Chapter 4: The Woman Outside My Window
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The woman standing beside the silver sedan looked like me in a way that went beyond resemblance. She had the same narrow shoulders, the same dark hair, the same small scar near her chin that I had received when I fell off a bicycle at nine years old.
Even the way she held her head was familiar.
But there was something else.
She was wearing the blue coat I had lost five years ago.
I had searched every closet in our house for that coat after Michael's funeral. I remembered leaving it on the passenger seat of his car the night before his accident. The following morning, both the coat and the car were gone.
The police had eventually returned his personal belongings to me.
The coat hadn't been among them.
Now it was on the back of a woman who looked exactly like me.
"Who is she?"" I whispered.
Daniel Reeves moved toward the window, then stopped when Maya grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't let her come inside," my daughter pleaded.
Daniel turned toward her.
"Did you know she was coming?""
Maya shook her head violently.
"No. I swear I didn't.""
"Then how did she find you?""
"I don't know!""
The pounding in my chest grew unbearable.
I looked between them.
"Somebody needs to start explaining what's happening in my house.""
Daniel reached for the curtains.
"First, we need to get away from the window.""
"Why?""
"Because if she's the person I think she is, she won't leave until she gets what she came for.""
"And what is that?""
He looked at the black notebook in my hand.
"That.""
I pressed the notebook against my chest.
"Then she can come inside and explain herself.""
"Laura, please listen to me.""
"No! You don't get to tell me what to do in my own home. You've been meeting my thirteen-year-old daughter behind my back, you've told me my dead husband might still be alive, and now there's a woman outside who has my face. I am finished listening to half-truths.""
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Then ask yourself one question. Why would someone who looks like you wait outside instead of knocking on your door?""
Before I could answer, a car horn sounded.
The woman beside the sedan raised her head.
She was looking directly at Maya's bedroom window.
Then she lifted one hand and waved.
Maya made a strangled sound.
I pulled her against me.
The woman smiled.
It was a small, almost tender smile.
And it was the most frightening thing I had ever seen.
Someone shouted from the hallway.
"Police! Is anyone upstairs?""
I nearly collapsed with relief.
Daniel stepped away from the window.
"Tell them everything," he said.
"But don't let them take that notebook out of your sight.""
Two officers entered the bedroom moments later. One was a broad-shouldered man in his forties, the other a younger woman with her hand resting near her radio.
The older officer looked at me.
"Mrs. Bennett?""
"Yes.""
"I'm Officer Harris. We received a call about an unidentified man in your home. Is everyone all right?""
I glanced at Maya.
She was trembling against my side.
"I don't know," I admitted.
Officer Harris turned toward Daniel.
"Sir, I'm going to need you to step away from the desk.""
Daniel complied immediately.
The younger officer approached Maya.
"Sweetheart, are you hurt?""
Maya shook her head.
"Has this man threatened you?""
"No.""
"Has he touched you?""
"No.""
"Do you know him?""
Maya hesitated.
Then she nodded.
"His name is Daniel. He's a private investigator.""
Officer Harris looked at me.
"Is that correct?""
"I've never met him before today.""
Daniel spoke carefully.
"Mrs. Bennett, your daughter contacted me about her father's death. I've been trying to establish whether she was telling the truth about some documents she found.""
"Her father's death is not your business.""
"It became my business five years ago.""
Officer Harris raised a hand.
"One at a time. Mr. Reeves, do you have identification?""
Daniel reached into his jacket slowly and produced a wallet. Officer Harris examined his identification, then stepped into the hallway to speak over his radio.
The younger officer remained with us.
I took the opportunity to look outside.
The woman in the blue coat was gone.
The silver sedan had disappeared, too.
"Where did she go?"" Maya whispered.
I turned to her.
"Who is she, sweetheart?""
Maya shook her head, tears gathering in her eyes.
"I can't tell you.""
"Why not?""
"Because I promised.""
"Promised whom?""
She looked toward Daniel.
He lowered his eyes.
That was when I understood that whatever had been happening over the past three months, Daniel wasn't the only adult who had asked my daughter to keep secrets.
And my daughter had been carrying those secrets alone.
Officer Harris returned.
"We're going to need statements from everyone. Mr. Reeves, you'll come with us to the station while we verify a few things.""
Daniel nodded.
"Of course.""
He picked up his bag, but before he could zip it, I stepped forward.
"The notebook stays with me.""
He studied my face.
Then he nodded.
"Keep it somewhere safe.""
The younger officer glanced at the notebook.
"Is that relevant to the incident?""
"It may be," Daniel replied.
"It concerns a death investigation.""
Officer Harris looked sharply at him.
"What death investigation?""
"Michael Bennett's.""
The older officer stopped writing.
For the first time, he seemed to recognize something beyond the ordinary details of a disturbance call.
"You're referring to the highway accident from five years ago?""
"Yes.""
"That case was closed.""
"Cases can be closed incorrectly.""
Officer Harris looked at me.
"Mrs. Bennett, did you request a review of your husband's death?""
"No.""
"Then we'll need to discuss that separately.""
He took Daniel downstairs.
Before leaving the bedroom, Daniel turned back toward me.
"Laura, there's one thing I need you to understand.""
I didn't answer.
"Your daughter didn't contact me because she wanted to hurt you. She contacted me because someone told her that you were in danger.""
Maya started crying again.
"Daniel, stop!""
He looked at her with something resembling regret.
Then the officers escorted him away.
When the front door closed, the house became terribly quiet.
I sat on Maya's bed and held the notebook in both hands.
She stood by the desk, twisting the hem of her uniform.
"Maya," I said, "sit down.""
She obeyed.
"Tell me about the woman outside.""
She stared at the carpet.
"How long have you known her?""
"Since August.""
"August?""
"She came to the school one afternoon. She said she knew Dad.""
I swallowed.
"Did she tell you her name?""
Maya nodded.
"What is it?""
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
"Maya.""
"I can't.""
"Why?""
"Because you'll hate me.""
The words broke something inside me.
I moved closer and took her hands.
"There is nothing you could tell me that would make me stop loving you.""
She looked up at me, searching my face as though she desperately wanted to believe it.
"She said Dad was alive.""
The room went silent.
I felt my fingers go cold around hers.
"What?""
"She said he survived the accident. She said he had to disappear because some people wanted to hurt him.""
I shook my head.
"No. The police identified his body.""
"She said the body wasn't Dad's.""
"That's impossible.""
"That's what I told her!""
Maya's voice cracked.
"She showed me pictures. She knew things about him that nobody else knew. She knew what he called me when I was little.
She knew about the rabbit he buried in the backyard. She even knew about the song he used to sing when he put me to bed.""
I remembered that song.
Michael used to sing an old country melody, always forgetting the second verse and inventing ridiculous lyrics instead. Maya would laugh so hard she could barely breathe.
No photograph could prove those memories.
But someone who had known Michael intimately might have known them.
"Why didn't you tell me?"" I whispered.
"Because she said you were part of it.""
"Part of what?""
"She said you knew Dad was alive. She said you'd been lying to me my whole life.""
I pulled my hands away.
Maya immediately reached for me again.
"Mom, I didn't believe her at first. I swear. But then I found the notebook, and there were names and dates and things about Dad's accident. Daniel said he'd help me find out the truth.""
"And the man coming into our house?""
"Daniel.""
"Why was he meeting you here?""
"He said he needed to see the original notebook. He thought someone had taken pages out of it.""
I opened the cover and flipped through the entries.
The pages were numbered in the upper corners.
Thirty-seven.
Thirty-eight.
Forty.
Forty-one.
I turned to the back.
The final page was numbered fifty-two.
But the binding showed torn paper near the middle.
Several pages were missing.
My hands began to shake.
"Did you remove any pages?""
Maya shook her head.
"No.""
"Did Daniel?""
"I don't know.""
I studied the torn edges.
Someone had deliberately removed pages from my husband's notebook.
Someone had wanted those words gone.
And someone had known exactly where to look.
A sudden thought made me stand.
"The garage.""
Maya frowned.
"What?""
"The box. You said you found the notebook there.""
"Yes.""
"Did you look at anything else?""
She nodded.
"There were some envelopes and a little key.""
"What key?""
"Small and brass. It had a number written on it.""
"What number?""
Maya squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember.
"Seventeen.""
I hurried downstairs.
The wooden box was still on the shelf where I had left it. I pulled it down and placed it on the workbench.
Inside were Michael's old watches, several receipts, two photographs, and an empty envelope.
The little brass key was gone.
I searched the box again.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a folded piece of paper tucked beneath the lining.
I carefully pulled it free.
It was an old photograph, creased down the center.
Three people stood outside a hospital entrance.
Michael was on the left, younger and thinner than I remembered him during his final year. A woman stood beside him, her hand resting on his arm.
The third person was me.
Or someone who looked exactly like me.
The woman wore a blue coat.
My blue coat.
On the back, Michael had written a date.
Five years before the accident.
Beneath the date were seven words.
*Two mothers. One child. Never tell Laura.*
I stared at the handwriting until the letters blurred.
Then my phone rang.
The number was blocked.
I answered without thinking.
A woman's voice came through, soft and familiar.
"Laura, I know you've seen the photograph.""
I couldn't speak.
"I know you're frightened," she continued.
"But if you want to understand what happened to Michael, you need to come to the old Riverside maternity clinic.""
"Who are you?""
A pause.
Then she said, "I'm the woman who held your daughter before you did.""
The call ended.
I stood frozen in the garage.
Behind me, Maya whispered, "Mom?""
I turned.
She was staring at the photograph in my hand.
May you like
Then she said something I would never forget.
"She told me that I'm not the only child.""
