She was so scared the longer Mommy helped Naomi that she wouldn't be able to see Santa. She had to hold onto Nathan's hand as they stood next to them, but she couldn't help but tug on Nathan's hand, trying to let go.

"Claire, Mom told us to hold hands."

"I wanna see Santa." She whined again, trying to pull away, but he pulled back.

Mommy sighed. "If you keep whining like this, Santa won't come Christmas Eve."

Her face started to feel red, and she had tears. If Santa didn't come, then her wish wouldn't come true.

Suddenly, her brother started crying, "You're squeezing too hard, Claire."

"Oh my god, I'm so tired of the whining," Mommy said, sounding like she was also about to cry.

If she wasn't mad, she was usually sad, unlike the happy Mommy she used to be. The one who watched Bob with her, read her princess stories before bed, and played dress up with her and Naomi.

Nathan let go of her hand, ran over to Mommy, and hugged her as he cried. Mommy hugged him back and started to cry herself.

She wanted to go over and hug Mommy but didn't want her hand swat away, so she looked over to see if she could find Santa. Santa could do anything; he could fix Mommy and make her feel better.

She could no longer see him; many big people were around, but she could find him. She believed in him, so that should be enough. So, she ran as fast as her little legs could in the direction they had come from.

"SANTA"

She screamed as loud as she could, but everyone around her was much louder and so close to her. No one even noticed her; they just ignored her and walked all around her, not paying attention.

She looked around her but couldn't see Santa or her Mommy anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes again as she stood there, and her face scrunched up, not knowing what to do.

Suddenly, she found herself on the floor face-first, and it hurt a lot.

All she could think about as she cried on the floor was that she wanted her Mommy.

"Are you lost?"

She looked up and saw a pretty woman with a pretty smile and yellow hair kneeling at her.

"Let me help you up," she said, extending her hand to her.

(End Dream)

Penny woke up startled, not anticipating having that dream of that little girl again. It had been well over a week since the first one, and she hadn't thought about it since; she'd had more important things going on.

She rubbed her eyes and ran her hands through her hair, checking for knots as she tried to figure out that dream. Unlike the parents, she could make out that woman's face; she was probably a bit older than she is now, with long, almost dirty blonde hair.

I feel like I've seen her before.

That was the freakiest part about it. She felt like she'd seen that face before, but she couldn't put a name to it.

Her phone then started going off, and Penny immediately grabbed it to see who was calling because most people just texted instead of calling unless there was an emergency.

She saw it was Kim and assumed her grandmother must have taken a turn for the worst.

"Is your grandma doing ok?"

"Uh, yeah, she's doing fine right now," Kim said, almost unsure why she was asking that.

Penny rolled her eyes as she hit her hand on the bed. "Then why are you calling me Saturday morning at "

She had to take the phone away to look at the time and was shocked by how early it was.

"8 am, you know I don't get up any earlier than ten on weekends."

Penny could tell Kim was making fun of her on the other line; she didn't need to be in person to know that.

"I am going to a family BBQ later. We still have to be 6 feet apart, and all that, but it is the first time in a year we've gotten together. I figured I would take the chance to wake up the lion and see what she was going to do."

It's been a couple of days since the ancestry findings, and she's been struggling with what to do with that information. Asia thinks she should be upfront and ask them, but if she did, they could deny it and not tell her anything. Kim says she should ease into it because Andrea could be a delicate subject.

"I might start with the Puckett name and work my way up. It's a weird situation because I feel like I can't be upfront since it seems like this stuff wasn't meant for me to know."

"To think you might have a sister that you never knew about; I wonder if she died, and it's just too painful for them to talk about."

Penny could almost understand that to an extent, but just not talking about her makes it seem like they want to forget that she ever existed.

"I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister growing up. All the arguments and the secrets we would keep from Mom and Dad. You and Asia basically fill that role for me, so I guess I didn't miss out on much, except for the occasional loneliness at home."

Kim just huffed. "Trust me, definitely not missing out on much."

"By the way, you still got that extra DNA test for ancestry; I think I'll do it after all."

"Totally, maybe tomorrow we can do it. But I do have to go. Text Asia and me later in our group chat, and let us know how it goes."

"Will do."

After hanging up, she threw herself back onto her bed, staring at her ceiling, wondering if she should leave well enough alone. It seemed like it was more trouble than it was worth.

(December 5, 2020-FBI Headquarters-Philadelphia, PA)

Walking into headquarters, Agent Thrussell felt lighter than he had in months since the investigation of the murder of Jennifer Spring had begun. The autopsy was finally completed, which showed the final blow to the head was what ultimately killed her, with blood loss from the two shots in the stomach as contributing factors. All he had to do was file it off to the prosecution team by next week, and his job in this case would be done for the time being until trial, which was delayed until the fall of next year.

He saw Simon waiting for him right by the elevator with two cups of coffee

"Evening, Agent Thrussell. I sent the documents listing all the evidence gathered to both prosecutors and the local police department as requested."

Agent Thrussell pressed the up button by the elevator as he took the coffee from Simon.

"You triple-checked that each document was filed under the same case number when you sent them in, correct?"

He was very particular and always stressed the importance of accurate case numbers to interns. If even one piece of evidence is filed incorrectly, it can lead to various problems for the prosecutors and the defense, ranging from Brady violations to potentially impacting the outcome of a case and determining guilt.

Simon nodded as they entered the elevator and pressed the floor number. "Yes, sir, I spent much of the night reviewing each piece of evidence and ensuring all the numbers matched. I did it a few times before submitting."

"I talked to the coroner this morning; the autopsy has been completed. I need either you or Ms. Thornley to put the court dates into my calendar for next fall," he said, handing Simon the folder with all the information.

The Elevator opened on the fourth floor, and they immediately started walking towards his office.

"So, what is next on the agenda? More reviewing that cold case on Claire Myers." Simon asked as they approached his office.

Agent Thrussell quickly took out his keys, opened his door, and headed to his desk to start digging up the files.

"Yes, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has already released on all their social media Claire's information as well an age progression on what she would look like today. Were there any new tips that came in while I was away?"

After thirteen years, he would be fortunate to receive even one anonymous tip, which always turned out to be false.

Simon went to his desk and opened his laptop. "There was one that came in this morning. He says he is a retired cop from Indiana and stopped a Cadillac in Indiana for speeding. A child matching Claire's description was in the vehicle's backseat with no car seat. This happened the day after the kidnapping."

Agent Thrussell nearly dropped the folders as he listened to Simon detail the tip.

"Let me see that tip," he said, very interested, especially since this one has a retired cop's name attached.

Simon brought his laptop over and sat in front of him. He quickly reviewed the information Simon had just described, including how to contact him.

"Simon, I want you to go to Ms. Thornley and request that all security cameras of Berkshire Mall on December 14, 2007, in the evidence be brought in as soon as possible."

"Do you believe this tip is credible?" he asks.

"It is credible enough that it is very much worth looking into."

It was a long shot, he knew, but the fact that this tip came from a retired police officer just made it much more credible. While Claire's dress was very popular among young children at the time, the fact that this child he claims to have seen was not in a car seat is very telling for various reasons.

For the first time in thirteen years, it felt like this cold case was starting to warm up a bit.