Chapter 16 - A Mother's Voice
Nora snatched the phone. "Mom? Mom, where are you?"
Evelyn leaned closer to the camera. "Honey, I'm sorry. I tried to get to the hearing."
A shadow moved behind her. Evelyn glanced over her shoulder, and Nora saw fear flash across her face.
"Tell me where you are," Nora said, forcing her voice steady.
"An old building. I can hear water. There's a bell every hour."
"The ferry terminal," Claire whispered. "There's a clock bell at the east pier."
The call cut off.
Grant made for a side door. Lena blocked it. "You're not leaving."
"You have no grounds to detain me," he said.
"Maybe not yet. But there's a court order pending, a witness downstairs, and a man upstairs who just attacked a trustee. Sit down."
Adrian called a federal investigator he'd been working with, Special Agent Reed. Meanwhile, Nora, Lena, and Claire raced to the old ferry terminal with two uniformed officers following.
The pier shook under the night wind. Water slapped against the pilings. An empty warehouse stood beside a clock tower whose bronze bell rang one clear note as they approached.
Inside, Nora heard a chair scrape.
"Mom?"
A figure stepped into the light. Evelyn Vale looked older than in the photograph, but her eyes were the same deep brown as Nora's. For a moment neither woman moved.
Then Nora ran to her. Evelyn caught her and held on so tightly Nora could barely breathe.
"I thought you were dead," Nora said against her shoulder.
"I know. I know. I'm so sorry."
The apology wouldn't return the lost years. Nora knew that, even as she pressed her face against the woman who had taught her how to braid her hair and whistle with two fingers.
May you like
Behind them, a door slammed. Claire yelled. A man appeared on the catwalk above the warehouse floor, holding a remote with a red light blinking.
"Nobody moves," he said. "The pier charges are already set."
