“That’s right, sweetheart. You called me, because no one else came when you called. But I came, didn’t I?”

Roberts’s hands began to shake. “Yes.”

“Yes, I came. Because I still love you, Geoff. Despite all you put me through, I still love you.” Hetty sighed and patted his bony shoulder. “And I’ll never leave you the way you left me.”

Tears rolled down Roberts’s cheeks. “Promise?”

“Promise. Would you like your breakfast now? A bacon omelet?”

“Please.” Roberts lifted his sickly face. “And could you turn on the TV for me?”

“Of course, Geoff.” Hetty wheeled him into the corner of the room and turned on a small portable TV that rested inside one of the bookshelves. “I’d do anything for you. You know that.” She looked over her shoulder to Decker. “Baby’s going to need to be fed. You want to do it?”

Decker said, “The baby seems well nourished.”

“Of course she is! What do you think I am? A child abuser?”

Decker gave the woman a weak smile. “Let’s wait for Social Services before we give her anything to eat.”

“Why?” Hetty went inside the kitchen that was an out-pouching off the living room. “Do you think I’m going to poison her?”

A chill ran through Decker’s spine. “Just routine procedure.”

Hetty frowned and took out a slab of bacon from the refrigerator. “Are you hungry?”

“No, thank you.”

“It’s your loss.” Hetty smiled. “I make a terrific omelet.” She began to chop up bacon.

Decker said, “Mrs. Roberts, you’ve known all along your daughter is still alive. Why’d you lie?”

Hetty didn’t answer.

“Mrs. Roberts?” Decker said.

“The whore told me to,” Hetty said softly. “To protect Tandy.”

“Protect her from what?”

Hetty shook her head. “I need to speak to my lawyer.”

“Fair enough,” Decker said.

Hetty suddenly turned to him, her eyes ablaze. “What difference does it make if Tandy’s alive or dead? Tandy could never raise a child.”

“This isn’t her child.”

“I don’t know that.”

Decker said, “Do you know where Marie is?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care! I took the baby because I thought it was Tandy’s. That’s the only reason I have this child!” Hetty took out a bowl and began to scramble some eggs. “I was only trying to help my daughter. She can’t cope now, she certainly couldn’t have coped then. This only justifies what I did ten years ago.”

“What did you do?” Decker asked.

Hetty bit her lip and didn’t answer.

“You forced her to have abortions, didn’t you, Hetty?”

“Just one abortion. The second pregnancy was in her mind.”

Sounds familiar, Decker thought.