“She was clever,” Allie assured her, and then admitted, “Stella said she wasn’t sure it would work, but if it didn’t and she and the baby died, then she felt it was a better ending than they would have suffered with the group.”

“So she took a block of concrete with her?” Tybo asked with disbelief. “How the hell did she break it up?”

“Not a block, just a bit of concrete powder she managed to scratch out of the floor,” Allie explained. “No more than a couple of spoons’ worth that she kept in a baggie. Stella showed it to me once. She kept it in her pocket at all times.”

“What happened to her husband?” Magnus asked. “You do not mention him being in Calgary.”

“No.” Allie frowned at the thought of Stella’s husband and then sighed and told them, “Stephen decided to go with her when they started planning, but the night they were to leave he said it wouldn’t work if they both went. He said he’d stay behind to delay anyone realizing she was gone and give her a better chance. He wanted her to get as far away as possible before they realized anything was up and pursued her. He also said that by remaining behind and pretending to be loyal, he might be able to throw them off her scent if they were getting too close to her. He said this was the best way he could think of to protect her and the baby. But later, after the baby was born, he’d find and join her. In the meantime they should both think of a way to make it appear as if the three of them had died.”

She let that sink in, and then said, “And then he gave her this.”

Allie reached for the chain that held the locket Stella had given her that last night, and that she always wore around her neck so that she wouldn’t lose it before Liam was old enough to have it. She tugged it out from under her blouse where the long chain allowed it to rest by her heart, and then lifted it off over her head and stretched her arm out so that it dangled above the center of the table for all of them to see. She thought it was beautiful. The locket was a heart with the front made up of detailed wings. She let them look for a moment, and then pulled her arm back and opened the wings covering the front of the locket. They were tiny doors that, when opened, revealed a picture inside.

Allie stared briefly at the happy young couple in the tiny picture. It was a wedding photo of a dark-haired man with a wide grin, and his arm around a petite brunette who was beaming at the camera. They looked incredibly happy. It was hard to look at when you knew the horrors that had awaited them, she thought, and then sighed and held it out again so that the others could see the photo too.