Detective Ortiz called me the following morning.
“Emma, we need to verify something with your mother.”
My stomach tightened.
“What happened?”
“We've obtained information suggesting Agnes Vale's financial affairs continued being managed as though she were alive after her reported death.”
“By Marian?”
“We're examining who had authority over the accounts. For now, I'd like your mother to identify a few signatures and documents.”
I looked toward the kitchen.
Mom was preparing breakfast, though she had barely slept.
I'd stayed with her overnight.
Every creak of the floorboards had made me sit upright.
Every passing car had sent my eyes toward the window.
The house where I'd spent my childhood no longer felt entirely safe.
“Detective,” I asked, “do you think Agnes might still be alive?”
A pause.
“We're keeping several possibilities open.”
That wasn't an answer.
But it was enough to make me remember something Mom had said.
At Marian's visit, she'd claimed Agnes was buried after a private cremation.
