Page 17 of Little Last Words

“No, but the next day Mommy got a new phone, and Daddy never called again.”

A new phone and a new phone number too, no doubt.

“What did you do yesterday?” I asked.

“We went to the park, and Mommy pushed me on the swings. Then we went to the store. Mommy got some red lipstick, and I wanted some lipstick too, so she let me get one, but it’s a kid’s one. Then we went to Grandma’s house, and we had dinner, and Grandma gave me Kiki. I played with Grandma’s dog, Rocky, and then we came home.”

“What happened after you got home?”

“I asked Mommy if I could stay up, but she said no. It was past my bedtime, and she was tired. I got in bed, and Mommy read me a story about a hungry caterpillar, and then she turned on my nightlight, and I went to sleep.” She bit down on her lip. “Did you help her? Is Mommy awake now?”

I had no idea what to say, or how to tell her that her mother wasn’t sleeping. She was dead. She wasn’t coming back; she wasnevercoming back.”

“Sweetie, I need to tell you something about your mom, okay?”

Tears began streaming down her cheeks.

As much as she wanted her mother to be all right, for some miracle to occur to make everything better, I believed she was coming to terms with the truth—a truth no child should have to face.

She buried her head into Kiki’s fur, wailing, “I want to go home! I want my mommy!”

CHAPTER7

As I rushed to Sadie’s side, my cell phone buzzed. It was Hunter. Sadie’s grandmother had been found. Her name was Angelica DuPont. Hunter had spoken to her by phone, and Angelica was en route to my house.

I ended the call and draped an arm around Sadie, pulling her close. She nestled in, sniffling into the side of my shirt. Not long after, Foley received a call. He answered, said “uh-huh” several times, and then excused himself, leaving my house without offering any details about who he’d been talking to or why he seemed to be in such a hurry to leave.

The news that her grandmother was on her way was a temporary Band-Aid for Sadie, her spirits lifting a little in anticipation as she ran to the front window to watch for her. Several minutes later, a car pulled up to the front gate. I buzzed her in and watched a red Porsche race up the driveway, jerking to an abrupt stop in front of the garage. Angelica stepped out. She looked to be in her mid-sixties and was dressed in white skinny jeans and a matching button-up shirt, which she’d tucked in. A red silk scarf was tied around her neck, a perfect match to the two-inch heels she was wearing and the leather clutch in her hand.

Sadie ran toward her, shouting, “Grandma! Grandma!”

Angelica scooped Sadie into her arms, showering her with kisses before setting her back down again. They spoke for a moment, and then Angelica turned toward me, sticking her hand out, and saying, “I’m Angelica DuPont.”

“Georgiana Germaine. Nice to meet you.”

“I wouldn’t say anything about the reason we’re meeting today isnice, is it?”

I supposed not.

For as calm and collected as she appeared, there were signs to say otherwise. Her jaw was tense, her lips quivered the slightest bit each time she spoke. We had much to discuss, but I wanted to be sure any further conversation we had wasn’t in front of Sadie.

I called for Giovanni, and he offered to take Sadie outside to play catch with him and Luka. Sadie was hesitant as first until Angelica said we’d stand by the window and watch.

As soon as they were outside, Angelica grabbed my arm and said, “What in the world is going on? What’s happened to my daughter?”

I flicked my wrist, and she released her stronghold on me. If this was any other scenario, and I wasn’t standing in front of a woman who’d just lost her child, I would have voiced my opinion. But shehadjust lost her child, and I knew firsthand what that kind of loss felt like.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” I said. “I’ll answer anything I can. I believe you spoke to my associate this morning, Lilia Hunter?”

“A woman who works for you called me, yes.”

“What did she say?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“If I’m made aware of what information you already have, it will help me fill in the gaps.”

Angelica sighed as if me asking her to recall the conversation was too tall of an order. “My daughter is dead, isn’t she? I stopped by the house just now, spoke to the most arrogant man.”