‘Lisa,’ Hannah whispered.
Lisa smiled but her eyes were cold. ‘You wanted to see me,’ she said.
THIRTY-FOUR
‘How did you get in here?’ Hannah asked.
‘I climbed up the fire escape and came in through the window. The lock was feeble. It gave way immediately.’
Hannah studied her daughter. Lisa looked thinner. Her curly black hair was twisted into a knot on the top of her head. Behind her glasses, her eyes were steely. In spite of everything, Hannah was strangely happy to set eyes on her. She stifled the reflex to go to her, and put her arms around her. ‘Did you see Dominga?’
Lisa frowned. ‘Who? Oh, you mean the dyke I saw wandering through the apartment in camouflage. I was outside the window when she came in but she didn’t see me. Wasn’t she the one in the video on YouTube?’
So, Hannah thought. Just as they’d feared. Lisa had seen that clip and recognized them. ‘Yes.’
‘Bad luck for you that her story was so heartrending. Lots of people saw that video. I wouldn’t have bothered with it but somebody told me to look at it. And once I saw it, I was able to find you.’ Lisa could barely contain her satisfaction. ‘It was easy after that. I owe that soldier.’
‘Yes, you do,’ said Hannah. ‘She rescued Sydney.’
‘Maybe I ought to buy her a thank-you gift,’ said Lisa sarcastically.
Hannah stared at Lisa, whose expression was twisted into a sneer. She could not avoid noticing the contrast between Dominga, the young soldier who had come intending to protect her, and her own daughter, who had already tried to kill her once. She shook her head. ‘Why did you come through the window? Why didn’t you come to the door? I invited you. You knew I was expecting you.’
Lisa’s lips curved but there was no smile in her eyes. ‘I thought your little invitation might be booby trapped.’
Hannah leaned over the bed and set the stuffed animals down on the pillows. ‘It was no trick,’ she said.
‘Are those Sydney’s?’
‘Yes.’
‘Where is she?’
Hannah stared at her. ‘Let’s go into the living room.’
‘I asked you a question, Mother,’ said Lisa.
Hannah did not reply. She walked out of the bedroom and went into the tiny living room, sitting down in an armchair by the front window. She looked outside. The trees had lost their leaves and their trunks, the branches, the sky, the street and the sidewalk all looked bleak and gray. A few people shuffled past, bundled up in coats. It was the end of autumn. Winter was warning of its arrival.
Lisa came into the living room and sat down in the corner of the sofa. It was as if it were an ordinary day. A mother and daughter, settling in for a conversation. Maybe some tea. Except that, looking at her daughter across the narrow room, Hannah felt as if she could hardly breathe.
‘You can take your coat off,’ said Hannah.
‘No, thanks,’ said Lisa. She put her hand in her pocket as if to check that there was something she needed inside. Then she glanced around the modest, shabby room. ‘So how long have you been in this dump?’
‘We’ve pretty much stayed put here since we stopped . . . running.’ Hannah looked ruefully around the room. ‘I admit it isn’t exactly luxurious.’
‘Luxurious,’ Lisa scoffed. ‘It’s a slum.’
‘We’ve been comfortable here, all the same. Are you still in medical school?’
Lisa shrugged and looked away, stuffing her hands in her pockets. ‘I quit. They were giving me a hard time.’
‘About what?’
Lisa looked at her in disbelief. ‘Really? You don’t know?’
‘You were such a gifted student.’
‘I had a hard time studying after my parents kidnapped my kid, OK?’
‘I thought they might have a problem with your larceny conviction.’
Lisa looked at her mother with loathing. ‘You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You know, I was tempted to call the police on you when I got your message. I thought I’d tell them where they could find a kidnapper.’
Hannah gazed back at her without flinching. ‘But then again, I might mention to them that I could identify you on the subway surveillance tape. As the person who pushed me off the platform.’
‘So, we’re even,’ said Lisa calmly.
Hannah looked at her daughter in disbelief. ‘Even? You think that’s even? You tried to kill me, Lisa. You very nearly succeeded.’
‘Not quite even,’ said Lisa. ‘I still want Sydney back.’
Hannah stifled the urge to start screaming at her. Instead, she forced herself to remain calm. ‘Where do you live now?’
‘I live in the house,’ said Lisa. ‘I keep it very tidy.’
‘I talked to your grandmother today. She said you kept in touch with her for a while.’
‘She’s a horror,’ muttered Lisa, disgusted. ‘It was all I could do not to smack her across the face. Did she know you were hiding here? She always claimed that she knew nothing.’
‘She knew nothing,’ said Hannah.
‘This worked out well for you, didn’t it? You got away from your nightmare of a mother. And from me. You got to keep Sydney.’
Hannah shook her head. ‘I never wanted to get away from you. I loved you. I loved you from before you were born. But once I learned about your vile plans for Sydney, and you threatened to blame everything on your father, we had no choice but to run.’
Lisa shook her head. ‘Tell yourself that, Mother. I’ve never heard such pathetic rationalizing. You steal my daughter and then you make up all these excuses for yourself. You are a kidnapper. That’s how the law sees it. I hope it’s been worth it.’
‘These have been the worst two years of my life,’ said
