Chương 12
Claire passed Nora over.
The transfer was careful and formal.
Ethan’s mother sat in the armchair. She touched one finger to Nora’s cheek.
“Daniel hated blankets,” she said. “He kicked them off from the day he was born.”
“You told me that was Ethan,” Claire said.
“It was both of them.”
“You said I slept perfectly,” Ethan replied.
“I lied because you were six and wanted to be the good twin.”
The remark was meant to be affectionate. It landed badly.
His mother looked up at Claire.
“I am sorry about Ellie.”
Claire’s face changed.
“Thank you.”
“You should have told us.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Mom.”
“No, she should have.”
“I know,” Claire said.
“Ethan’s father died while he was overseas. We told him immediately.”
“That is not the same.”
“Of course it isn’t. This was his child.”
“I said I know.”
“Then why?”
Claire looked at Ethan, perhaps expecting him to answer.
He did not.
His mother adjusted Nora’s blanket.
“I suppose you had this baby to distract you.”
Claire crossed the room and lifted Nora from her arms.
“That’s enough.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Yes, you did.”
Ethan stepped between them.
“Mom, go upstairs.”
“This is your house.”
“Upstairs.”
His mother stared at him. Then she picked up her suitcase and climbed the stairs without another word.
Claire held Nora against her chest.
“You let her come.”
“I did not know she was coming.”
“She had your address.”
“She is my mother.”
“She thinks I stole a dead woman’s baby to replace Ellie.”
“She is grieving Daniel again.”
“So am I supposed to excuse it?”
“No.”
“Are you?”
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck.
“I don’t have room for another fight.”
Claire’s expression sharpened. “You had room when it was me.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No. It isn’t.”
She carried Nora into the kitchen.
Ethan picked up the chicken dish from the floor and placed it in the refrigerator.
His mother came down after midnight. Ethan sat alone at the table drinking coffee.
“She hates me,” his mother said.
“She doesn’t have enough energy to hate you.”
“I should apologize.”
“Tomorrow.”
His mother sat across from him.
“Do you believe Daniel is alive?”
“Yes.”
She pressed both hands around her mug.
“Say it again.”
“He’s alive.”
She closed her eyes.
A strange relief moved through her face, followed almost immediately by shame.
“I prayed for this.”
“So did I.”
“For a long time?”
“Every day for six months. Then only sometimes. Then not at all.”
“I never stopped.”
Ethan looked toward the dark doorway.
“You might wish you had.”
His mother opened her eyes.
“What did he do?”
Ethan told her what Delgado had said.
She listened without interruption. When he finished, she stared at the coffee.
“Daniel stole money.”
“Yes.”
“He let us bury someone else.”
“Yes.”
“He knew how sick your father was.”
“Yes.”
Their father had died nine months after Daniel’s funeral. Cancer, the official explanation. Ethan had always believed grief shortened what illness had started.
His mother wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Maybe he couldn’t come home.”
“He came here.”
“To Claire.”
“Because he needed something.”
“He could have needed us.”
“He called Maya before he called you.”
She flinched.
Ethan regretted it and did not take it back.
At breakfast, his mother apologized to Claire.
The apology was imperfect.
She said, “I should not have said you used Nora as a distraction.”
Claire replied, “No, you shouldn’t have.”
His mother waited, possibly expecting reassurance.
None came.
Nora began hiccuping. The three of them watched her with such concentration that Ethan finally said, “I think she’ll survive.”
Claire laughed once.
His mother did too.
The small humor loosened the room but did not repair it.
Two days later, Daniel called Ethan directly.
The number appeared as unknown.
Ethan answered while standing in the driveway beside a trash bin.
“Hello?”
“You still buy the cheapest coffee in Virginia?”
The voice was rougher than Ethan remembered. The rhythm was not.
Ethan sat down on the curb.
“Daniel.”
A breath crossed the line.
“Four minutes,” Daniel said.
“Where are you?”
“Not important.”
“It is to me.”
“That’s why I’m not telling you.”
Ethan looked toward the living-room window. Claire stood behind the blinds, watching.
“You left a note on my truck.”
“You reported me.”
“You let us bury another man.”
“I didn’t put him in that convoy.”
“You gave him your jacket.”
“It was freezing.”
“You knew where he was going.”
“So did everyone.”
“You knew more than everyone.”
Silence.
Ethan heard faint traffic on Daniel’s end.
“How’s Mom?” Daniel asked.
“You don’t get to ask that yet.”
“That sounds like Dad.”
“Dad died.”
“I know.”
“You knew before he did?”
Another silence.
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“You knew he was sick.”
“Yes.”
“And you stayed dead.”
“I was trying to stay alive.”
“You were buying groceries three miles from my house.”
“I wasn’t buying groceries.”
“What do you want?”
“The drive Leah left.”
“She’s dead.”
Daniel’s breathing changed.
Ethan waited.
“When?” Daniel asked.
“You didn’t know?”
“When?”
“Twelve days before I came home.”
“How?”
“Complications after Nora was born.”
The traffic noise disappeared, as though Daniel had stepped into an enclosed space.
“Nora,” he said.
“She named her.”
“I know.”
“You’ve seen her?”
“From a distance.”
Ethan stood.
“Stay away from this house.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“You left her.”
“I left Leah somewhere safe.”
“You left her with my wife.”
“I trusted Claire.”
“You used Claire.”
“I kept her alive.”
“She was not in danger until you brought danger to her door.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
“I need the drive.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because Voss will kill for it.”
“Voss has been questioned.”
Daniel laughed softly.
“You think questions scare him?”
“I think evidence does.”
“He owns people who decide what evidence means.”
“That’s convenient.”
“It’s real.”
“So is the money you stole.”
“I took what I was owed.”
“You were paid.”
May you like
“You don’t know what happened there.”
“Then explain it.”
