Chapter 11 - The Clues Uncovered
Mr. Graves immediately opened it.
Inside the wallet, beneath the cash, was a tiny memory card.
He stared at it.
Dr. Mercer whispered:
“The evidence.”
Mr. Graves looked at me.
Then at the road where Victor had disappeared.
“He knew.”
“What?”
“He knew the wallet was going to be found.”
I suddenly understood.
This had never been about nine hundred dollars.
It had never been about an eviction notice.
It had never even been about me returning a wallet.
My mother had been leaving clues.
One at a time.
Waiting for someone to notice.
Waiting for someone she could trust.
And somehow, that someone had been me.
Three days later, my mother finally came home.
When she saw Mr. Graves standing beside me, she stopped in the doorway.
Her face went white.
“Nathaniel.”
He nodded.
“Claire.”
She looked at me.
Then at the envelope in my hands.
“You found it.”
I nodded.
“You know?”
I shook my head.
“Not everything.”
She walked toward me.
Then dropped to her knees.
I ran into her arms.
She held me so tightly that I could barely breathe.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I cried against her shoulder.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I wanted you to have a childhood.”
“You could’ve told me.”
“I know.”
May you like
She kissed my hair.
“I was scared.”
