Page 51 of Under Their Watch

“Come sit and talk with me,” she says. Theo pulls me into his lap and tightly bands his arms around my waist. I notice there is a man here by the door.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“That is Detective Logan Fallins,” she says. “He’s my partner.”

“I’m about to get bad news, aren’t I?” I ask. “Will you sit, Logan? You make me nervous standing over there like a creep.”

“You’re good,” Casey says to Logan. He nods and moves over to sit next to her.

“Why is he here?” I ask.

“Because I’m not sure how you are going to take this,” she says honestly.

“Do the others know?” I ask.

“No,” she says. “The only ones who know right now are me, Logan, and a lab technician.”

“Okay. What’s going on?” I ask.

“So, if you remember, I collected your DNA. I also collected DNA from anyone connected to Marvin that was willing to provide a sample. This included everyone here, others he worked with, family, and your stepfather when he was arrested,” she says. “Because Marvin is suspected of serial crimes and because you had mentioned hearing other men in the house when he was bringing other women in, we have the FBI involved so that we could rush the DNA.”

“Okay,” I say slowly.

“Your DNA was put into the system so that it could be ruled out with the… tools… that you surrendered,” she says. “It came back immediately for a missing persons case.”

“Yeah, I know. Mom and…”

“From twenty-seven years ago, Rhea,” she says. I stare at her, understanding, but not wanting to believe her.

“I’m sorry,” Quinn says. “From when she was a baby?”

“Yes,” Casey confirms.

“Ma’am, Jace and I knew her as a baby,” Quinn says.

“How old was she when you met her?” Logan asks.

“About seven months old,” Jace says.

“Are you sure?” I ask.

“Very,” Casey says. “They ran it three times.”

“Who am I then?”

“You were reported missing by your biological father at six months old. He went to pick you up from daycare and found that they had released you to your biological mother. She had lost her parental rights a few weeks prior when she was deemed unfit. He gave the police numerous samples of your DNA, every picture he had of you, a hair sample, and eventually even your blanket for cadaver dogs. Your birth name is Rachel. Your birthday is accurate, but your mother has been living under a fake name as well. It appears that Marcus was able to help get the two of you a new identity when she ran with you.”

“Where was I taken from?” I ask.

“Here,” she says. “Your biological father lives in the same home that he moved you two into. You grew up about ten miles from him.”

“Does he know I’m alive?” I ask.

“No, we wanted to tell you first,” she says. “Your mother is living under Rita Langston, but her real name is Debby Jones.”

“So that’s my last name?” I ask.

“No, you have his last name,” she says. “Debby is currently in custody. She was charged with accessory to child rape and eighty-six counts of child pornography as the pictures and videos were found on a computer they shared. She does not know we are aware of her identity, so she is booked under Rita Langston.”