Page 86 of Lorenzo

For tonight, that is enough.

I look around the table and think of Donna’s theory again.

Maybe this was the second attempt.

Maybe it was the fifth.

Either way, whoever planned it had patience.

They watched.

They waited.

And now the entire family is watching back.

Chapter Twelve

Donna

I find Rachel Monroe’s adoptive mother just after 9:00 in the morning.

The record is buried beneath older documents and an address change that never made it into the public databases I checked first, but once I have the right name, the rest comes together quickly.

Elaine Monroe. Sixty-two. Widowed.

Lives about an hour outside Chicago in a town small enough to have one stop light. Her property records, utility accounts, and voting registration all point to the same address.

I write it down, then stare at the page for a moment.

Rachel has almost no public footprint, but her mother does. That gives me somewhere to start.

I pick up my phone and call Lorenzo.

He answers on the second ring.

“Donna.”

“I found Rachel’s adoptive mother.”

There is a brief pause.

“Where?”

“About an hour outside the city.”

“Is Rachel there?”

“I don’t know.”

“When are you going?”

“As soon as I finish this call.”

“I’ll meet you at your office.”

“No.”

His response comes without hesitation. “Yes.”