“Any genetic illnesses in your family?” I asked. How often do you get to talk to a birth parent? This was my one chance.

“No. Both my grandfathers died of cancer though. Tell your son not to smoke.” He stood up.

“What about Anya?”

“I know little about her family. I’m sorry. She was healthy. But she…she can be impulsive. I’m not sure that is a problem in the blood. He is a handsome baby?” He bit at his lip.

“Yes, he’s a wonderful baby,” I said.

“May I make a suggestion to you before you go?” he asked. We nodded.

“Once you have my—I mean your—son, home with you…Never come back to Russia. Don’t let him ever return to Russia, either. Never. Not once.”

We didn’t know what to say—was this a warning or a threat?—and the silence grew awkward. Then he gestured us, politely, toward the door.

We thanked him and left.

“That was weird at the end,” I said.

“I think it’s going to be all right,” Kyle said, and took my hand. “I think it was his way of not wanting our son to show up looking for him.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe more.”

Please let Boris be making that phone call, I thought. For all our sakes.

47

Iris and Julia

Iris opens the door and Ned stumbles inside. His face is wild.

“I want to know what you know,” Ned says, his voice shaking, “about Kyle killing my mom.”

Iris and Julia stare at him.

“I want to know what was going on between them, and I want to know what you two knew about it. You’ve been protecting him.” Ned’s voice breaks.

Julia starts to speak, but Iris holds up a hand and Julia stops. Iris says quietly: “You getting involved with this Marland guy is what killed her.”

Julia gasps, and Ned blurts, “Don’t you dare blame me! Your husband did this!”

“If he confessed, it’s out of a misguided sense of protecting us. And you, Ned, were the last person to see her. You pretended to call back to her when you and Julia were leaving. You didn’t want her messing up your drug dealing.”

“I would never let anyone hurt my mom!” he screams. “You can’t say this to me!” He takes a step forward and Julia takes a step back.