The Truth About Rachel

of the Andy Griffith show was playing with the sound turned low. Seeing her aunt so calm and enjoying the show made Rachel pause. She’d grown very thin and was slouching in a way that it looked like the sofa was swallowing her up. Was it really a good idea to bring up the past now? But Rachel had to know what her aunt remembered about the day she and Gordon picked her up at the park.
“Aunt Julie?” Rachel said, hoping it was a good day and Julie remembered her.
Her aunt turned her way, then smiled warmly. “Hello.”
Rachel moved closer and sat tentatively on the sofa. “How are you feeling today?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I was just watching a new episode of this show. Isn’t it cute? I get a kick out of that little boy and his antics.”
Rachel took a deep breath. If her aunt believed this was a new episode, then she was lost somewhere back in her childhood. Rachel moved closer. “Aunt Julie. Do you remember me? I’m Rachel.”
Julie gave her another warm smile. “Of course I know Rachel. She’s such a sweet kid. Someday, I’m going to bring her home and raise her as my own. That sister of mine, she doesn’t deserve a sweet girl like Rachel.” She stared at Rachel and frowned. “Do you know Rachel?”
Her heart sank. She had hoped this would be a good day. “Auntie. I’m Rachel. Remember? You and Gordon did bring me with you and adopted me. I grew up with you instead of my family. Do you remember?”
Julie’s expression turned guarded. She glanced around the room, looking anxious. “We’re Rachel’s family,” she insisted. “There is no other family.”
“Aunt Julie. It’s okay. It’s just you and me here. I need you to remember that day, thirty-five years ago, when you and Gordon picked me up, and we left Casita. Do you remember?”
She shook her head. “We don’t talk about that day. It’s our secret.”
“Auntie. It’s not a secret. We can talk about it. Did you know what happened to my brother that day? You must have seen it on the news or heard about it. Is that why we moved from state to state? Were we hiding from my family?” Rachel watched as her aunt’s face grew frightened.
“We don’t talk about that boy. Or that family. It’s a secret!” she insisted, her voice growing louder. Julie glared at Rachel. “Who are you? Why are you asking me these questions? You’ll never take Rachel away from me. She’s mine now!”
Rachel was immediately sorry she’d pushed her aunt so far. She tried placing her hand on Julie’s arm to calm her, but Julie stood quickly and fled from her. “Julie! Don’t!” Rachel yelled. “It’s okay.” Rachel rose to stop her, but as Julie reached the door, Shirley opened it and blocked her way.
“Now, honey. Why are you so upset? Come on inside, and let’s sit down again. We can watch that show you were enjoying so much,” Shirley said in her soothing drawl.
Julie recognized Shirley and slowly calmed down. As the two women turned to walk to the sofa, her aunt cocked her head and stared at Rachel, puzzled.
“Hello. Do I know you?” Julie said.
Rachel sighed and shook her head. Shirley’s brows rose as she watched Rachel curiously.
“I just came in to say hello,” Rachel said to her aunt. She realized she wasn’t going to get any answers from Julie today, if ever.
“Well, isn’t that nice?” Julie said, smiling. Shirley led her to the sofa and helped her get comfortable. Not wanting to upset her aunt any further, Rachel mouthed, “Thank you,” to Shirley and headed out the door.
***
Rachel couldn’t concentrate all day on anything except the old news reports about her being dead. It was unnerving. She tried to get some work done but to no avail. Finally, she gave up and searched Google again about the murder case and her brother. She searched her real mother’s name, Judith Arden Parnell, and discovered her mother still lived in the same house as when Rachel was a child. But when she typed in her father’s name, nothing came up. Her mother would be around seventy-five years old, and her father would be seventy-seven. There was no obituary for her father or report of him being deceased, so that was a good sign. It just seemed strange to Rachel that the house wasn’t in his name also.
The news reports about her murder stated that an eight-year-old girl with long, dark hair had been found dead by the river, and a witness had claimed to see Keith following the girl down the tree-lined path. But nothing stated why they thought the dead girl was Rachel. Who had identified her? Why had they said it was her? And who was the dead girl? These questions plagued Rachel’s thoughts to the point where she felt she’d go crazy.
The worst thing of all was that the girl had been found on the same day she’d left with her aunt and uncle. Was that a coincidence or something more devious?
After spending hours contemplating everything, Rachel finally made a decision. She had to go back to her hometown in California and prove she wasn’t dead.
***
Monday morning, Rachel was on a flight from Tallahassee to Sacramento, California. She’d carefully packed her amended birth certificate so she could prove she was very much alive. She didn’t have the official adoption papers, so she hoped she had enough to confirm the mistaken identity.
The night before, Rachel had called Jules to tell her an abbreviated version of what she’d learned about her family and what her plans were.
“Wow. That’s a shock to learn everyone thinks you’re dead,” Jules had said. Then she’d sucked in her breath. “You don’t think Aunt Julie and Uncle Gordon would have…”
“No!” Rachel had cut her off. “I think it was just a coincidence. If you’d known them back then, you’d know they couldn’t do something so diabolical. They’re good people.”
“I know, Mom. But it’s