retired as a full colonel and lived in Florida on the Atlantic side. He got

Andrews’s phone number and called him.

 

After a few minutes of reminiscing and Andrews’s asking about his former

commander, Puller was able to learn that his daughter Carol, now forty-seven,

was married with three teenage children of her own and lived in Richmond. Her

married name was Powers.

 

The next call was to her. She didn’t answer, but he left a message and she

called him back a few minutes later. “Talk about a voice from the past,” she

said. “I’m sure you never expected to hear from me.” “I can’t say that I did. I

did hear about what happened with your brother, Bobby. I was glad that he was

exonerated. I never believed he had done any of that.” “Thanks for keeping the

faith.” “So what can I do for you?” “My dad’s in a bad way and I guess I’ve come

to the point in my life where I just want to see things with a bit more

clarity.” “I’m very sorry about your dad, but I don’t know exactly what you

mean.” “Carol, it wasn’t until my brother told me that I remembered that you

were over watching us the night my mom disappeared.” “Oh, God, John, I didn’t

know that. It was the most awful time. I still get the shakes thinking about

it.” “Well, I’m a CID agent now and the case has never been solved, and I’ve

decided I’m going to look into it.” “Oh, okay. Now I see what you meant. What do

you want to know?” “Pretty much everything. Because apparently I had what Bobby

called selective memory when it came to all of it.” “Well, cut yourself some

slack. You were just a little boy. So go ahead and ask your questions. It might

be easier that way.” “So my mother went out that night?” “Yes. I was going out