“I would have preferred she not tamper with the past, but I thought she had a right to know if she had cousins or whatever out there.” She pressed her lips together, her eyes on me again. She drew in a breath. “Well, what popped up was the surname ‘Christopher.’ Over and over and over again. Lots of second and third cousins and … I don’t know what else, but it was clear that name had significance in her family tree.”

A chill ran up my arms. I felt Oliver’s hand on my back. “It’s a pretty common name,” I said. Was Judith thinking I was somehow related to the baby she gave away? And how would Jesse have known that? And what possible difference could it make?

Oliver rummaged around on the information counter and found a small notepad and pencil. He set it on the counter near me. Patted my hand. I was sure it felt cold to him. My blood seemed to have stopped flowing.

“Let’s figure this out,” he said, beginning to write on the notepad. “Anna had a baby in 1940.”

“That’s right,” Judith said from her seat in front of the mural. Her gaze was still riveted on my face. I felt her studying me.

Anna had a baby in 1940 with Martin Drapple, I thought, repelled.

“Why haven’t you told me any of this?” Gloria asked Judith, and we all ignored her.

“The baby was given to neighbors of Jesse’s family,” Oliver said, jotting something on the notepad. “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, they had the surname Christopher.” He looked at me. “What do you know about your lineage on the Christopher side?”

I thought about it. “Not much. My parents aren’t exactly the type to hang on to old mementos and photographs. I know my father was born in Cary. My grandparents on that side lived in Cary, too. They died when I was pretty young.”

“Could your grandfather have been born here in Edenton?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t think so … I never heard my parents mention anything about Edenton. I’d never even heard of Edenton myself before I met Lisa. And besides, I never met Jesse. How could he have known who I was?”