Cora took a moment, looking not at Siobhan but into the past, her wrinkled face troubled. Siobhan didn’t push. She was grateful this woman was talking to her at all. “Loretta told me that the home was for single mothers, girls who had been turned out by their families because they got pregnant out of wedlock. At first, I believed her. I wanted to. Loretta has been a friend for a long, long time. She asked me to check on the other women. There were six pregnant women there, plus the girl who’d just delivered. All in the second half of their pregnancy. All healthy, fed well, and they had a small exercise room in the basement where they walked on a treadmill. But… there was something off. None of the girls were allowed outside, for example. One of the girls I examined was dangerously ill. She had high blood pressure and swollen feet. I told Loretta she had the signs of preeclampsia. She needed to be in the hospital or both her and her baby would most likely die. Loretta told the man, the vile man, when they didn’t think I could hear the conversation. He said he didn’t care if she died, as long as the baby lived. What sort of human being says that? I tell you”-she answered her own question-“no human being says that.”
“Cora-why didn’t you go to the authorities?” Siobhan asked quietly.
“Because the authorities have not been kind to me and others over the years. A trust issue, I suppose you might say.” She paused. “I heard you work with the Sisters of Mercy.”
“My mother did. I help them when I can. A few months every year.”
She nodded. “A few months a year is more than most people give in their lifetimes. The sisters do God’s work, they are good people. Sister Bernadette spoke at my church years ago. I don’t have money to spare, but I had I think seven dollars in my purse, and I gave it to her cause.”
Siobhan smiled. She could picture the scene so clearly. “Sister Bernadette is very persuasive.”
“She came here for supper after the last Mass that day.” Cora paused, sipped more wine, then bit off a piece of tortilla. Her teeth were far too large and white to be natural. She changed the subject back to the pregnant girls. “I should have called someone, but Loretta told me not all the authorities could be trusted. And Loretta didn’t seem fearful, not after we delivered the boy. She’d been scared when the baby was in danger, but once the baby was well, she relaxed. That struck me as odd, but I didn’t press her for more information. I should have.
“When I read the newspaper article about the woman who died of preeclampsia and her baby was missing… I just knew in my heart that it was the young woman I saw that week. They called her Jane Doe, in the news. Her name was Eloise. I want her name on her grave, no one should be buried without their name. After I heard about you, and why you are here, I thought you might make that happen.”
“I can,” Siobhan said. She was practically shaking out of anticipation. She reached into her purse and pulled out the photo of her with Mari and Ana. “Did you see these girls?”
Cora put on her glasses that were hanging on a chain around her neck. She looked at the photo. “Yes, they were both there.”
“They were? You saw them?”
“And very pregnant.” She pointed to Marisol. “This one, due anytime. Very healthy.” She pointed to Ana. “This one, six months’ pregnant. With twins. She was having a hard time. They were close, protective.”
“Sisters,” Siobhan whispered. She was so close… so close to finding them. “I need to find them.”
“I can tell you where the house is.”
“I was there, outside Freer, and they’re gone.” She reached back into her bag and pulled out the prints she’d downloaded from her cloud account. “Did you see this girl?” She showed her the blonde who was walking and holding a baby.
“This one, yes, she’s the one who almost died in childbirth. The breech baby.”
“What day was that?”
Cora thought back. “Saturday. Ten days ago. It was very early in the morning, still dark, when we finally delivered the baby. I stayed another night, then my driver picked me up on Sunday. We went to the church there, because I wouldn’t get back to Laredo in time to go to my own parish. Loretta warned me not to talk, and I didn’t, but it has weighed on me. Loretta is a good woman, a good churchgoer. She didn’t come with me to church, though I asked her to. This made me worry for her. Guilt, I saw it, I smelled it on her. The guilty don’t like to step into God’s house. And me… I started to feel guilty. That things were not as Loretta had said. That I may have done something, made a bad decision. Not saving the girl and her baby-that was right. But silence can be a sin. I saw that article, and it was God’s hand. I do not read the paper, not every day, because it’s violent and sad. But I saw it yesterday, I knew I was meant to see it. I called the reporter, and he told me you would want to talk to me. Your presence is divine providence, Siobhan Walsh. God led you to me so I could share my story and ask for forgiveness for not doing something sooner.”
Siobhan took the old woman’s small, frail hand. “Cora, listen to me. Loretta was right about one thing: You can’t trust all the authorities. I was at the house on Sunday, they were moving the last of the girls. The police arrested me, and when I went back on Monday they were all gone. But I have a good friend in the FBI whom I trust with my life. I need to find Loretta, and she needs to tell us what she knows. Mari and Ana disappeared two years ago, and I’ve been looking for them ever since. I have never been this close.”
“I will give you everything I know about Loretta. And”-she pointed to one of the men in the photo with the blonde-“that man is named Raoul. I don’t know his last name, but I will never forget him. He is not a godly man.”
When Lucy joined Noah to serve the warrant for the property records at the law firm, a thin file was waiting for them at the desk.
Noah looked at it. There was one sheet on each property that listed basic information such as when the property was acquired, how much was paid, the mortgage, balance, and owner.
Each owner was a business.
“Who is the lawyer in charge of this client?” Noah asked the receptionist.
“I do not have that information. The attorney of record is the law firm-any of our attorneys can work for any of our clients.”
“I’d like a list of the attorneys working for this law firm.”
“I can’t share that information.”
“What do you mean you can’t share that information?” Noah was on the verge of losing his temper-and it took quite a bit to put Noah on edge.
“Sir, I would need to discuss the situation with the office manager, and she is at lunch right now.”
“We’ll wait.”
“Of course.”
“Tell her the FBI is here,” Noah said.
Lucy tried to get Noah to sit, but he didn’t. Her phone rang-it was Sean.
“I have to take this,” she said but didn’t wait for Noah to respond. She stepped out of the office and stood in the quiet hall. Security cameras were mounted at both ends-one over the elevator and one over the staircase. She felt like she was on stage and straightened her spine.
You can do this.
She answered her phone. “Sean.”
“Hey-I just wanted to check in. I can’t talk long, and then we have to go silent.”
“I understand, I just wanted to know how you were. And that you got my messages. You didn’t respond.”
He was silent for a long five seconds. She counted. “I know why Madison came by,” Sean said finally. “I’m sorry she dragged you into the middle of this. She’s in denial that her husband has put their son in danger.”
“Their son?” Lucy asked.
Please tell me the truth. Tell me that it’s your son in danger.
He must have had a good reason for not telling her earlier. He wouldn’t keep something like this from her.