. Bad news is, he only had a first name for her. Hang on—” Jones must have placed his hand over the receiver because muffled sounds came through for a moment before he returned and said quickly, “Captain Peterson wants an update here in his office in fifteen minutes on what we’ve come up with since yesterday.”
Great. Nothing. Seth had come up with exactly nothing since yesterday. And getting nowhere fast right now.
“I’ll be there.” He didn’t bother saying good-bye, but clicked off his cell. Time to get down to the last bit of business before he left. “I hate to ask you to do this, but can you wake up Jules? I promise not to stay long if she’s still sick, but I need to go over what happened yesterday with her before I meet with my captain.”
“Oh, Seth. I’m sorry. Juliana isn’t here. She left before you arrived.”
Seth frowned. “Where is she?”
“Oh, well, I don’t know how to reach her right now.” April smiled but it seemed a bit forced, then she made her way around the living room as fast as she could waddle. “She doesn’t have her cell phone, you know.”
Seth pivoted on his heel, keeping her in his line of vision as she collected her jacket from the coat hook near the front door, checked her pockets, dug out her keys, and jingled them.
In all the years he’d known April, she’d never acted uneasy around him. Until now.
“April, is everything okay?”
Another forced smile. “Of course. Look, Juliana had an appointment this morning. But I know she’ll be at the shop by nine thirty.”
“Ah.” The last thing he wanted was to arrive at the station with nothing to show for the last twenty-four hours. He’d ended the call too quickly to hear what
“In all the packing, Ernie found the negative. He knew how much I loved that picture, so when Juliana came home, he presented one to each of us. This one belongs to her.”
Seth turned to examine it again. “Her eyes aren’t green here.”
“Oh, right.” April gave a wry grin. “That picture was taken right before her eighteenth birthday when she was heavy into her assimilation phase.”
“I’ve heard of a rebellious phase, but what’s an assimilation phase?”
She grinned. “Well, all children go through phases. While most children want to be different from their parents, sometimes adopted children want to be more like them. Ernie called it her assimilation phase.”
“And since you and Ernie adopted Jules, she wanted to be more like you?” Made sense to him.
“You got it.” Her eyes softened as she glanced at the portrait. “Juliana dyed her hair blonde, wore colored contacts, and even called us Mom and Dad for a bit. But her hair never went completely blonde; her red always shined through. And she hated wearing the lenses. Plus, she felt like she was betraying her own mother by calling me ‘Mom.’”
“So where’s Jules been for the past several years?” He turned to face April. “I mean, you’ve mentioned having a daughter, but I’d never met her before two nights ago.”
“She’s been away.” April frowned and chewed on her lower lip. “Finding herself.”
Before Seth could ask about her curious answer, his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. Jones.
“Excuse me a moment, April. I need to take this.” He moved away in an effort to gain a little privacy. “English here. What do you have for me, kid?”
“It’s not Jones,” the captain barked in his ear, “it’s Captain Peterson.”
“Sorry, sir.”
“Just kidding, it’s me.” Jones laughed.
He picks now to develop a sense of humor?
“Damn it, Jones, stop screwing around,” Seth hissed into the phone. “If you’ve got something for me, then get to it. Otherwise, stop wasting my time.”
“Right, I apologize, Detective.” Instantly, Jones sounded like his typical stoic self. “Good news is I checked out the local tattoo artists in the city and found one who identified our vic’s ink as his artwork. Bad news is, he only had a first name for her. Hang on—” Jones must have placed his hand over the receiver because muffled sounds came through for a moment before he returned and said quickly, “Captain Peterson wants an update here in his office in fifteen minutes on what we’ve come up with since yesterday.”
Great. Nothing. Seth had come up with exactly nothing since yesterday. And getting nowhere fast right now.
“I’ll be there.” He didn’t bother saying good-bye, but clicked off his cell. Time to get down to the last bit of business before he left. “I hate to ask you to do this, but can you wake up Jules? I promise not to stay long if she’s still sick, but I need to go over what happened yesterday with her before I meet with my captain.”
“Oh, Seth. I’m sorry. Juliana isn’t here. She left before you arrived.”
Seth frowned. “Where is she?”
“Oh, well, I don’t know how to reach her right now.” April smiled but it seemed a bit forced, then she made her way around the living room as fast as she could waddle. “She doesn’t have her cell phone, you know.”
Seth pivoted on his heel, keeping her in his line of vision as she collected her jacket from the coat hook near the front door, checked her pockets, dug out her keys, and jingled them.
In all the years he’d known April, she’d never acted uneasy around him. Until now.
“April, is everything okay?”
Another forced smile. “Of course. Look, Juliana had an appointment this morning. But I know she’ll be at the shop by nine thirty.”
“Ah.” The last thing he wanted was to arrive at the station with nothing to show for the last twenty-four hours. He’d ended the call too quickly to hear what
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