Chapter 7 - THE CHILDREN KNEW TOO MUCH
I returned to Riverstone on Sunday at the time Daniel expected.
By then, he and Melissa had removed most of their belongings.
The portable crib was gone.
The groceries were gone.
The children’s clothes were gone.
But evidence remained.
A purple crayon beneath the sofa.
A tiny sock behind the reading-room door.
A juice stain on the rug.
A toothbrush in the guest bathroom.
They had cleaned carefully enough to convince someone who wanted to believe them.
I no longer wanted to believe them.
Daniel called that evening.
“Home safe?”
“Yes.”
“How was Vermont?”
“Peaceful.”
“Did you hike?”
“I survived.”
He laughed.
The sound was familiar enough to hurt.
Then he asked, “Everything okay at the apartment?”
I looked directly into the security camera.
“Why would it not be?”
“No reason. Just checking.”
He waited for me to reveal what I knew.
I waited for him to confess what he had done.
Neither happened.
The next day, Melissa arrived with the children unannounced.
She stood at my door carrying pastries.
“We were nearby.”
They lived thirty miles away.
Emma hugged me tightly.
Lucas ran toward the ceramic rooster.
Melissa caught him.
“Remember, we do not touch Grandma’s chicken.”
The same phrase from the camera.
I met her eyes.
She realized it a second too late.
“How would he remember that?” I asked.
Melissa smiled too quickly.
“You probably told us.”
“I do not recall doing so.”
The word recall frightened her.
She had been trained to listen for signs of confusion.
Emma wandered toward the reading room.
“Can I finish my picture?”
Melissa grabbed her shoulder.
“What picture?”
“The one in the drawer.”
The child’s face fell.
Melissa knelt.
“Sweetheart, you are thinking of home.”
“No, I am not. The butterfly picture is here.”
I walked to the television cabinet and opened the lower drawer.
The coloring book remained inside.
They had forgotten it.
Emma brightened.
“See?”
Melissa stood.
Her hands trembled slightly.
I removed the coloring book.
Several pages were completed.
Dates had been written in the corner in Emma’s careful handwriting.
May 3.
May 10.
May 17.
June 2.
They had been entering the apartment for at least six weeks.
I sat beside Emma.
“These are beautiful.”
“Daddy said I could keep them here because we would live here after summer.”
Melissa dropped the pastry box.
It struck the floor sideways.
Lucas laughed.
Emma looked confused.
I kept my voice gentle.
“What else did Daddy tell you?”
“Margaret,” Melissa said.
It was the first time she had used my name instead of Mom.
“Emma,” I continued, “did Daddy tell you why you would live here?”
She looked at her mother.
Melissa’s face silently ordered her not to answer.
Emma lowered her eyes.
“He said you were going somewhere people could watch you.”
The room went silent.
“Did he say where?”
“A place with nurses.”
Melissa stepped between us.
“That is enough.”
I stood.
“Yes. It is.”
She gathered the children.
Emma began to protest.
“We came to see Grandma.”
“We are leaving.”
At the door, Melissa turned back.
For one moment, the pleasant mask disappeared.
“You should be careful how you question children.”
“You should be careful what you teach them to keep secret.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
Not manipulation this time.
Fear.
“Daniel said this was the only way.”
“The only way to do what?”
She looked toward the hallway as if he might be standing there.
Then she whispered, “Keep them from taking everything.”
“Who is them?”
The elevator bell sounded.
Melissa flinched.
Daniel stepped out.
He had not been invited.
He had been watching her location.
His eyes moved from Melissa’s face to mine.
“What did you tell her?” he asked.
Melissa pulled the children toward him.
“Nothing.”
Daniel smiled at me.
But his gaze was empty.
“Mom, we should talk soon.”
“We should.”
“Family only.”
“No attorneys?”
His smile disappeared.
I had revealed too much.
He guided Melissa and the children into the elevator.
As the doors closed, Emma held up the coloring book.
A loose page slipped from it and landed in the hallway.
I picked it up.
It was not a butterfly.
It was a drawing of my apartment.
Four figures stood inside.
Daniel.
Melissa.
Emma.
Lucas.
A fifth figure stood outside the door.
A tall woman with yellow hair.
May you like
Above her head, Emma had written one name.
Miss Celeste.
