When Wishes Collide Read Free Page B

Eventually, he'd had to go back to work, if for no other purpose than to make enough money to keep a private investigator working on the case. Unfortunately, that investigator had also come up with nothing and had moved on to other clients. Two years of work and he was back at square one, as lost as he'd been that very first afternoon.
    "Wyatt, I have something you should see," Josh Burton said, waving him over.
    He got up from his desk to see what his friend and former partner had to say. He'd met Josh in the police academy eleven years earlier, and they'd worked their way up the ranks together. They'd once been partners, but during his six-month leave, Josh had partnered with someone else. Once Wyatt had come back, he'd been assigned a new partner. He was always happy to collaborate though. He'd done some of his best work with Josh.
    "I was reviewing the security footage we picked up from cameras in the area around Vincenzo's restaurant," Josh said.
    He nodded. They'd all spent some time working on the robbery/homicide at the popular North Beach restaurant. "What did you find?"
    "Take a look." Josh hit a button on his computer and the grainy video of the outside of a liquor store appeared. Three kids walked out of the store, pausing on the sidewalk to open a box of candy. There was a boy and two girls, all of whom appeared to be under the age of twelve. A moment later, the smallest girl turned her face toward the camera. In a split second, a pair of familiar blue eyes met his. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart began to race. Then she looked away, and the kids ran out of range of the camera.
    "Play it again," he ordered, adrenaline racing through his veins.
    Josh did as requested, pausing on the frame of the little girl. "She looks a little like Stephanie, don't you think?"
    A knot was growing in his throat as he stared at the computer screen. "More than a little."
    "She's older, and her hair is darker."
    "It's been two years since we saw her, and who knows what Jen did to her hair."
    "But why would Jennifer bring Stephanie back to San Francisco? She has to know you're still looking for her. And you have a lot of support and resources here. It's not logical."
    "Jen was never known for her logic."
    "It's more likely she'd be in Los Angeles where she grew up, where her parents still live. Someone has to be funneling her money, and they're the most likely suspects."
    Jen's parents had definitely been on their daughter's side, but then they'd spoiled Jen rotten. She was their only child and they believed she was perfect in every way. The problems in their daughter's marriage had all been his fault.
    "Tom has been following Jen's parents for months," he said, referring to the private investigator. "He's never been able to connect them to Jennifer. He's never been able to find a money trail. I don't know who's helping her live, but it doesn't appear to be Greg and Wendy Miller."
    "Well, I still think it's doubtful Jen is here in the city. To be honest, I debated whether I should even show you this video. There have been so many false sightings. We've seen Stephanie in a lot of little girls who turned out not to be her. I hate to see you chase another bad lead."
    Everything Josh said was true. It didn’t make sense that Jennifer and Stephanie would be in the city, and the girl whose image had been captured by the security camera wasn't an exact match to his daughter, but there was something about her eyes that made his gut clench. He had to follow up, even if this lead turned out to be as bad as the others.
    "Don't ever debate showing me something that might be important," he said sharply. "You don't need to worry about me. Stephanie is the only one who matters. Can you print out a screen shot for me? I'll take the picture by the liquor store and see if the clerk knows anything about these kids."
    "Already done," Josh said, handing him a photo. "I'd go with you, but I have a witness to question."
    "It's fine," he