Missing: The Oregon City Girls. Rick Watson
the newscast, Linda realizes her step-granddaughter’s disappearance is not going to be easily solved. Linda begins to formulate a “To-Do” list and she decides to call her stepdaughter to organize a meeting of interested parties. The goal is to stimulate a proactive approach in the search. She dials Maria’s number. It rings four times before a young voice answers. “Hello?”
“Hi, is your mom home? This is Linda O’Neal.”
“No, she and Tony are at Bingo.”
“Is this Suzie?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Suzie, maybe you can help me. As you probably heard, I’m trying to help find your cousin, Ashley. Your mom told me she spent last weekend with you guys.”1
“Yeah, she did.”
“Well, did she seem upset or tell you something was wrong?”
“About what?”
“Anything that explains why she might run away from home.”
“Well, Ashley talked about certain things that bothered her. I just don’t have a good memory, I mean, I don’t remember exactly, but I know she did tell me things about her mom and the babysitting. She had to watch the kids all the time. She had to take care of her younger sisters. When you’re only twelve, it’s hard. I used to have to do that with my sister and brother when both Mom and Dad had jobs. I’d watch them for hours and hours, so I kind of know how it feels. But Ashley was doing it and trying to take care of her mom at the same time.”
Linda responds thoughtfully, “That’s difficult, but in divorced situations, even so-called normal kids sometimes have to assume too many responsibilities.”
Linda, surprised by Suzie’s words, suddenly finds herself immersed in memories of her own mother’s emotional problems resulting in mood swings that kept her family walking on eggshells. The more she heard about Ashley’s life, the greater a sense of kinship she felt. She had been that girl wanting to leave, wanting something better. In that moment it becomes clear to her that she will do everything in her power to find the girl.
Linda’s attention is jerked back as Suzie continues, “Like, Ashley’d say her mom gets out of control some times, and she’d always be watching the kids. Like, taking care of them while her mom was passed out in the bedroom or something. I think Ashley came over to our house so much mainly to get away from everything and stuff. She always wanted to spend time with me and I feel bad now, because I never really did much. I mean, like, everybody knows she can really be obnoxious. That’s just Ashley. You know? She told me stuff about when her mom was drinking and stuff.”
Linda looks down for a moment, thinking, and then says, “Lori’s going to have her fourth baby in a few months. So maybe Ashley meant that she was taking special care of her mom to help with the pregnancy.”
“Linda, Lori needs help and everybody knows it. That’s more than kids should have to deal with.”
“Well, I’m sure that is very hard for Ashley. What do you remember most about her?”
“She’s lots of fun, but she has an attitude. Everybody knows Ashley has an attitude. Some people don’t want to deal with her, but she’s great to hang with.”
Linda smiles, “I can see you liked her—attitude and all. Do you have any idea where she could have gone, Suzie, any idea at all?”
Suzie sighs, “No, not really. My mom called every one of her friends and they haven’t seen her either.”
“I know. She’s doing a great job, your mom. How are you holding up through all of this?”
“I just wish I would’ve spent more time with Ashley. That’s what bugs me the most.”
“It’s a very natural reaction when someone special drops out of our lives. We all feel that way, Suzie, and we’re going to find her. I promise. Thanks for sharing with me, Sweetheart. Could you have your mom give me a call when she gets back, okay?”
“Okay, Linda. I will. Bye.”
Two days later Linda has organized a get-together with Philip, his daughter Maria, her husband Tony, and their daughter Suzie. Linda’s new intern, twenty-one-year-old Allison, is with her.
She is not making good time, caught in late afternoon freeway congestion. Linda is at the wheel of her green sedan, switching frantically from lane to lane and fearing she may be late for her own meeting. Intern Allison sits quietly in the passenger seat listening to the radio speakers blasting a Doobie Brothers tune that entices Linda to join in. Her cell phone intrudes on the moment. After muting the Doobies, she picks up.
“Linda O’Neal Investigations…speaking.”
“This is Bob Raymond. I represent Jack Jordan in a post conviction relief and I’m wondering, do you still have the case files?”
Linda slowly merges into the right lane. “It was 1995, wasn’t it?”
“Wow! I’m surprised you remember that. Do you still have your investigative notes on that case?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Linda swerves her car into the emergency lane and brakes. Getting out while ignoring the whizzing traffic, she and Allison open the trunk and rearrange several paper grocery sacks, each stuffed with thick manila file folders. “There it is.” Linda spies one sack labeled “1995” and roots through the contents. Allison stares in bewilderment watching the private detective extract the documents before returning her attention to the cell phone caller. “Yeah, I’ve got my hands on them this moment. Do you need this stuff right now? Or can it wait until the end of the day? I’m on my way to an important appointment.”
“No, the end of the day is fine. You’ve got my fax number.”
Linda hangs up her cell phone and offers a comment to her intern. “There you go Ally, the most significant issue in the investigation process: good records, easily accessible.”
Soon they are back on the road and arrive at her stepdaughter’s house. Maria lives with her husband Tony in a sprawling one-story ranch nestled in a Portland suburb. Their daughter Suzie stands in the front yard waiting for Linda. After hiking a block from the closest parking spot, Linda approaches carrying a large briefcase with Allison a few steps behind. The teenage girl grabs the handle. “Let me help you with that, Linda.”
“Why thank you, Suzie. Is your mom in the house?”
“I think so. And if you’re looking for my grandpa, he’s in the house too.” She giggles.
Linda follows the girl through the front door. Philip stands near the grey stone fireplace holding court with Tony and Maria. “Yeah, your mother and I used to run the gut in Salem in my old Plymouth. Everybody saw us coming. Remember that old car, Maria? You were just a baby when I finally got rid of it. It just wore out, I guess. But I sure loved it. It had a pull down shade over the back window, a big floor shift and a windshield that cranked out with a tiny knob.” He chuckles.
Linda approaches and hugs Maria before touching her intern’s arm. “I want you all to meet my newest sleuth-in-training. She just started interning with me this week. This is Allison. She just graduated from the College of Legal Arts. She was my best student last term. And she’s real interested in helping us find Ashley, whatever it might take.”
Tony says, “We’re all ready to follow your lead, Linda. But Lori and her mother and the rest of that side of the family aren’t too high on us doing our own investigation. The cops told them to let them handle it. They don’t want anybody else sticking their nose in it and all, I guess.”
Linda takes her briefcase from Suzie. “I can understand that. But let’s have our meeting and then we can figure out what, if anything, we can do to help the situation, not hurt it.”
Allison asks, “How do her mother