Daisy couldn’t shake the feeling that the bat pendant wasn’t just a coincidence. She had to know more about the bandit.
- “Alex, I’m serious. That pendant’s like mine, a family heirloom. I need to find out who this guy is,” she pressed over coffee.
Alex looked baffled.
- “Daisy, I don’t get it. Why obsess over some thug? He’s locked up, case closed. Plenty of people have similar pendants.”
- “It’s not just a pendant, Alex. It’s a charm, from my mom. I’m going to the orphanage where he grew up,” she said, her jaw set.
- “You’re kidding. You’re planning our wedding, and now you’re chasing some CSI fantasy? Daisy, come on,” Alex said, exasperated.
- “I can multitask, you know,” she replied with a small smile.
Alex sighed.
- “Fine, but don’t expect me to like it. Let’s talk tomorrow when you’re less stubborn.”
Daisy was up before dawn, leaving a note for Nick. She kissed his forehead as he slept.
- “Be back soon, Grandpa,” she whispered.
Her gut told her to dig deeper, curiosity burning like a wildfire. She caught a bus from the Greyhound stop in Maple Creek to Ithaca, the ride a blur, the air smelling of diesel and old leather. Soon, she stood outside Tompkins Youth Haven, its peeling paint and cracked steps telling stories of forgotten kids.
- “Who’re you here for? Got an appointment?” the guard asked, eyeing her.
- “I’m here to see the director, Ellen Sanders. It’s important,” Daisy said confidently, thankful she’d looked up the name online.
- “Hold on, let me call her,” the guard said, grabbing the phone. “Huh, looks like they’re expecting you. Second floor, her office is on the left.”
Daisy didn’t know Alex had called ahead from the sheriff’s department, knowing she wouldn’t back down. He’d even joked,
- “Daisy could’ve been a top-notch detective, burying her talent in nursing.”
Ellen, a warm woman with a kind smile, greeted her.
- “Daisy Thompson, right? Come in. Deputy Alex called, said you’re here about Max Reed.”
Daisy nodded, her heart racing. Ellen pulled dusty foster care records from a cabinet.
- “Max Reed, 32. Left here 15 years ago. Tough kid, abandoned at birth. His mom, Lucy Bright, had him in prison and gave him up. She was a piece of work—beautiful name, tragic life.”
Daisy froze. Lucy Bright. That was her mom’s name. Her stomach dropped, her mind spinning. Could her mom have been a convict who abandoned a son?
- “Ellen, did Max ever wear a bat-shaped pendant?” Daisy asked, her voice shaky.
- “Can’t recall, sweetie. Too long ago. Maybe the staff noticed, but I didn’t,” Ellen said, her eyes soft with sympathy.
Daisy barely remembered leaving the orphanage, her thoughts a storm. Back in Maple Creek, Nick ran out to meet her.
- “Daisy, where were you? I was worried sick!” he said, spotting the unease in her eyes.
- “Grandpa, why didn’t you tell me Mom was in prison?” Daisy asked, her voice sharp.
The truth was about to shatter everything Daisy knew.