Page 44 of Save Me
Sure enough, there was an old article about Patrick and Julia Oswald. One of their twin daughters had gone missing.
Crissy took the phone from his hand and looked at the two images. The first was a grainy picture of the family—a man and woman wearing all white and holding two identical daughters dressed in white sundresses. The other image was of just the twin girls. Underneath it said, “Amber and Jade Oswald, age four.”
Jade. Jade. Her make-believe friend. Her eyes moved up to her father.
“You stole me,” she said, standing up, feeling her anger grow. “You stole me!” she screamed.
When she lunged at her father, Brock was there, holding her back.
Her father—no, scratch that—Simon Jones, the man who had stolen her from her real family as a child, laughed at her as if he was enjoying her pain.
“Easy,” Brock said next to her ear. “He’s not worth it.”
“He stole me,” she said again as it sank in even more. Her entire body vibrated with anger. She shook with the knowledge that her entire life was a lie.
She had a twin. She had a family. One that, if she hadn’t been stolen, would have loved her.
“And he’ll rot in prison for it,” Brock said easily.
“Like hell I will. I’d like to see the police get within ten feet of this place,” Simon spat back as he took another swing of his moonshine.
Brock’s hands shifted on her. Then he walked over and yanked her father’s hands behind him. The bottle of moonshine fell to the floor, soiling the wood planks and shattering the glass. Brock slapped handcuffs on Simon, the move so quick that neither she nor Simon could react fast enough.
“Simon Jones, you’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Amber Oswald. You have the right to remain silent…”
Crissy sat back down on the sofa as Brock read Simon his Miranda rights. Her head was spinning so fast, she felt light-headed. She was surprised to hear sirens approaching the property by the time he was done.
Simon was trying to jerk free of Brock’s hold and cursing up a storm the entire time. The man who had abused her all of her life was yelling and screaming. His face was bright red as Brock held him firmly.
“When did you call the police?” she asked as he started walking Simon out the door.
“I pocket-dialed my dad when Simon started to confess. Then I searched the Oswalds as a distraction for time,” Brock said. “My dad’s got it all and sent local PD.” He shoved the older man outside to the newly arrived police cruiser.
For the next half hour, she relayed what had happened in the shed. What Simon had said to her, what he’d confessed.
Then they’d climbed back in the Jeep as Simon was driven away.
“Are you okay?” Brock asked, but she shook her head and just continued to breathe as he started driving. Instead of heading back down Highway One, Brock pulled off the highway and headed into Miami.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We’ll have to sign some documents at the station. Also, if it’s okay with you, we can spend the night at my place here. My mom can watch Emma for the night. I think you deserve a reprieve.”
She didn’t argue. Her head was still spinning. They parked at a police station’s private lot just as they were hauling her father inside. Brock had used a code to get into the secure area.
“This is where you used to work?” she asked him.
“Yeah,” he said as he helped her out of the Jeep. “Are you okay to do this?”
She nodded. He’d quickly gone over what she should expect. What questions they would ask her. What she would have to sign.
“We should be in and out in about an hour,” he assured her.
Just over an hour later, they walked back out and climbed into his Jeep. She’d met all of his co-workers. His chief of police. His new partner. They had answered questions and signed documents. The entire process was quick and far less painful than she’d expected.
Even though it was only shortly after lunchtime, she realized she was mentally and physically exhausted.
“There’s a good burger place on the corner next to my place. We can grab some burgers to go and take them to the beach?” he suggested.
