Chapter 2 - The Man at the Door
Emily did not move.
Neither did I.
Thomas stepped between us as red wine spread across the white tablecloth.
"This is getting ridiculous," he said. "Margaret is upset. You should go back to work."
"Don't speak for me."
My voice came out colder than I expected.
Thomas turned. "You are making a scene over a birthmark."
"And a locket."
Emily's fingers closed around it.
"I don't know where it came from," she said. "I've had it as long as I can remember. My foster mom said it was with me when I was found."
Found.
The word cut through me.
"Where?"
Before Emily could answer, the restaurant manager hurried toward us. Kevin Morales was normally unshakable, but he looked uneasy.
"Emily," he said, "there's a man at the front asking for you."
She frowned. "Who?"
"He says his name is Daniel Mercer. He says it's about St. Anne's."
Thomas's hand tightened around the back of his chair.
I noticed.
"St. Anne's?" I repeated.
Emily nodded slowly. "That's the convent where I was left as a baby."
Thomas dropped his napkin.
I looked at him. "You know that name."
"Of course I know it. It's a common name."
"No." I stepped closer. "You reacted before she finished the sentence."
His jaw hardened. "You're imagining things because you never got over the fire."
That was the sentence he had used for eighteen years whenever I asked why no one had shown me our daughter's body.
You never got over the fire.
As though grief were a delusion.
Kevin returned with an older man in a faded navy jacket. Daniel Mercer looked to be in his late sixties. He walked with a slight limp and held a manila envelope against his chest.
When he saw Thomas, he stopped.
Thomas stopped breathing.
Daniel's face changed from uncertainty to disgust.
"You," he said.
Emily glanced between them. "You know Mr. Ashford?"
Daniel ignored her. He pointed at Thomas.
"I saw you that night."
A murmur moved through the nearby tables.
Thomas gave a short laugh. "I have no idea who you are."
"St. Catherine's Hospital," Daniel said. "Eighteen years ago. I was a maintenance supervisor. The fire alarm went off at 2:13 in the morning."
He opened the envelope and pulled out a photocopy of an old incident log.
"At 2:19, I saw Thomas Ashford leave the nursery corridor carrying a blue hospital blanket."
Emily's face went white.
I looked at my husband.
"What was in the blanket, Thomas?"
He stared at Daniel.
Then he reached for his phone.
"We're leaving."
May you like
But Daniel shook his head.
"No," he said. "This time, you're staying."
