Page 64 of Protected By Duval
Patricia sighed, shaking her head. "She was young.”
Duval saw Patricia turn to look at her daughter. “How did you come up with her age?”
“I looked at her teeth for normal growth and wear and tear. The forensic team gave me their assessment. We were on the same page.”
Patricia nodded at her daughter, pride shining in her eyes.
“We’re all impressed by Noelle’s talent.”
Duval saw West nod and his boss handed him the next paper.
“We’ve gotten over three hundred calls and tips but we found one that we feel is likely the right identification.”
Duval’s eyes widened at that. “Already?”
West shook his head, seemingly confused. “It shocked us, too. The family has been looking for their daughter for decades. They kept every photo they had of hers.”
The next paper on the stack was actually a photocopy of a photo. West took it out and reached across the table to put it into Noelle’s hands.
Duval watched as Noelle took the photo and brought it down before her as she sat back down on the bench.
Her mother handed her the drawing that she’d made and Noelle looked between the two images.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
Duval watched the way Noelle’s whole expression changed as she looked from the drawing she’d created from the skull they’d found to the picture of the young woman who’d disappeared years before.
Her complexion paled and she set both images down on the top of the picnic table.
Duval sat down beside her and put his hand on back, gently rubbing along her shoulders. “Noelle? You… you okay?”
She sat in silence for a moment and then nodded. “I think so.”
West gave her an encouraging smile. “They’ve already provided medical records for her, but she didn’t have a lot of them. The family at the time was close to the poverty line, but they never gave up,” he told her. “They always kept hope in their hearts that she’d come home.”
Noelle nodded. “I hope… I hope it is her. Not that I want their loved one to be dead, but if it will bring them a measure of peace…”
Duval swore he felt the beat of her heart in his chest.
Crazy?
Very likely so, but he couldn’t escape the feeling.
He moved closer and put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her against his side. He couldn’t protect her from the thoughts in her head or the feeling in her heart, but he could keep her warm.
When she shook a little, he leaned closer and used his free hand to reach over and take her hand in his.
He lifted it and brought it closer to his face, pressing it against his cheek. “You don’t have to talk or say anything.”
She sat silent beside him and West continued to talk.
“They said that she’d just started a new job when she’d disappeared. She switched jobs to earn more money. A job close to the college she wanted to attend in the fall.
“The job she started was at the Coolidge Family Market.”
Duval narrowed his eyes at that bit of information. “I don’t know that store.”
“It closed when you were a child.”
