Proof of Life. Laura Scott

me that Skylar is alive. And please guide me. Give me the strength and courage to find my sister.

      “Shanna?” Quinn’s tone was anxious.

      She lifted her head and forced a smile. “It’s a gift, Quinn. A true gift. After all this time, we finally found Skylar. I have to call my mother, to let her know the news.” And her father. He’d flat-out refused to talk to her when she’d tried to get in touch with him a few weeks ago, but surely he’d talk to her now.

      “Whoa, wait a minute.” Quinn took her hand in his, halting her from surging to her feet. “Why don’t we wait until we know what we’re dealing with?”

      “Are you kidding?” Shanna stared at him, tugging at her hand. “My sister is alive. Do you know how many years we’ve waited to know even that much?” She was ashamed to admit she’d thought the worst. That Skylar was lying dead and buried in an abandoned field somewhere. At any moment she’d expected the police to uncover her bones.

      God, forgive me for losing faith. Forgive me for believing Skylar was dead.

      “Yes, she’s alive. But we don’t know where she’s been for all these years. And I highly doubt she’s going by the name of Skylar Dawson. Besides, her fingerprints were found at a crime scene, which makes her one of the many suspects in Brady’s death.”

      Skylar a suspect? No, it wasn’t possible. But Shanna slid back into her seat, the sick feeling in her stomach persisting. No. There was no way she believed her long-lost sister was a murderer. “Skylar didn’t hurt your brother.”

      Quinn’s glance held a trace of sympathy. “Maybe not, but take a moment to think this through. What can you really tell your mother at this point? You don’t know what name Skylar is using these days. We don’t even have a photo yet. Why don’t we go through the names of the kids who were known to be at the party? We can get their ID pictures from the school, and you can see if any of the girls look familiar.”

      She had to admit, his idea had merit. And she had enough vacation time to get out of doing the routine lab work. Besides, now that her sister’s prints had been found, Eric would remove her from actively working the case.

      “Maybe we can even get a younger picture of your sister to perform a computer aging process,” Quinn continued. “Once you know Skylar’s current name, you’ll have really good news to tell your mother.”

      She bit her lip and nodded, knowing he was right to take things slow. But she wanted to find Skylar now. Her patience was nonexistent after fourteen years. “My mother has a computer age-progression image of Skylar—it’s posted on the website for missing children. But first I still need to go to the lab. I need to find out exactly where Skylar’s prints were found.”

      “I’ll go with you.” Quinn released her hand and rose to his feet.

      She stood, taking her phone from his hand. Skylar’s prints were found at a college house. How ironic to know Skylar was here at a local university, only twenty miles from home after all these years.

      Did Skylar remember her? Or their parents?

      She almost hoped not, because that would mean Skylar had suffered, missing her home and her family while being taken somewhere else.

      Her stomach clenched as the worst-case scenario flashed through her head. She dearly hoped that Skylar’s life since she’d been gone had been decent and good.

      Not dark and twisted.

      Quinn kept a wary eye on Shanna as he drove to the CSI crime lab. Her face was still pale, but she looked a little less fragile than she had lying cold on the floor of her kitchen. She’d taken years off his life when she’d fainted like that. Although, after hearing her long-lost sister’s fingerprints were found at Brady’s crime scene, he certainly understood why she’d reacted the way she did.

      He couldn’t imagine how awful it must have been to lose a younger sibling to a kidnapping, never knowing if she was alive or dead.

      Dead. Like Brady. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Quinn knew he should be heading over to his mother’s offering his support, rather than sticking close to Shanna’s side, but he couldn’t in good conscience leave her alone. Besides, staying with Shanna meant he might get more information related to Brady’s case, which was what he wanted.

      Satisfied with his decision, he turned his head from side to side, trying to ease the kinks from his neck. He wasn’t interested in Shanna’s mysterious past unless it had a direct bearing on Brady’s murder. Although for the life of him, he couldn’t see anything but a random connection. But if Skylar disappeared fourteen years ago, she would be nineteen now. Just a year younger than Brady. Interesting.

      Pulling up in front of the state crime-lab building, Quinn glanced at her. “Is it okay if I come in with you?”

      “Sure.” She glanced at him in surprise. “We’ll register you for a visitor pass.”

      Intrigued by what they might find out inside the crime lab, he followed Shanna as she headed to her buddy Al, the fingerprint analyst.

      “Shanna?” A tall, thin middle-aged man hurried over. “I’ve been waiting for you. I ran these prints first thing this morning. Come here—you have to look at this fingerprint comparison for yourself.”

      “I believe you,” she protested, going along with him anyway. She peered at the computer screen for a long moment as if afraid to believe the truth. “You’re convinced there’s no way this could be a mistake?”

      “None.” Al went on to explain exactly which pattern in the fingerprint made them unique. “Despite the size difference between an adult and a child, they’re definitely the same.”

      “What part of the crime scene did this print come from?” Shanna asked.

      Al’s glance slid from hers and he grimaced. “Now, don’t be upset, but I found her fingerprints on both the rugby trophy and the desk in the victim’s room.”

      She sucked in a harsh breath. Quinn crossed over to stand beside her, since it seemed she’d forgotten his presence. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” he warned. “There might be a legitimate reason for her prints to be on the trophy.”

      “True enough,” Al chimed in. “We found a total of four prints on the trophy, one from the victim, one from your sister and two others. After we get all the kids identified, we’ll start getting copies of their prints in the system, to see what matches.”

      Shanna nodded, although Quinn could tell she was badly shaken by the news. She asked, “Do you have anything else to go on? Any other fingerprint matches?”

      “Not yet,” Al admitted. “I started with the trophy and the kid’s bedroom, and so far, your sister is the only match I’ve gotten from the database, aside from the victim’s, of course. Getting through the rest of the house is going to take some time.”

      “I understand.” Shanna fell silent.

      Al looked at her with sympathy. “I already informed Eric about this. He told you to take off as much time as you need.”

      Shanna nodded as if she were still in a daze.

      “Do you need to do anything else?” Quinn asked, putting a hand on her arm. “Or do we have time to head over to the admissions office of Carlyle University to look at photo IDs?”

      “The admissions office,” she agreed. “Al? If you find anything else, please let me know.”

      “I will.” The older scientist gazed at her with true concern. “If you need to talk, I’m here.”

      A slight smile flitted around her mouth. “Thanks. Let Eric know I’ll be in touch later.”

      Clearly, Shanna was close to Al, and he found himself wondering about her family as they walked back outside to his SUV. She’d mentioned her mother, but not her father. “This news is really going to shock your