The Shape of Things to Come (Hypernaturals 15)

Amelia Lane

To a human, it would be pretty dark standing on the porch where we are. We have been to this house three times. No answer. Ever.

"Where the entire hell are you, Amelia Lane?" Denise asked the darkness.

"Why did this woman stand out for you, again?" I asked Denise. "Her not answering the door or ever being here seems odd enough behavior. It fits the pattern of never doing something they otherwise might. In this case: coming home."

"There was no father's name on the birth certificate. There was a note in the chart from a nurse about why. Amelia told one nurse who had been assigned to fill out the Certificate that she did not know where the father was or what his real name might be. The nurse noted that they did not think that was true. That it was only that it was not her husband that was making her lie about it. The nurse was frustrated because it was her job to fill that out accurately, and such legal documents have later impact."

"Given what we are looking for, that does seem to require investigation." Morgan agreed.

"Making it weirder: Amelia is married. To a long-haul truck driver named Lorenzo Peralta. I did not pick up on that until we were on the road trip, but that made me want to find her even more. Married to a trucker, tells the nurse she does not know what the father's real name is? In the same city as Latisha Barnes? It fit the pattern and it fit the direction of travel. Oh. One more thing. Amelia worked at a sporting goods store as an assistant manager. Our walkabout guy showing up in a place that sells tents. Amelia got pregnant within a month of when Latisha did, too. The timing is right for Latisha to get laid for a week or ten days, then for Leon to move on, meet Amelia, and get her pregnant." Denise said.

I pulled up that case file on my phone and found a picture of Amelia. Physically attractive, but also fits the pattern of Leon not having a type, other than female and breathing. Ethnic Caucasian this time. The picture looked like she bleaches her hair blonde, based on her dark roots. It was hard to tell if the original hair color is brown or black from the picture. From her eyebrows, I guessed brown.

"Amelia does CrossFit." I read out loud. "Maybe why she worked at a sporting goods place. Discounts on activewear. That stuff costs money."

"Amelia is on extended maternity leave. I checked her husband's employer. Lorenzo is in New Jersey on a run, and has barely been home in the month since the baby was born." Morgan said.

"In summary: Absentee husband whose name is not on the BC. Amelia has a public-facing job. Fits the timeline and the profile. And Amelia? Not here. Brand new baby never comes home." Denise said.

"Amelia barely had a job during the pregnancy, either. Her employer was about to fire her for absenteeism. The only thing that saved her was that the company was worried about blowback from firing a pregnant woman. They advertise themselves as progressive. Her problem, according to the internal notes I read, was not that she was having a difficult pregnancy. That they would have understood. It was that she was frequently absent without excuse." Morgan added.

"Wait. So ... You are considering the possibility that Leon is still around this time?" I asked Morgan.

"I think that is possible. Yes. A working theory that is supported by the change in the pattern here. I do not know why Amelia Lane was absent a great deal, but if Leon was still here, it is a possible explanation. She might have been gone because Leon likes pregnant women as much as you do." Morgan said. While we had been talking on the dark porch, she slipped the lock on the house. "I will hopefully know more shortly after we look around this perpetually empty house."

"No one likes pregnant women as much as Adrian." Jessica commented.

"Something I am looking forward to." Denise said. As we went in, Denise indicated the doorknob and added to Morgan, "I could have done that, you know."