“I got a call this morning from the interviewer in Boston. I guess he wanted to tell me before he went on a trip tomorrow. Anyhow, it’s unofficial until they can sort out some details when he gets back, but basically, they’re offering me the job. If all goes well, I’d start in August.”
Meredith’s look of concern grew dim. She seemed to have aged ten years since their last visit. She picked up a kitchen towel, wiped her hands. “And ... you’re going to take it.”
“I am—was. I’m not sure. There’s been a lot going on. More than you know about.”
A pause. “I’m listening.”
Audra heaved a sigh, too tired to filter her words. “All right, then. Here goes.”
Once her internal gate opened, the details rolled out in a long, breathless string. The drawings, the therapist, the book, the soldier. Nazi spies and wartime subs, plane crashes and electric chairs. A German phrase and inscription, the name of a man who remained a mystery.
Even if she wanted to, Audra couldn’t stop purging. Every admission was a burden lifted, a shackle unlocked. When the entire summary had run its course, Meredith leaned back against the counter, her shock betrayed only by her eyes.
“And you believe ... Jack has been reincarnated?” Her tone dragged with the same disbelief Audra had initially directed at Dr. Shaw. The word reincarnated in itself conjured visions of infomercials reserved for airings at three in the morning.
“I know it sounds crazy. To be honest, I first thought it was all from Jack watching war movies at your house—even though you said he didn’t.” In hindsight, Audra wasn’t proud of those doubts. “But now, given everything that’s happened, I think there’s more to it. There has to be. I just don’t know what.”
Silence expanded between them, filling every cranny of the room.
Meredith stared at the dishcloth in her grip, as if waiting for it to crawl away. Finally she lifted her gaze. “I need to ask you a question,” she said, and Audra readily nodded. “Has this man ... this soldier ... when he comes over ... has he had anything to do with Jack getting hurt? His bruises and the like?”
Audra was so startled by the question, her voice faltered. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“You said he’s been to your apartment.”
“He has, yes. But only once.” Nothing about the guy conveyed a con man or serial killer. “He was just looking for our help.”
“So Jack’s injuries,” Meredith went on, “they’re all from you, then.”
“Yes, I told you that. I ...” The realization came slowly at first, then hit with the force of a grenade. “Meredith, are you accusing me of something?”
Meredith struggled to answer.
That alone said it all.
Just then, Jack ran into the room. “Mom, look!” he exclaimed, raising a rifle in the air. “Check out what Grandpa gave me.”
Now it was Audra’s turn to be shocked. “That was the surprise gift?”
Robert entered with a prideful grin and ruffled Jack’s hair. “It’s just like the one I grew up with. Mere and I happened across it at an antique store in Sellwood last week.”
Audra kept her voice neutral in front of Jack. “I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want him hunting, for birds or anything else.”
“Oh, well, sure. But it’s only a BB gun. Harmless as pie.”
Audra had removed enough BBs from the bodies of defenseless cats to know this wasn’t the case. Besides, the last thing Jack needed was a weapon to amplify his wartime confusion. At the very least, Robert should have asked her first.
“You know what, Jack?” she said. “It’s getting pretty late. We should get going.”
“But Grandpa said we could go shoot at soup cans.”
“Another day.”
His shoulders dropped along with his smile, tempting her to give in. But a single glance at Meredith eliminated the notion.
It went without saying that Audra had made her decision about moving, and now there would be no delay.
She immediately packed up Jack’s gifts, except for one. “We’ll keep the BB gun here where it’s safe. Okay, buddy? Now, say good-bye to your grandparents.”
He obeyed without protest and followed her to the car.
While driving away, Audra looked at Jack in the rearview mirror. How could anyone, much less a family member, believe she would ever abuse her son?
A single thought tamped her outrage: the chance that Meredith wasn’t alone in her suspicions.
Audra’s craving for a solution had never been greater.
She had lost her chance to save Devon. If she’d examined each of his symptoms to uncover the truth, the outcome could have been different. She wasn’t about to repeat her error, not with Jack. If necessary, she’d search the earth, the sea, the sky for the answer.