It was also possible the police had tracked Lisa down and she and Ruby were being held. Even if Lisa claimed full responsibility, the cops might keep Ruby. If they let Ruby go, there’d be no reason for her to come back. She’d be sent to a different family, to crawl into a different man’s bed.
Jon sat in the living room, thinking about his options. He couldn’t go to the police, not unless he knew Lisa was being held. If she was, he could take full blame, and the police might release her. But if the police hadn’t made the connection yet between Lisa and the baby, it would be a disaster for Jon to show up.
He could call her office, to see if Lisa was there, but that would only be to make himself feel better. If she wasn’t there, it could make things worse. Maybe Lisa had changed her mind and left Sexton. She could have called into work that morning, said she was sick and not coming in, and grabbed a ride out of town with a trucker, just as Jon had grabbed a ride in with one. For all he knew, Lisa could be at Matt’s already. She could have brought Ruby with her.
Maybe Lisa had figured out a way to let the authorities know she was to blame and no one else was. Or maybe she didn’t care anymore if someone else was held responsible just as long as she could be with Gabe.
Or maybe she was working late and would come home any minute, and she and Jon could discuss what to do next.
Jon went into the kitchen and took some chicken out of the refrigerator, but after a bite or two he put it back. He was tired, dirty, and hungry, but more than anything, he was scared. How many years had it been since he was alone in a house? Even back in Pennsylvania it seemed like there had always been someone around. And back in Pennsylvania there had been no reason to feel this engulfing terror.
He walked upstairs. He couldn’t be sure what tomorrow would bring, but he’d be better off getting a good night’s sleep. It could well be the last one he’d have in this house, in any house.
Lisa’s bedroom door was closed. Jon opened it and turned on a light. She was sitting in her desk chair, her head down on the desk. Almost immediately Jon noticed the gun lying on the floor by her side.
Jon had been with his father when he died. He had seen his mother’s corpse hanging from a tree. Death had been as much of a part of his life as hunger and fear.
He walked to Lisa. She’d shot herself in her heart. There was no way of knowing if the shot had killed her or if she’d died a slower death, her blood flowing out of her. It didn’t matter, really. Dead was dead.
She’d left a note.
I take full responsibility for the kidnapping of the Stockton baby.
The only other people involved were the baby’s biological parents.
I knew the baby’s father for a number of years and arranged for his wife to be my domestic. When I realized their baby had been taken from them without their consent, I came up with a plan to return the baby to them. I told them what to say to the Stocktons, and I arranged for them to have a car to leave Sexton with their baby.
No one else knew of the plan.
Jon put the note back on the desk and left the room. He’d decide what to do about Lisa some other time. He had to make sure Ruby was gone. He didn’t think Lisa would’ve killed her, but he needed to be certain. There was a chance Ruby was hiding in the house somewhere.
Besides, looking for Ruby distracted him. And he needed the distraction.
He went through the entire house, opening closets and cupboards and small spaces Ruby couldn’t possibly have crawled into. He checked the garage, went back and searched the house all over again. Then he gritted his teeth and returned to Lisa’s bedroom. Ruby wasn’t under the bed or in the closet or anywhere else. She’d probably heard the shot, saw Lisa’s body, and run.
But wherever she ran to, it wasn’t to the authorities. Lisa had been undisturbed since her death Tuesday morning. Maybe even Monday. There were ways to test how long a person had been dead, but he was no expert. Dead was dead.
He went to his bedroom and sat on the bed. He could leave, he thought, walk to the greenhouses in the morning and grab a lift with a trucker. He could make his way to Matt’s, slowly, cautiously. Someone would have to tell Gabe his mother was dead. Jon had told Miranda about Mom, after all. By now he was a pro.
The problem was Ruby. If Jon could be sure she’d truly gotten out, then he could leave, too. But how could Ruby have managed that? Even if she’d gone back to White Birch, to her family, she’d be picked up by a guard and punished for running away. And if she were still in Sexton, the same thing would happen.
She couldn’t have been caught yet because she would have told the police about Lisa. But she would be caught. It was inevitable. And once she was, the police might decide she was responsible for everything. Notes could be destroyed. Suicides could be called murders. Why would a claver have helped a pair of no-good grubs? Ruby must have been in on it, helped grab the baby, then killed Lisa and run away.
She was Jon’s responsibility. In some ways, she was Jon’s friend.
He would have to tell someone about Lisa. He would have to stick around, hoping no one suspected him, until Ruby was found. And once she was, he’d have to protect her. If he survived all that, and he wasn’t sure he would, he could leave Sexton.
But he couldn’t protect Ruby unless he protected himself first.
He walked back to Lisa’s room and stared at her. She was trying to protect everybody. If Ruby had stayed in the house and called the authorities, she might have been fine. If he hadn’t come home, he’d be fine. Everybody would be fine. But he’d come home and Ruby had run, and decisions had to be made.
He went downstairs and found the address book. It was nine thirty. Too late to call people, but he didn’t have a choice.
The first call Jon made was to Dr. Goldman. It was nice to pretend he could be kept out of things, but that option no longer existed.
“I apologize for calling so late,” Jon said, “but there’s something I have to tell you.”
“Is it Sarah?” Dr. Goldman asked. “Have you heard something from Alex? Is Sarah all right?”
“She’s fine,” Jon said. “It’s Lisa. She killed herself.”
“Are you sure?” Dr. Goldman asked.
“Yes sir,” Jon said. “She shot herself. I came home and found her.”
“Oh, Jon,” Dr. Goldman said. “I’m so sorry. Does Gabe know?”
“He’s not here,” Jon said. “He’s with Miranda.” He paused, trying to decide what he had to tell Sarah’s father, what he could avoid telling him.
“Dr. Goldman, Sarah’s fine,” he began. “But she’s with Alex and Miranda and Gabe and the baby. Miranda’s baby was alive, and we found her and got her back to them.”
“Sarah did that?” Dr. Goldman asked.
“We all did,” Jon said. “Lisa, too. Lisa left a note saying she was completely responsible, her and Alex and Miranda. She says she knew Alex, but she didn’t say anything about Miranda being family.”
“You’re going to have to call the authorities,” Dr. Goldman said. “I would do it for you, but I think it would be better if you make the call.”
“Yes sir,” Jon said. “I’ll make that call right now.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Dr. Goldman said.
“No,” Jon said. “Thank you, but I’m better off if you stay away. Sarah’s better off, too. If I need you, I’ll call.”
“I don’t like leaving you alone,” Dr. Goldman said.
“I don’t like being alone,” Jon replied. “But it’s better if I am. I’ll tell them I called you. Don’t lie about that. Just about Miranda.”
“I’m here if you need me,” Dr. Goldman said. “And, Jon? Your mother would have been proud of your helping Alex and Miranda. Very proud. Don’t ever forget that.”