"Inspector Greenman doesn't think so. He believes the person was waiting for her and knew how to avoid the cameras." As I talked, I realized I was answering more questions than Kade was, and it gave me pause. I didn't know anything about this man. I didn't know what his relationship to my mother was. Hell, he could have shot her from this very building.

Anxiety ran through me as my imagination went into overdrive. I told myself to calm down. Kade hadn’t been anything more than helpful, and he was the only person I could talk to who knew my mother, or at least knew the woman she was now.

"What's she like? Personality-wise?" I asked.

"Laura is friendly. She always has a smile on her face," Kade said. "She's easy to talk to, but she also seems private. Our conversations never go deep, unless we're talking about art, but that's not personal to her, only to me." He paused. "She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would pretend to be dead and run out on kids and a husband."

"But that's what she did."

"She must have had a reason."

"I can't imagine what reason could justify faking her death. But I need to find out why she left." I paused. "I was going to go to a hotel, but maybe I should stay here tonight."

"I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind. Not if she told the nurse to call you. So, what's your story?" Kade asked. "I know you live in Carmel. What do you do?"

"I run a clothing boutique with my sister." As I relayed that information, I realized that for the past several hours, I'd completely forgotten about the job offer and the big change my life was about to take.

"Why didn't your sister come with you today?"

"I didn't tell her what happened. She's in the early stages of a high-risk pregnancy, and I didn't want to upset her until I knew what was going on. I thought I would come here and find out it was all a mistake. But it's not. I should be happy my mother is alive, but then there are so many questions."

"That's rough," he said.

"You have no idea."

"I have some idea. Not the part about your mother coming back to life, but I know what it feels like to lose a parent. I was four when my father died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"I would be shaken to the core to find out he wasn't really dead," Kade added, meeting my gaze. "Maybe you should think of this as a second chance."