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“Not here to cause trouble,” Jackson tells him, his voice low but calm. “If you cooperate, we only need you for a minute.”
Scanning us again, Jarrod nods sharply. “Who are you looking for?”
“What makes you assume we’re looking for someone?” I question, arms crossed over my chest.
“It’s all I’ve ever done with my life, so if you’re here, it’s because you want to know the identification of someone I helped change. There is no other reason you could possibly want me. I don’t have a cent to my name, I own nothing, and I’m a fucking drunk.”
Least the man is honest.
“Years ago, a couple came to you and wanted you to give them new identities. Their names were Clara and Darth.”
Jarrod’s eyes widen as recollection washes across his face. “I remember them. Only young, so fuckin’ stupid. I told them they were makin’ a mistake doing what they were doing, but they gave me enough cash that I didn’t question it.”
So they did get something off Marshall. Clearly enough they were scared for their lives.
“Do you remember the names you gave them?” I ask.
“Clear as day. The girl was very specific. She wanted to be called Mary Theodore.”
I take a step back, it’s like a fist to the heart. That is my mother and father’s names. She used their names to create a new life for herself, even after everything we went through with them. Fucking Clara was always sentimental. Of course she would pick something like that.
“The man?” Jackson asks, as I stand in silence, processing.
“He was Terry Peterson. Nothing fantastic.”
“Do you have any idea where she intended to go?” I ask, my voice gruff with emotion.
“Far as I know, they were goin’ to head Florida way, somewhere away from this. I don’t know. I gave them what they wanted and left.”
“Appreciate your help,” I nod, turning and walking outside.
I need a minute.
Knowing she’s alive, she’s out there, and she chose to live a life without ever letting me know, is both exciting and fucking heartbreaking. She didn’t want me to find her, if she did, she would have told me she was alive. Sure, she’s in hiding, but still...we had a bond that I thought meant more.
This is why I avoided looking for her for so long, it wasn’t just guilt, it was the idea of knowing that maybe she didn’t want me in her life.
Pulling out my phone, I dial Goat who answers with a gruff, “Yep.”
“Got a name. You good to find out what you can?”
“Flick it to me.”
“Appreciate it.”
Hanging up, I get on the bike and get the fuck out of there.
I need a minute to myself.
A minute to fucking figure out my next move.
Addison will be thrilled to know we have a name, and I know she'll want me to chase Clara down, but what if she doesn’t want me in her life? What if she would rather I didn’t exist in her world? I don’t know how much more bullshit I can handle when it comes to the heart.
Fuck.
I hate decisions.
Because I’m certain I’m always going to make the wrong one.
