Chapter 10 - Sister Agnes's Warning
Emily opened the envelope with a kitchen knife.
Inside were two pages of thin convent stationery, dated twelve years earlier.
My hands shook as she read aloud.
"Dear Elise, if you are reading this, then the man who brought you to us may have found you again. Your name when you arrived was not Emily. It was Elise Margaret Ashford. I was told never to write that name, but I could not let it disappear completely."
Emily stopped.
Ruth began crying quietly.
I could not.
I was beyond tears.
She continued.
"You were brought to St. Anne's before dawn by a nurse named Evelyn and a man who called himself Thomas Reed. He gave a false address. I recognized him months later in a business magazine as Thomas Ashford. He returned twice. The second time, he asked whether anyone had requested records about you. The third time, he offered the convent money to destroy your intake file. I refused."
Detective Brooks leaned closer.
"Keep reading."
"I hid copies in a bank safe-deposit box because I feared the records would vanish. The key is inside the wooden Saint Christopher statue in the old chapel storeroom. The box is under the name Agnes Bell. If you ever need the truth, take someone you trust. Do not go alone."
At the bottom was a handwritten postscript.
"Thomas was not alone in this."
No name followed.
Sarah looked at me. "We go to St. Anne's tomorrow morning."
Emily shook her head. "Tonight."
"It's after midnight."
"Someone just broke into my home. If Thomas knows Sister Agnes left records, he won't wait until morning."
She was right.
The convent had closed eight years earlier, but the property was now a community shelter operated by a nonprofit. Kevin knew the director and got us access.
At 1:18 a.m., we entered the old chapel with Detective Brooks.
The building smelled like dust and floor wax. Moonlight cut through stained glass and painted the pews in dull colors.
We found the storeroom behind the sacristy.
The wooden Saint Christopher statue stood on a high shelf.
Emily lifted it down.
The base had been pried open.
Empty.
"We're too late," I whispered.
Then Brooks's flashlight caught something on the floor.
Fresh mud.
Footprints led to a side door.
Outside, an engine started.
Emily ran to the window.
A black SUV tore away from the curb.
May you like
She turned to me.
"That's the same SUV Thomas sent yesterday."
