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motions . . . all the memories and the nightmares are going to hit. Freedom lets the past have room to reappear in full Technicolor, no suppression allowed, and she’s not going to be able to avoid it.”
    “You’ll get her through. She needs to trust someone. She chose you.”
    “Let’s hope she made the right choice. I’ll call you in a few hours with an update on her plans. She may want to stay in Atlanta for a few days; she may ask that we head toward Chicago. Besides her request that we drive rather than fly, that situation is still evolving.”
    “Ann and I will get up to speed on the details of the case file,” Paul told him. “Whatever you need, Matthew, just ask. You’ll find mountains can be moved with a case that’s going to turn high profile once the public knows she’s alive. We’ll clear what we can for you.”
    “I appreciate that more than I can say,” Matthew replied. “I’ll ask one thing tonight. Since Shannon wants to drive, and you two are scheduled to fly back, could you pull Theodore Lincoln into a room, tell him she’s alive, and work out who’s going to handle the investigation that’s coming? I’m thinking four people—you two, Theo, and myself—is plenty to be in the loop while we’re still gathering the details. Make that five, as Gregory at the missing-persons registry knows.”
    Paul nodded. “We’ll probably call Theo at his home from the plane. Since Shannon showed up in Atlanta, the FBI can already claim jurisdiction if necessary. But it won’t be. Theo has the Chicago police resources, we’ve got the national ones, and we know how to collaborate when it’s in both our interests. Something this high profile—and still a black hole for what will be uncovered—neither department is going to want soleownership. We’ll work out a shared investigation and have it formalized before Shannon arrives in Chicago.”
    “You make that sound easy when I can guess the politics that will be involved,” Matthew commented. “I’d also like to preempt whatever information she might need about her friends and family. Could I ask you to do a background update—who’s been married, divorced, had children, passed away, and so forth—among her family and friends, so she has a sense of the current world before she arrives?”
    “I’ll be glad to do that,” Ann said.
    Matthew glanced at his watch. “I need to get back. I’m relieved you two came to the conference so I didn’t have to try and explain over the phone what’s going on.”
    “We weren’t planning to come,” Paul mentioned, “as our schedules have been hectic, but we both felt a last-minute nudge that we should fit this trip in. Probably a God-arranged decision.”
    “Given how many things are falling in place to deal with this situation, I’m certain God is orchestrating much of this,” Matthew agreed. He lived his life depending on God to influence how events unfolded. “Ann, was there anything in that case file that mentioned Shannon’s religious background? She’s going to need someone to talk with, preferably from her home church.”
    “I’ll pull the file and get you the name of the church she attended. I remember she was a regular attendee with the youth group, because the cops looked for some kind of problem with an adult that might have originated there.”
    Matthew found it helpful to know Shannon had a faith background. “How this has affected what Shannon thinks about God and what she believes will lead to some difficult conversations.I’ll need to find someone who can help her work through those issues who is more skilled at it than I am.”
    Paul glanced over at Ann. “We know someone who might be able to help with those questions,” he replied.
    Matthew took out his phone and snapped the photo Paul had suggested of the couple, Paul’s arm casually draped across Ann’s shoulders. Not much explanation would be needed when he showed it to Shannon, Matthew thought, glancing at the