Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
Late one night, unable to sleep, while Ned was passed out on the sofa, Flo kissed his cheek and left their apartment carrying a small bag.
In the still of the night she walked across the tranquil town to the cemetery. She made her way on the soft, dewy grass to the headstone of her little boy, Pike. She reached into her bag, removed her small bottle of pills and shook every one into her mouth, washing them down with several gulps of whiskey from the bottle she’d brought.
She reached into the bag for one more item, holding it tenderly, staring in the ambient light, smiling as she wept and lay down.
The next day a groundskeeper discovered Flo’s lifeless body on top of her son’s grave. Her arms were folded on her chest over a framed picture, Flo’s favorite of her daughter holding her son on her lap, both of them embodying joy with huge laughing smiles.
Their eyes were shining like dying stars.
Afterward, in a letter sent to his daughter in prison, Ned Mitchell wrote:
I blame you for everything. You are no longer my child.
In her cell, reading it through her tears, she crumpled it and was poised to flush it away. But she hesitated, smoothed it out on her table and tucked it away in a book with her other papers. She began humming the song, “MMMBop,” then softly, through tears, she sang all the lyrics, which she knew by heart, liking the line about pain and strife.
In the months and years that passed, word got to her that her father had drifted to Vancouver, Toronto, or to the US, where he had an estranged brother.
They were out of each other’s lives forever.
Forty-Two
Santa Ana, Orange County, California
Present day
The parking lot at the Vane & Meechum Memorial Chapel was filling up but Emma found a space. She took a moment to check her face in the mirror.
She wore little makeup; a dark, conservative dress; little jewelry and flat shoes.
Everything looked fine.
She’d told Ben and Kayla that a custodian at her school had passed away and she was going to his memorial service.
Another lie.
Emma slid on large, dark glasses. She was taking a risk, but she didn’t have a choice, she thought while walking through the lot. It was busy with people arriving.
I’ve got to follow this through.
In the chapel she estimated there were more than a hundred mourners. She found a seat in a rear pew and her thoughts churned.
Had Marisa’s threat ended with her death? Who was she? How did she know her and why torment her with her note?
Emma removed her dark glasses, scanned the crowd and wondered.
Is there someone among you who knows the answers? Is there someone among you from Eternity? No, no that’s impossible. Yet, Marisa’s note…