Chapter 28
TWENTY-EIGHT
I don’t realize Megan has followed me until I reach my door and scan the key card. The lock flashes green.
“Judy?” she calls and I turn to see her hurrying toward me.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” she says, out of breath. “I feel terrible for opening up those wounds after everything I told you. If I had known—”
“I’m fine.” I swallow the sob lingering in my throat. “You don’t have to worry about me.”
She studies me briefly and gestures to the door. “May I?”
“Sure.” I push the door open and she steps inside but remains near the entrance, turning to me.
Not knowing what else to say to her and feeling suddenly dizzy, I move to the desk and pick up the glass water carafe. I’m finding it very hard to keep my fingers from shaking.
I still manage to pour a glass, then before bringing it to my lips, I pause and carry it to the bathroom. I rinse the glass thoroughly under running water before filling it again with tap water.
When I step back out, Megan is watching me. “You still do that?”
“Do what?”
“Rinse the glass before drinking. Old habits and all that, huh? I remember when that started,” she continues with a low chuckle. “You found a spider in a mug. You’d already taken a sip before you saw it. You wouldn’t drink from anything without rinsing it after that.”
Despite everything, I let out a quiet breath that almost resembles a laugh. I hadn’t thought about that in years.
“I haven’t forgotten.” Megan looks around the room, then approaches the window, glancing out at the dark grounds.
“I meant what I said earlier,” she says. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m glad to see you too, Megan. But I came because of Sadie,” I say, sitting on the bed.
“I understand. When I gave up my child it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. I can’t even imagine…” Her voice trails off and she turns to face me.
I twist my hands in my lap. “We actually came back to give her a funeral. If you can even call it that without a body. We wanted to say goodbye. Then I received the photo and the message that Sadie’s alive.”
“When you arrived in town?” She shakes her head. “Did you consider taking it to the police? Maybe they could check for fingerprints. I would do that if I were you.”
I tell her about the warning not to go to the authorities and her eyebrows shoot up. “I can’t believe anyone would do something like that to a mother. I understand why you want to hold on to the hope that Sadie is alive but—”
“It’s just… the bracelet. I still don’t understand why the person would photoshop that onto her wrist if she’s not here.”
Megan glances down at her wrist, then slips off a slim silver band she’s wearing. “Did it look like this one?” She places it in my palm.
“Yes,” I say, turning it over.
“A family that sends their two kids here every year own a jewelry store. They donated these a few years ago. You can keep it,” she adds. “To remember me and this place by.”
I wrap my fingers around it. “Thank you. At first I thought Sadie was kidnapped. Then when I saw the bracelet, I thought perhaps she begged to stay here. That maybe she didn’t want to come home.”
Megan’s expression softens. “She couldn’t have stayed without your consent. If she had begged to stay, we would have notified the accompanying adult and called her parents.”
She takes my hand, the one holding the bracelet, and squeezes it. “I’m sorry you can’t get the answers you’re seeking here. But maybe there’s something I can do to help before you leave. If you took a look around, would it help you feel a connection with Sadie?”
“Yes, please. I would love that.” I dab at my eyes with the back of my hand.
“In that case, tomorrow, after breakfast, one of the staff will bring you to my office, and I will give you a tour of the property. I’ll take you to the room she stayed in.”