Chapter 4: The Phone Call From the Dead
The phone rang again.
Nobody moved.
Eric stared at the screen as if the name might disappear if he blinked.
MARGARET MITCHELL.
Our mother's name.
The woman we'd buried twenty-five years earlier.
"Answer it," I whispered.
Eric looked at Mr. Lawson.
The attorney shook his head.
"Don't.""
I turned toward him.
"Are you out of your mind? That's my mother's name!""
"Sarah, we don't know who's calling. It could be someone using her identity.""
"Then we'll find out!""
I reached for the phone, but Eric pulled it away.
"Let me.""
He accepted the call and put it on speaker.
"Hello?""
At first, there was only static.
Then a woman's voice emerged.
"Eric?""
My knees nearly gave way.
It was an older voice, slightly breathless, but there was something familiar about the way she pronounced his name.
Eric gripped the phone.
"Who is this?""
A pause.
"Your mother.""
I covered my mouth.
Daniel stepped toward me, but I raised my hand.
"Don't.""
The woman continued.
"Eric, listen carefully. You mustn't open the storage box.""
Eric's voice cracked.
"Who are you? Prove it.""
A soft, trembling laugh came through the speaker.
"When you were six, you broke your father's favorite compass. You blamed the dog, even though we didn't have a dog. Your father spent three days looking for it before I found it underneath your bed.""
Eric's eyes filled with tears.
I remembered that story.
Dad had told it at every Christmas dinner.
"Mom?"" Eric whispered.
"Yes, sweetheart.""
I grabbed the phone.
"Mom?""
Silence.
Then the woman made a sound that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her.
"Sarah?""
I couldn't speak.
"Sarah, my darling.""
I pressed the phone against my ear.
"You're alive?""
"Yes.""
"Where have you been?""
"I'll explain everything. But you have to listen to me first.""
I was crying now.
Twenty-five years of memories crashed into one another. My mother's perfume. Her warm hands. The little song she used to sing while brushing my hair.
I'd spent my entire adult life believing those memories belonged to someone who no longer existed.
"Why didn't you come home?"" I whispered.
The woman began crying too.
"Because your father asked me not to.""
I pulled the phone away.
"What?""
"He wanted you both to have ordinary lives. He believed the people looking for me would never stop.""
I looked at Mr. Lawson.
He had gone completely pale.
"Who was looking for you?"" I asked.
Before she could answer, a man's voice interrupted.
"Margaret, we have to go.""
The woman spoke urgently.
"Sarah, listen. There is something you need to know about your father. The man you knew was not the man he was in 1998.""
"What does that mean?""
"He changed everything after Thomas disappeared. He changed the records. He changed the money. He even changed the way he signed his name.""
I looked at the old military document on the table.
"Mom, what happened to Thomas?""
Her voice dropped.
"Thomas didn't disappear. He was blamed for something Robert did.""
Eric stepped forward.
"Mom, I met Thomas. He's alive.""
A long silence followed.
Then she whispered:
"Then Robert's plan worked.""
Mr. Lawson suddenly grabbed the phone.
"Margaret, this is Martin Lawson. Do you know what day it is?""
"I know exactly what day it is, Martin.""
"Then you know Robert is dead.""
"I know.""
"Did you know he left the red suit?""
"Yes.""
"Did you know Eric wore it?""
"Yes.""
The attorney closed his eyes.
"Then it's happening.""
I stared at him.
"What is happening?""
He didn't answer.
My mother spoke again.
"Sarah, you need to go to the house. There is a second room behind the bookcase. Not the one Eric found. Look beneath the floorboard near the desk.""
Daniel stepped closer.
"Margaret, who's with you?""
The line went silent.
"Mom?""
A muffled noise came through the speaker.
Then her voice returned, suddenly frightened.
"Sarah, don't trust—"
The call ended.
Eric immediately tried calling back.
The number was unavailable.
I turned toward Daniel.
"She was about to say something about you.""
He shook his head.
"Sarah, I don't know what she was going to say.""
"You knew she was alive.""
"I suspected.""
"That's not an answer.""
Mr. Lawson picked up his briefcase.
"We need to leave.""
"Where?""
"Your father's house.""
Eric took the photograph of the hidden room.
"I'll drive.""
Daniel reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
"Don't touch me.""
His face crumpled.
"Sarah, please.""
I looked at the man I'd shared a bed with for fourteen years.
The man who had held me while I cried over my mother's grave.
The man who had listened to me tell our children stories about a grandmother he knew might still be alive.
"Did you ever love me?"" I asked.
Daniel stared at me.
"More than anything.""
"Then why did you lie?""
He had no answer.
We left the cemetery separately.
As I climbed into Eric's car, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
Your mother called you because she's frightened. Your father wasn't the only one who kept secrets. Ask your husband what happened to the original Box 417.
I looked through the windshield.
Daniel was standing beside his car, staring at his phone.
May you like
He had received something too.
And judging by his expression, it was much worse.
