The Burying Place

Denise shrugged. 'Fine.'

'Our youngest has Down's syndrome,' Tom explained. 'She doesn’t hear well, and she becomes quite agitated if she wakes up from a nap and one of us isn't around.'

'You don't need to share our life story,' Denise snapped.

'It's nothing to be ashamed about,' Tom said.

Denise's eyes shot daggers at her husband. 'Did I say I was ashamed?' She bent over and closed her son's coloring book. 'Evan, can you take this to your room, please? Thank you.'

There was silence among the adults in the room while the boy gathered his crayons and headed upstairs. Denise watched him go, her arms folded over her chest. 'Honestly, Tom, what are you thinking? Talking like that in front of the kids.'

'I'm sorry.'

Denise didn't reply.

'Maureen's condition has been a struggle for us,' Tom continued, with an apologetic smile at Serena. 'As if four kids weren't enough of a challenge to begin with.'

'Oh, for God's sake,' Denise barked. She flew out of the recliner and stomped through the swinging doors that led to the kitchen. The doors flapped madly before slowing down. Serena heard the clatter of pans and the exaggerated noise of cupboard doors opening and closing.

'I'm really sorry about this,' Tom told her. 'Bad day.'

'Don't worry about it.'

Valerie stood up. 'I suppose you'd like to talk to me.'

'Yes, I would.'

She nodded and bent down to hug her brother-in-law. 'Thanks for everything, Tom. Really.'

Tom held on to her hand. 'Call if you need anything at all, OK?'

'I will,' Valerie said. She said to Serena, 'Shall we take a walk?'

Outside Denise's house, Serena and Valerie wandered to the end of the block and on to the middle of the bridge that crossed over the river. Flurries landed in their hair, and the cold raised a flush on their faces. Valerie leaned on the railing and stared at the dark water. She knit her fingers together.

'I owe you an apology,' she said.

'Why is that?'

'The first time I saw you, I told you that you couldn't understand how I felt because you didn't have children. It was a stupid thing to say.'

'Don't worry about it.'

'Well, I felt like an idiot after you left. I'm sorry. I'm the last person who should make another woman feel bad about not having kids. I tried for three years before I got pregnant, and it was the worst kind of hell for me.'

'I'm sure it was.'

'I'd like to tell you that Marcus was a comfort in all of it, but I'm afraid that's not his specialty. It's funny, isn't it? Marcus is in a healing profession, and Tom sells insurance, and which one is a better listener?'

'Denise and Tom look like they're having problems,' Serena said.

Valerie nodded. 'They've been sweethearts since high school, but somewhere along the line, Denise forgot that they were supposed to be in love.'

'What about you and Marcus?' Serena asked.

A sad smile drifted across Valerie's face. 'We've never been the best of couples. I thought having a baby would bring us closer together. Or maybe I wanted a baby to give me the kind of love that my husband couldn't. Not that I blame him — that's just the man he is. But three years of trying and failing? The longer it went on, the more desperate I became.' She gave Serena a sideways glance. 'I don't come across as a desperate woman, do I? Honestly, if Callie hadn't come along, I don't know what I would have done. She saved me.'

'I have an unpleasant question for you,' Serena said.

Valerie turned around and leaned against the railing. She stared at the cold blue sky. 'Those seem to be the only kind of questions you have.'

'I know. I'm sorry.'

'That's all right, go ahead.'

'Do you know a nurse at St Mary's named Regan Conrad?'

Valerie looked down at the water. 'Is that her? Is she the one that Marcus…?'

'Yes.'

'I'm sorry, no, I don't know her. She must not be in orthopedics. I know all of the staff where Marcus works.'

'She works in maternity,' Serena said.

Valerie turned her head sharply. 'Maternity?'

'That's right.'

Valerie cupped her hands over her nose and mouth. She shook her head. 'I knew it. I knew she was there.'

'What do you mean?'

Valerie brought her hands down to her chin, so it looked as if she was praying. 'I went into the hospital on New Year's Eve,' she told Serena. 'There were only a few other women in the ward that night, and one of the babies was in distress, so most of the nursing staff weren't really focused on me. We were waiting for my doctor to get there from a party, and they had me on an epidural. I was drifting in and out a lot of the time. I remember, it must have been right after midnight. There was a lot of noise, people blowing those little horns, shouting about the New Year. I woke up, and I was alone, but I knew she'd been there. I smelled her perfume. It was the same perfume I'd smelled in my bed all those times. Ever since then, I thought it was my imagination, but she must have come to see me.' Valerie shivered.

'Was Marcus with you at the hospital that night?' Serena asked.

'Off and on,' she replied, with a hint of defensiveness. 'I told you, I slept a lot because of the drugs.'

'Of course.'

Valerie shook her head. 'She was there in my room. On that night of all nights. My God, tell me he didn't…'

'What?'

'Nothing. It's nothing. Why did you want to know about Regan? Do you think it's possible she could have taken Callie?'

'I honestly don't know. I'm trying to find out everything I can about her. It looks like she was in the hospital on Thursday night when

Callie was abducted, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she wasn't involved. She had a key to your house, too. She also knows — well, she also knows Migdalia.'

'She knows Micki? Oh, Jesus. I knew it. I never trusted her.'

'It doesn’t mean that Micki was involved in what happened to Callie,' Serena said. 'But we're looking at both of them.' She added, 'Did you know that Micki lost a baby last year?'

'Micki? I had no idea.'

'Your husband helped her. Regan was the nurse.'

Valerie spun away. She bent so far over the railing that Serena was afraid she would throw herself into the river. 'Marcus did that?'

'Yes.'

'Was it his baby?' she asked, her voice bitter.

'Micki says no.'

Valerie opened her mouth and closed it again. She hugged herself, shivering. 'I'm sorry, what does any of this mean?'

'We're not sure. It may be nothing at all. But I have to tell you, I'm concerned that Marcus has been keeping things from us. He never mentioned his relationship with Regan, and he concealed the fact that Micki was with him on the night Callie disappeared.'

'You think he was involved, don't you?' Valerie asked. 'You think he did something to our daughter.'