Broken Trust (Missing in Action Trilogy Book 1) by H. B. Rae Page A

alone, it had been about two hours since Sheila had disappeared. He wondered where she had gone, but it was probably best that he didn’t ask her too many questions. She respected his privacy and he had to do the same for her. He heard someone knock on the main office door.
    Getting up, he walked over and opened the door. Standing there was Marissa Hughes with a forced smile on her face. It was obvious that something was wrong.
    “I know you are going to find out eventually,” she said. She was beginning to pace and he could tell she was somewhat uncomfortable. “But there are a few things that my sister and I are hiding.”
    He was not able to respond right away, but he looked at her with wonder. Why was she telling him this? Why couldn’t they have told him the day before?
    “Olivia is my older sister,” she began. “We changed our names and we moved away so we could get away from what had been haunting us when we were younger. Olivia is paranoid that someone from our past has come back.”
    “And the reason neither of you felt the need to tell me beforehand was because?”
    “It was her decision not to tell you. Olivia is very paranoid and it takes a lot for her to trust someone. She has to analyze every situation and she makes a guess to the outcome. I don’t think she trusted you, but I know that the more you know, the better it would be for us.”
    John nodded and looked to Marissa. “What are your real names?”
    “Olivia’s name is Teresa and mine is Samantha Anderson. Our mother was Daniella and she was murdered when we were rather young. Teresa investigated it and she stumbled upon something that made us have to go into hiding.”
    He was watching her face and he was attempting to tell whether or not she was lying, but he was sure she was telling him the truth. He nodded. “Thank you for the information. So do you think whoever is behind this had something to do with what you had stumbled upon?”
    “I doubt it, but at least by knowing about us you will be able to eliminate a few people off of the list.”
    John could hear how anxious she was. It was as if she was needing to go. “Is there somewhere you need to go?”
    “Yes,” she admitted. “I work across town and I need to leave to get back there.”
    “Then by all means,” he said. “And if there is anything else you will be able to provide you can call me.”
     She nodded as she was beginning to walk out. As the door shut behind her, John was in deep thought. He wondered what that was all about and he didn’t seem to like it all too much. The way she was acting was rather odd and even if she was attempting to be somewhere on time she could have been different. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was hiding something from him and the information she’d given him was supposed to point him in one direction and not any other.
    ***
    Sheila was stepping back into the office and saw John had his door open and he was lying down on his couch. He seemed to be deep in thought and she knew there was something on his mind. He wanted to get everything resolved and the information she had compiled would be able to help, or at least she was hoping so.
    Knocking on his open door lightly, he motioned for her to come in. “I have some information that you might find useful.”
    “If it is just their real names Marissa, a.k.a. Samantha was just here not too long ago telling me they had different names before.”
    “I have more than just their real names,” she began. “I have the reason why they needed to go into witness protection and there is a reason they are still part of it.”
    Sitting up, he was experiencing vertigo for a moment but he was able to focus on Sheila. “And what reason might there be?”
    “Meet Daniella Anderson. She was forty-two when she was murdered and no one had any leads as to who was responsible. She had been one of three women to die that way and the police were never able to make a connection. Not until Olivia