Page 28 of Once Hidden
“If I knew that,” Riley replied with a wry smile, “we’d already have our killer.”She turned onto the highway, accelerating toward that town.
The road cut through Virginia’s rolling countryside.Riley couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being led somewhere – not just to Bundydale, but deeper into someone’s carefully constructed design.The question was whether they were being led toward answers or into a blind alley designed to be a trap.
*
April stared at the same page of her Introduction to Law textbook for the fifth time, the words blurring into meaningless shapes as her concentration slipped away.The afternoon lull at Brick House Beanery usually offered perfect study time – just enough background noise to keep her alert without the chaos of the earlier rush.Today, however, her mind refused to cooperate, circling back to Ethan’s amber eyes, the slight tremor in his voice when he’d tried to explain, and the questions that kept multiplying in her head.
She sighed and glanced around the coffee shop.Only three customers remained – an elderly man with his newspaper by the window, and two college students with laptops in the corner, likely from nearby Mary Washington University.
April tried again to focus on her textbook.“The constitutional basis for search and seizure law is found primarily in the Fourth Amendment...”The words swam around as her thoughts drifted to Ethan’s apartment, to his sketchbook …
“You ‘re going to drill a hole through that page if you keep staring at it like that.”
April looked up to find Molly leaning against the counter beside her, arms folded across her chest.Molly’s dark hair was beginning to pull loose from her practical ponytail, her green apron spotted with coffee stains from the day’s work.
“That obvious, huh?”April closed the book with a soft thud.
“You’ve been reading the same page for twenty minutes.”Molly grabbed a rag and wiped down the already clean counter.“Still thinking about Mystery Boy?”
April was grateful for Molly’s directness.In the three weeks they ‘d worked together, she’d come to appreciate her coworker’s no-nonsense approach to life.Molly carried herself with a confidence April envied – like someone who had already figured out the rules to a game April was still learning to play.
“You’re going to make yourself crazy,” Molly said, tossing the rag into a bin beneath the counter.“Trust me, I’ve been there.The wondering is always worse than knowing.”
“I know, but—”
“No buts.Just go see him after your shift.Show up at his place and make him talk to you.”
April frowned.“I can’t just show up uninvited.”
“Why not?Worst case scenario, he’s not home.”Molly shrugged.“Best case, you get answers, whether they’re the ones you’re hoping for or not.Either way, you stop torturing yourself and can actually focus on...”she gestured to the textbook, “whatever thrilling legal principle you’re supposed to be learning.”
April’s hand drifted to her phone, thumb hovering over Ethan’s contact information.The café door opened, and a group of five teenagers spilled inside, laughing and talking loudly, their energy immediately transforming the quiet space.
“Duty calls,” Molly said with a wink, straightening her apron.“Think about what I said.”
April tucked her textbook under the counter and put on her professional smile.“Welcome to Brick House Beanery.What can I get for you guys today?”
The next fifteen minutes passed in a flurry of activity – taking orders, making various complicated coffee drinks, warming pastries, and ringing up sales.April welcomed the distraction, losing herself in the familiar rhythm of work.She moved skillfully, grinding beans, tamping espresso, and steaming milk to the perfect temperature.
These were skills she’d mastered quickly, the routine providing a comforting structure.
“Can I get extra caramel in that?”asked a girl with pink-tipped hair, pointing to her frappuccino.
“Sure thing,” April said, drizzling additional caramel in a spiral pattern.As she handed over the drink, she caught herself thinking about Ethan again – about how he’d looked genuinely hurt when she’d questioned him about his grandmother’s heart condition.
The teenagers settled at two tables pushed together near the window, their laughter and animated conversation creating a pleasant background noise.April wiped down the espresso machine, her thoughts drifting despite her best efforts to stay present.
She felt foolish for being so consumed by the questions in her mind.It was just a relationship – at least almost a relationship.Her first serious one since high school, sure, but still just a possible relationship, nothing more.Or not even that—maybe just a crush, an infatuation that might fade at any moment.Meanwhile, her mother was out there dealing with actual life-and-death situations, catching killers, saving lives.
April had grown up with the nature of her mother’s work a constant reality in their home – sometimes closer, sometimes more distant, but always there.She’d seen firsthand the toll it took, the nightmares, the calls in the middle of the night, the missed birthdays.Mom’s work had put even put April herself in danger more than once.And yet, she wanted that life for herself, or some version of it.To do work that mattered, that made a difference.
And here she was, nearly nineteen years old, completely distracted by boy problems.If she really wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps, she needed to develop the kind of focus that her mother had – the ability to see through distractions to what really mattered.
“Penny for your thoughts?”Molly asked, returning from delivering pastries to the teenagers’ table.
April shook her head.“Just thinking about Mom.She’s working on a case right now.”
“Something big?”
