‘Does this person know everything about your lives?’ asked Father Luke incredulously.
‘I don’t know. But I have to think ahead. I have to assume the worst.’ She looked from one man to the other. Father Luke gazed back at her openly. Spencer seemed skeptical.
‘I know this all sounds weird and paranoid. I wish I could tell you more,’ said Hannah.
Spencer looked at her with narrowed eyes. ‘So do I.’
Father Luke looked sadly at Hannah but he spoke to Spencer. ‘Hannah is in a lot of pain. She needs us to help her.’
Spencer sighed. ‘You want me to go in, pick up the packed bags and bring them out. And do what? Take them home?’
‘Yes, I guess so,’ said Hannah. ‘When things settle down I’ll let you know where to ship them.’
Spencer shook his head. ‘Call me dim but I have to ask. Aren’t you going back to that house yourself when you’ve recovered? Can’t you send the bags?’
‘This person might follow me. Find out where I’m sending them.’
Spencer frowned at the priest. ‘I don’t like this,’ he said.
Father Luke shrugged. ‘That’s up to you. If you don’t want to do it, then don’t. It’s just a request, right?’ he asked, looking at Hannah.
‘Yes,’ Hannah whispered, gazing down at her own hands lying limp on the covers.
‘Give me the keys and we’ll see what we can do,’ said Father Luke.
Hannah slid open the drawer of her bedside table and reached in. She pulled out the keys and handed them to the priest. ‘I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t desperate.’
Spencer was already shaking his head.
‘He’s very law-abiding,’ said Father Luke apologetically.
‘I don’t need for him to break the law,’ Hannah protested.
‘I can hear you,’ said Spencer in a frosty tone. ‘Luke, can we go now? I need to get to Media.’ Glancing impatiently at his watch, Spencer headed toward the door. He turned back to Hannah. ‘I hope you feel better soon,’ he said.
Hannah nodded and pressed her lips together in a dejected expression.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Father Luke. ‘I know him. He’ll do it. He just has to get used to the idea. But, Anna, I have to say, are you really intending to go back to that house all by yourself? Knowing that the person who pushed you in the subway is still out there, hoping to . . . harm you?’
Hannah felt agitated. Spencer had already balked at her plan. She didn’t want to think about what was going to transpire when she went home. She definitely didn’t want to speculate aloud about it. ‘I’ll be here a while longer. I’m not leaving anytime soon,’ she said. ‘My recovery . . . you know. It will take some time.’
Father Luke’s eyes were filled with worry. ‘I’ll let you get some rest. You need it.’ He put a hand on hers. ‘Would you like us to pray together?’
It won’t do any good, Hannah thought hopelessly. But she nodded. ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘I need all the help I can get.’
THIRTY-ONE
Three days later, when Hannah was about to be released, Frank Petrusa was dispatched by Father Luke to pick her up. Hannah understood immediately why he had been chosen. Based on what she had told him, Father Luke was worried that they might encounter some kind of confrontation when Hannah returned to Mamie Revere’s house, and Frank, an ex-recon marine, was the best man to handle such a situation. Even with one hand missing, he had an air of indomitability. Hannah sat in the wheelchair brought to her room by the nurse, her purse on her lap, waiting for him. She gazed out at the gray day, and wondered what misery this homecoming might bring. If Lisa were still watching the house she would know instantly, the moment that Hannah arrived home in a stranger’s car, that Adam and Sydney were gone. What would she do then?
Her phone rang and Hannah jumped, her heart already thumping at the thought of her daughter’s implacable anger. She knew it wasn’t Lisa. Only Adam had this number. Adam and Father Luke.
Adam had called several times during that week, but said they were not yet settled in a place. Hannah knew that they had headed west, toward Chicago but not which state they were in. Adam did not want to be specific. ‘The less you know, the better,’ he told her.
Hannah answered the phone cautiously, and was relieved to hear his voice. She explained that despite his reluctance, Spencer White had retrieved the suitcases and brought them to his house without incident. Of course, there was nowhere to send them as yet. Or was there? she asked.
Adam sighed. ‘No, not yet. How are you feeling?’
‘I’m . . . better,’ she said.
‘A lot better?’ he asked.
‘I’m going home today,’ she said.
Adam was silent at the other end.
‘Frank Petrusa is picking me up, and getting me settled in. I’ll be in good hands,’ she said.
‘Until he leaves,’ Adam said in a gloomy tone. ‘Hannah, I wish I had never agreed to this.’
Hannah ignored the desperation in his voice. ‘How is Sydney?’
Adam had reported that Sydney had been cooperative and quiet during the journey. ‘Can a child be depressed?’ he asked Hannah.
‘Yes, certainly,’ said Hannah.
‘Then she’s depressed.’
‘I don’t doubt it,’ Hannah said.
Frank appeared at the doorway of her room and tapped on the open door. Hannah motioned for him to come in.
‘Adam, I have to go,’ she whispered. ‘Frank is here.’
She
