Chapter 9 - The Woman at the Cemetery
We went to the cemetery before sunrise on Sunday.
I stood behind an oak tree with Detective Chen while Anthony waited in a car far from the entrance.
I hated the secrecy. But if Margaret was frightened of Samuel, a crowd would drive her away.
At seven twelve, a woman approached the grave.
She wore a navy coat and carried yellow roses.
Her hair was silver at the temples.
She walked with a cane.
I knew her before she turned around.
“Mom?”
The flowers fell from her hands.
For one long second, neither of us moved.
Then she whispered, “Claire.”
I ran.
She caught me with both arms and made a sound I had heard only once before, when my father died.
We held each other beside the grave that had stolen eleven years from us.
“I'm sorry,” she kept saying. “I'm so sorry.”
I wanted to ask a thousand questions. Instead, I buried my face against her shoulder.
She smelled like lavender soap.
Just as she always had.
When we finally separated, I showed her a photograph of Noah.
She touched the screen.
“My grandson.”
“He's safe,” I said. “And he's going to love you.”
Margaret cried harder.
She told Detective Chen she had escaped a guarded rehabilitation facility after an employee helped her. She had spent months hiding, gathering records, and trying to identify whom she could trust.
“Why didn't you come to me?” I asked.
“Because Samuel still had people watching you.”
“He found us anyway.”
“I know.”
She took my hand.
“I thought if I could give the police enough proof, I could finally come home without putting you in danger.”
A black sedan slowed beyond the cemetery gates.
Margaret went rigid.
“That's his car.”
Detective Chen called for backup.
The sedan accelerated away.
Margaret looked at me.
“Claire, Samuel knows about the key.”
“The police have it.”
“Then he knows where they'll go.”
I asked what locker 317 contained.
Her expression changed.
“Not documents.”
“What, then?”
She whispered, “The name of the person who paid Samuel to keep Rose hidden after Vincent died.”
I thought of Vanessa.
May you like
Margaret shook her head.
“Someone Anthony trusts more than anyone.”
