As they walked through the townhouse, Alice explained, "I don't know why we stayed in the house so long. I'm so much happier here. I think Richard felt that if we moved, in some way we'd be leaving Karen behind. He never got over losing her, you know."

Jean thought about the handsome Tudor-style house that she had admired so much when she was growing up. I knew it like the back of my hand, she thought. I was in and out of it when Laura lived there, and then Alice and Mr. Sommers were always so nice to me. I wish I had known Karen better. "Did anyone I might have known buy the house?" she asked.

"I don't think so. The people who bought it from us were from upstate. They sold it last year. I understand the new owner did some renovating and is planning to rent it furnished. A lot of people think that Jack Emerson is the real buyer. The rumor is that he's been picking up a lot of property in town. He has certainly come a long way from the kid who used to sweep out offices. He's quite the entrepreneur now."

"He's chairman of the reunion."

"And the driving force behind it. There's never been this much hoopla over a twentieth anniversary at Stonecroft." Alice Sommers shrugged. "But at least it got you here. I hope you're hungry. Waffles and strawberries are the breakfast menu."

It was over their second cup of coffee that Jean took out the faxes and the envelope with the brush and showed them to Alice, and told her about Lily. "Dr. Connors knew a couple who wanted a baby.

They were patients of his, which means they must have lived in this area. Alice, I don't know whether to go to the police or get a private investigator. I don't know what to do."

"You mean you had a baby at age eighteen and never told anyone about it?" Alice reached across the table and took Jean's hand.

"You knew my mother and father. They'd have had a shouting match about whose fault it was that I got into trouble. I might as well have distributed flyers around town with the news."

"And you've never told anyone?"

"Not one single soul. I had heard that Dr. Connors helped people adopt babies. He wanted me to tell my parents, but I was of age and he said he had a patient who had learned she could not have a child. She and her husband were planning to adopt, and they were absolutely wonderful people. When he spoke to them, they immediately said they'd be thrilled to have the baby. He got me a job in the office of a nursing home in Chicago, which gave me the cover of being able to say that I wanted to work for a year before I entered Bryn Mawr."

"I remember how proud we were when we heard about your scholarship."

"I left for Chicago right after we graduated. I needed to get away. And it wasn't just because of the baby. I needed to grieve. I wish you could have known Reed. He was so special. I guess that's why I've never married." Tears welled in Jean's eyes. "I've never felt that way about anyone else." She shook her head and picked up the fax. "I thought of going to the police with this, but I live in Washington. What could they do? 'Do I kiss her or kill her? Just a joke.' This isn't necessarily a threat, is it? But it stands to reason that whoever adopted Lily was living in this area because she was a patient of Dr. Connors. That's why I believe if I go to the police it should be in this town, or at least in this county. Alice, what do you think?"

"I think you're right and I know exactly the right person to contact," Alice said firmly. "Sam Deegan is an investigator for the district attorney's office. He was there the morning we found Karen and has never closed the file on her death. He's become a good friend. He'll find a way to help you."

15

The bus to West Point was scheduled to leave at ten. At nine-fifteen, Jack Emerson left the hotel and made a quick trip home to pick up the necktie he had forgotten to pack. Rita, his wife of fifteen years, was reading the newspaper as she sipped coffee at the breakfast table. When he came in, she looked up indifferently.

"How's the great reunion going, Jack?" The sarcasm that tinged every word she uttered to him was particularly apparent in her greeting.

"I would say it's going very well, Rita," he said amicably.

"Is your room comfortable at the hotel, or do you know?"

"The room is as comfortable as rooms at the Glen-Ridge get. Why don't you join me there and see for yourself?"

"I think I'll pass." Her eyes dropped back to the newspaper, dismissing him.

For a moment he stood looking at her. She was thirty-seven years old, but not one of those women who got better as she aged. Rita had always been reserved, but along the way her narrow lips had acquired an unattractive sullen droop. When she was in her twenties and her hair was loose around her shoulders, she had been genuinely attractive. Now, with her hair drawn tightly back and pinned in a French knot, her skin seemed taut. In fact, everything about her looked pinched and angry. Standing there, Jack realized how thoroughly he disliked her.

It infuriated him that he felt the need to explain his presence in his own home. "I don't have the tie I'll want for the dinner tonight," he snapped. "That's why I stopped by."

She put the paper down. "Jack, when I insisted that Sandy go to boarding school instead of your beloved Stonecroft, you must have known something was in the wind."

"I believe I did." Here it comes, he thought.

"I'm moving back to Connecticut. I've rented a house in Westport for the next six months or so until I see what I want to buy. We'll work out visitation for Sandy. In spite of the fact that you're a rotten husband, you've been a reasonably decent father, and it's better if we keep our separation amicable. I know exactly what you're worth, so let's not waste too much money on lawyers." She stood up. "Hail fellow, well met-jovial, wisecracking, community-minded, smart businessman, Jack Emerson. That's what a lot of people say about you, Jack. But even besides the womanizing, there's a lot festering inside of you. Out of idle curiosity I'd be interested to know what it is."

Jack Emerson smiled coldly. "Of course I knew that when you insisted on sending Sandy to Choate you were beginning your move back to Connecticut. I debated about trying to talk you out of it-that is, for ten seconds I debated. Then I celebrated."

And guess again if you think you know what I'm worth, he added mentally.

Rita Emerson shrugged. "You always said that you had to have the last word. You know something, Jack? Underneath what passes for veneer, you're still the same tacky little janitor who resented pushing mops after school. And if you don't play fair in the divorce, I might have to tell the authorities you confessed to me that you arranged to have that fire set in the medical building ten years ago."

He stared at her. "I never told you that."

"But they will believe me, won't they? You worked in that building and knew every inch of it, and you wanted that property for the mall you were planning. After the fire you were able to buy it cheap." She raised an eyebrow. "Run along and get your school tie, Jack. I'll be on my way out of here in a couple of hours. Maybe you can pick up one of your fellow classmates and have a real reunion here tonight. Be my guest."