After all this time and research, are we simply dealing with a young woman who ran away from abusive men? If I solve this case - or if someone else does because of the clues uncovered here - what if all I accomplish is revealing the location of a woman who is terrified to be found by her former boyfriend and father? Maybe a woman who was pregnant and is protecting a child, a 12 year old boy or girl who she never wants to introduce to the biological dad?
How tragic would that be?
And yet, the more I learn about this case - the phone calls, the short time frame of the disappearance, the lack of foul play - the more I become convinced Maura was running away. She's an adult. She's allowed to do that.
So why continue?
Because I'm not 100% sure. If I was, I would pull every post on this blog except one - she's alive, she's fine, and don't go looking for her.
I'm not sure, though. I'm not sure, because of that accident. The accident in New Hampshire changed everything. If there was no accident, nobody would be searching for her. It would be a clear-cut adult runaway. It wouldn't have even made the papers, not any responsible paper, anyway.
So there's the paradox at the center of the case that bothers me a lot: If I'm right, I'm chasing after a woman who is hiding from dangerous men. If I'm wrong, she is likely dead. Either way, there will be no happy ending.
I suppose what I'm hoping for is justice in some way. Justice for whoever made her run in the first place. And maybe in some small way that's already happened.