Quinn accepted a manila folder, collected the cross, then said her good-byes and left. It was time to begin her research and glimpse into the past, in more ways than one. Quinn dialed Rhys to give him the preliminary results of Dr. Scott’s tests—but that wasn’t the real reason for her call, which was why she called him on his mobile instead of trying his office. Rhys answered on the first ring.
“Quinn, I hoped you’d ring today. Anything from Colin?”
“Yes, I’m at the mortuary now,” Quinn replied as she found a quiet corner and perched on the edge of a hard plastic chair. “He needs a bit more time, but our skeletons date to just around the beginning of the fourteenth century and were most likely victims of a violent crime.”
“Excellent,” Rhys gushed. Quinn could almost hear the gears turning in his head. He was already planning the episode.
“Rhys, actually there’s something else I’d like to discuss with you,” Quinn began, her heart rate increasing in proportion to the topic she was about to broach.
“Oh yes?”
“Rhys, I’d like you to arrange a meeting with Robert Chatham and Seth Besson. I need to know which one of them is my biological father,” Quinn said. Her voice sounded flat, but she was trembling. The idea of meeting her father face-to-face was as exciting as it was terrifying.
“Quinn, darling, please don’t ask that of me. I haven’t seen either Robert or Seth since uni. To suddenly look them up and broach the subject of that night . . .” Rhys allowed the sentence to trail off, hoping that Quinn would appreciate his dilemma, but Quinn wasn’t about to back down.
“Rhys, you owe me this much.”
“And I’d like to help you out, but you’re asking the impossible. You know I’d love to help, but there must be another way.”
Quinn considered this for a moment. She supposed it would be terribly awkward for Rhys to do what she asked of him. Perhaps he could help her in some other way.
“Can you track them down for me? Friend them on social media, perhaps? I’d like to learn as much as I can before I approach them in person.”
Rhys sighed. For thirty years, he thought he was off the hook for what he’d done the night Sylvia Wyatt was raped, but the past was coming to collect its debt, and he had to pay up. “All right. I will do what I can.”
“Thanks,” Quinn replied and rang off before Rhys could say any more. She had no intention of making this easy for him.
Notes
I hope you’ve enjoyed the first installment of the Echoes from the Past series. There are more stories on the way, with new cases for Quinn and surprising revelations about her past. In the second installment, Quinn and Gabe are off to Dunwich, Suffolk, which is a place that is of great interest to me. Dunwich has quite a history, which I look forward to sharing with you.
I love hearing your thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You can find me at www.irinashapiro.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IrinaShapiro2/. Please send me your information at [email protected] if you’d like to be added to my mailing list.
And, as always, thank you for your support.
The Lovers (Echoes From The Past) Page 41