down, but she was out of her mind with terror. I put her to bed and
stayed with her until Caleb woke up.'
'Was Tilly there? ' 'No. She had gone out to do some errands. I told
her that Jessica had come down with influenza and that she needed to
stay in bed and rest.' A tear slipped down her cheek, and she
impatiently wiped it away. 'I took care of Caleb the rest of that day,
and when it was his bedtime, I took him upstairs and found Jessica
frantically packing. She wanted to leave Rockford Falls that night,
but I was finally able to convince her to stay.'
'Did she tell you exactly what happened while she was in the bank? '
'Yes, she did. After Caleb fell asleep, we went out on the porch and
she told me everything but their names.' He erupted in rage. 'Are you
telling me she knows their names? ' Grace gripped her hands
together.
She knew how wrong it had been of her to keep silent and how she had
magnified her culpability by adding the lie that she was the witness.
Daniel would never forgive her. He should arrest her and put her in
jail, but she didn't think that would be half as horrible as the guilt
she now felt.
'She heard the man in charge call the others by their names. She
didn't see all of them . . . or hear all their names . . . just
some.
' 'Why in God's name didn't she tell Cole or me? ' Desperate to make
him understand, she stood up to plead with him. 'She couldn't trust
anyone.'
'She trusted you.'
'Yes, she did. I don't know if she would have told me what happened,
though, if I hadn't been there in the kitchen when she came back. I
saw the condition she was in. She couldn't control her panic, and all
she could think about was keeping her son safe. Can you blame her? I
would have done the same thing.' Daniel nodded, for he did
understand.
'What happened then? ' 'Jessica was sure that the authorities . . .
you . . . would apprehend the men and wouldn't need an eyewitness.
She desperately wanted to believe that would happen.'
'When she wanted to run . . . is that when you suggested she go with
you? ' 'Yes.'
