Page 140 of Eight Years Gone
“Rod called to give me the rundown before he sent me an email with the details. He couldn’t get out to the location and grab pictures due to his workload, but he was able to track down Jessica Sawyer and her son. Colton.”
“Colton,” she said, whispering her potential brother’s name. “And Rod’s sure this is them?”
Jagger nodded. “This Jessica—Jessica Caroline Sawyer—lived a couple of blocks from your family’s home in the suburbs.”
She swallowed, suddenly remembering riding bikes down the road with Logan and her mother, waving to her sometimes babysitter.
“She completed two years at Pittsburg State before she dropped out,” Jagger continued as he pulled his phone from his back pocket. “She worked at a car dealership in Drakesville for several years before she moved herself and Colton to Millsdale. She’s been working at a spa and boutique ever since.”
“You’re remembering all of this without even looking?”
He nodded as he pointed to his temple. “It’s a steel trap. Learning to memorize stuff quickly was an asset overseas. Being able to keep facts straight kept me alive.”
“Right.”
“Colton’s seventeen,” he went on. “He had a birthday on August ninth. He’s a junior at Millsdale High. He works at Mario’s Pizzeria and started another job a few months ago at Millsdale Automotive.”
Jagger accessed the email, holding his phone so they could both see the screen.
Grace read everything Jagger had just told her, then frowned as he scrolled through the PI’s notes. “It says Colton has been arrested.”
Jagger nodded. “He was charged with simple assault in June.”
She sighed as she looked at him, already weary that her possible brother was headed down the wrong path. “He’s seventeen and has a record.”
“That’s true, but that appears to be his only brush with the law.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Jagger shrugged. “It’s not great, but he’s hardly a career criminal. Nothing really came of it—just a slap on the wrist. It was probably for a fight. A kid doing stupid kid shit.”
Grace sighed again. “Hopefully, he’s decided that the juvenile justice system isn’t for him.”
“Hopefully.”
Grace scanned the list of addresses: the location of Jessica and Colton’s two-bedroom apartment, Jessica’s place of employment, plus the two places Colton worked as well. “They’re only a couple of hours away—an hour outside of Philly.”
She looked away from the information, staring down at the pavement. “He’s been so close this whole time, and I had no idea.”
Jagger shoved his phone in his back pocket, then captured her hands, holding her stare with compassion-filled eyes. “We could drive down that way tomorrow if you want. We can see what we see.”
She nodded, trying her best to force a smile.
He brought her knuckles to his lips. “What’s going on in that noggin of yours?”
She shrugged, attempting to properly put the messy mix of relief and fear into words. “This is supposed to be good. We found him, but I don’t know…”
“Come here.” He pulled her against him, wrapping her up in a hug.
She held on, cocooning herself in Jagger’s warmth and the scent that was him.
“Whatever this is. However this plays out, it’ll be okay,” he said close to her ear.
She nodded.
“We’ll get through everything together.”
She nuzzled closer. “I love you, Jagger. So much.”