The Burying Place

Kasey knew why. In the driveway around the corner from where she was, a woman was screaming.

'Where is she?'

Valerie didn't wait for the car to stop. The wheels rolled as she scrambled out of Serena's Mustang. She screamed Callie's name and ran for the door and pounded until a police officer let her inside. Serena got out of her car and held up both hands to calm a policewoman who appeared from the side of the house at a run, her hand on her gun. 'It's OK,' she told her. 'Everybody's fine. Don't worry, this is a good thing.'

She followed Valerie into the house. Upstairs, through the open door of Callie's bedroom, she heard wrenching sobs of relief. Serena made no move to join her. It was a private moment for mother and child. It was also one of those rare moments in her life when she believed that there really was some justice in the world.

Marcus Glenn, still dressed in his bathrobe, joined her in the foyer. He heard the noise of his wife upstairs and glanced at the bedroom door. 'So she didn't go through with it,' he said.

'You must be relieved.'

'Yes, of course.'

Serena didn't hear relief or joy in his voice. He frowned, as if he could read her mind. 'I'm trained to consider what might go wrong,' he told her. 'I didn't think this situation would end happily for any of us.'

'But it did,' Serena said. She wanted to add: No thanks to you.

She stared at the surgeon as he waited by the banister at the stairs and realized that the naked outpouring of emotion they could hear above them was painful for him. He preferred an environment that was as sterile as his operating room. Clinical. Passionless. That was what made him so easy to dislike. That was why he was capable of doing so much damage.

More quickly than Serena expected, Valerie reappeared in the hallway. Callie was in her arms, wrapped in a heavy coat, her small hands in mittens and pink boots on her feet. Valerie carried Callie with an easy grace, as if she were floating. She never took her eyes off her daughter's face, and the girl, who was wide awake now, stared back at her mother with delight.

Valerie took each step slowly and carefully until she was at the bottom of the stairs. She carried a duffel bag over one shoulder, which she laid at her feet. She handed Callie to Serena long enough to grab a winter coat from the hall closet and slip her arms into the sleeves.

'Where are you going?' Marcus asked. He looked genuinely surprised.

Valerie ignored him and looked at Serena. She took back Callie and picked up her bag. 'I know it's late, but can you drive us to a hotel?'

'It would be safer if you stayed with me,' Serena told her. 'We can keep police around the house. Will that be OK?'

'Yes, that's fine. Let's go.'

'Valerie,' Marcus interrupted them. He reached for Valerie's shoulder, but she shrugged away his touch. 'What do you think you're doing? Don't be rash about this.'

Valerie hugged Callie to her chest and marched through the open door leading out of the house. She didn't look back. She deposited her bag in the back seat of Serena's Mustang and fitted Callie into the car seat with tender hands. The police on the lawn watched her, and no one moved or spoke.

Marcus followed her as far as the porch and called after her. He folded his arms over his chest in anger and annoyance.

'Do you want me to say I'm sorry?' he said. 'All right then, I'm sorry. But remember, I was innocent in all this.'

Valerie stiffened. Her back was to him. She turned around slowly, and her eyes were like stone. 'Innocent?'

'You know what I mean.'

Valerie didn't say anything more. She waited in silence. Her breath came and went in clouds of steam that dissipated into the cold air.

'Oh, for God's sake, come inside,' Marcus told her. 'What do you want from me?'

Valerie shook her head. 'I don't want anything from you,' she replied. 'I'll have someone come by to get my things.'

'You're not in any shape to be making decisions,' Marcus insisted. 'Take a few days with Callie. It's been a difficult week for all of us, and you need some time. When you come back home, we'll talk.'

Serena joined Valerie outside and climbed into the driver's side of her car and started the engine. Valerie stood by the open passenger door.

'I'm not coming back,' Valerie said as she got into the car and reached for the door. 'Goodbye, Marcus.'

Chapter Fifty-seven

The two of them drove in silence as the town gave way to the empty lands and the bright lights gave way to darkness. The highway felt familiar to Serena now, as if she had gone back and forth so many times that the distance to the city had grown smaller. It was still hours from dawn.

'Are you OK?' she asked finally.

Valerie twisted round and stared at Callie, who had drifted back to sleep with the motion of the car. She reached out a hand to touch the girl and then pulled it back so she didn't disturb her. 'I'm perfect,' she replied.

'Did you mean what you said?' Serena asked.

'About not going back? Yes. I'm done. I'm free.'

'Good for you.'

Valerie reached out and put a hand over Serena's on the steering wheel. 'I owe you my whole life.'

'You don't owe me anything,' Serena said. 'I should thank you. Seeing the two of you together restores a little of my faith.'

Valerie smiled. 'I used to think about all the terrible mistakes I've made in my life. Now I realize, without them, Callie wouldn't be here. We wouldn't be together. That can't just be an accident, can it?'

'Maybe you're right.'

'At least I won't wish I could go back and change them. Not anymore.' She added, 'I appreciate your doing this for me. Will Stride mind my staying with you?' 'It's fine,' Serena said. 'We'll both feel better knowing you and Callie are safe.'

She didn't say anything more. Instead, she thought about Stride and wondered where she would sleep herself tonight. It wouldn't be in their bed. It wouldn't be beside the man she'd loved for the past three years. They had both made their share of mistakes, and now she wondered where their mistakes would lead them and whether, like Valerie, she would be able to live with her regrets.

'Tell me something,' Valerie said. 'The woman who took Callie, this young cop, did you know her?'

'I met her this week, but I didn't really know her.'

'She escaped?'

'Yes, but don't worry, we'll find her. We won't let her get near you.'

'What was she like?' Valerie asked.

Serena glanced across the seat. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean, what was going through her head? How could she do this? I just want to understand.'

'It doesn’t really matter, Valerie.'

'I know, but I don't want to hate her.'

'She put you through hell,' Serena said. 'You can hate her if you want to.'

Valerie shook her head. 'That wouldn't accomplish anything.'

'All I know right now is that her own baby died,' Serena said. 'She couldn't deal with it. She became