Chapter 5 - THE COAT THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BURIED
“My mother's blood?”
Claire could barely force out the words.
Vanessa sat motionless.
Dominic reached for the photograph of Olivia.
“What coat?”
“The dark green wool coat,” Vanessa answered. “The one Olivia wore to Harbor House.”
Dominic remembered it.
Olivia had purchased it in Boston during their tenth-anniversary trip.
She loved its deep emerald color and the little pearl buttons.
He had donated most of her clothes after the funeral.
But not that coat.
He couldn't remember where it had gone.
“What happened to it?” he asked.
Vanessa rubbed her hands together.
“My father said it was stained. He wanted it destroyed.”
“Who stopped him?”
“Michael.”
Dominic's face tightened.
“Where is the coat now?”
Vanessa looked toward the windows.
“I don't know.”
Claire felt the familiar panic that came whenever someone spoke about her mother's failing memory.
Evelyn sometimes forgot the day of the week.
Sometimes she cried because she couldn't remember the way home from her childhood school.
But Claire had never doubted the basic story of her mother's life.
Evelyn had worked for a medical practice.
She had raised Claire alone after Claire's father left.
She had saved coupons, made birthday cakes from scratch, and taught her daughter never to take what belonged to someone else.
Now someone was claiming she had been involved in the death of a woman Claire had never met.
“I need to see my mother,” Claire said.
Dominic immediately nodded.
“I'll take you.”
Vanessa stood.
“Dominic, you can't just walk into that facility and ask questions. Evelyn doesn't always know what she's saying.”
Claire turned.
“How do you know about her condition?”
Vanessa looked uncomfortable.
“I reviewed the assisted-living assistance applications.”
“Then you knew she was vulnerable.”
“Yes.”
“And you used that against me.”
Vanessa couldn't meet her eyes.
Claire turned away.
Dominic instructed Anthony to keep Vanessa and Richard separated until the police could question them.
Then he drove Claire to the assisted-living center himself.
Philadelphia's streets were nearly empty.
Rain streaked the windshield.
Claire sat quietly in the passenger seat, his jacket folded across her lap.
Finally, Dominic spoke.
“I owe you an apology.”
Claire looked over.
“For what?”
“For letting Vanessa run my household without understanding how she treated people.”
“You didn't know.”
“I should have.”
He kept his eyes on the road.
“I buried Olivia and convinced myself that if I stayed busy enough, I wouldn't have to feel what happened.”
Claire listened.
“That gave other people too much control,” he continued. “And you paid for my absence.”
Claire looked down.
“Your wife sounds like she cared about people.”
“She did.”
Dominic smiled sadly.
“She remembered everyone's birthday. Even the gardener's grandchildren.”
“My mother was like that.”
The past tense slipped out before Claire realized it.
Dominic noticed.
“She's still here, Claire.”
“Some days.”
He didn't offer false reassurance.
He simply drove.
At the assisted-living center, a night nurse brought them to Evelyn's room.
Evelyn sat beside the window, wearing a pale blue cardigan.
A crossword puzzle rested on her lap.
Her silver hair was gathered into a loose braid.
When she saw Claire, she smiled.
“There you are, sweetheart.”
Claire hurried to hug her.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Did you eat dinner?”
“Yes.”
“You always say that.”
Claire laughed softly through her tears.
Then Evelyn noticed Dominic.
Her smile vanished.
The crossword slipped from her lap.
“No.”
Dominic stopped.
Evelyn stared at him.
“No, no. You shouldn't be here.”
Claire knelt beside her chair.
“Mom, it's okay. This is Dominic Caruso.”
Evelyn gripped Claire's wrist.
“I know who he is.”
Dominic looked stunned.
“You knew me?”
Evelyn shook her head.
Then she whispered, “I knew your wife.”
Claire felt her pulse quicken.
“Mom, did you work with Olivia?”
Evelyn looked frightened.
“She was a good woman.”
“Yes,” Dominic said gently. “She was.”
Evelyn stared at the rain.
“They told me to wait in the car.”
“Who did?” Claire asked.
“The men.”
Dominic pulled up a chair.
“Evelyn, I'm trying to understand what happened to Olivia. Can you help me?”
Evelyn looked at his wedding ring.
Then she began to cry.
“I tried to keep her safe.”
Claire embraced her.
“You did your best, Mom.”
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I went back inside.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“What happened when you went inside?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Olivia was carrying the green coat. She said she'd found the second ledger.”
Claire looked at Dominic.
The coat.
Again.
“Where was the ledger?” he asked.
Evelyn touched her forehead.
“I can't…”
“It's all right.”
“I can't remember.”
Claire squeezed her hand.
“We don't have to do this tonight.”
But Evelyn suddenly grabbed the sleeve of Dominic's shirt.
“Pearl.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
“The pearl button.”
Evelyn's voice became urgent.
“She said you'd know.”
Dominic remembered Olivia sewing a missing button back onto that very coat.
She had laughed because he'd offered to help and immediately tangled the thread.
“Which button?” he asked.
Evelyn pointed to her own collar.
“The one that wasn't a button.”
Then her expression faded.
She looked at Claire.
“Are we going shopping tomorrow?”
Claire recognized the change.
The memory had slipped away.
She kissed her mother's forehead.
“Yes, Mom. We can go shopping.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Good. I need a new coat.”
Dominic stepped into the hallway.
He stood there for a long time.
Claire joined him.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.
He shook his head.
“Don't apologize.”
“She remembers pieces. Then they're gone.”
“She gave us something.”
Claire looked toward her mother's room.
“The pearl button.”
Dominic nodded.
They returned to the mansion shortly after midnight.
Michael waited in the study.
When Dominic mentioned the coat, his brother's face went white.
“You kept it,” Dominic said.
Michael nodded.
“Olivia made me promise not to destroy it.”
“Where?”
“At my house.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Bring it here.”
Michael hesitated.
“I brought it tonight.”
Dominic stared.
“Why?”
“Because when Vanessa told me Patricia was coming, I knew everything was about to come apart.”
Michael retrieved a garment bag from the guest closet.
Inside lay the emerald-green coat.
It smelled faintly of cedar.
Dominic touched the collar.
For one terrible moment, he could almost see Olivia standing in front of him.
He remembered her laughing.
Remembered the way she used to slide cold hands into his pockets on winter mornings.
He had to sit down.
Claire quietly moved a chair closer.
Michael laid the coat across the desk.
One pearl button near the collar looked slightly different from the others.
Dominic examined it.
It was heavier.
The back had been carefully fitted with a miniature threaded cap.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
Michael stared.
“I checked that coat a dozen times.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Olivia knew you'd look for something hidden in the lining. She wanted you to miss the obvious.”
Anthony brought a card reader.
A folder appeared on the computer.
Inside were scanned financial records.
Foundation transfers.
Construction invoices.
Trust authorizations.
But one file stood apart.
It was labeled:
THE NIGHT I FOUND OUT.
Dominic opened it.
A video appeared.
Olivia sat in her bedroom, wearing the green coat.
She looked exhausted.
But her eyes were clear.
“Dominic,” she began, “if you're seeing this, I need you to know something about Michael.”
Dominic held his breath.
“I know he made mistakes. I know he signed papers he shouldn't have signed.”
She paused.
“But Michael is not the person who betrayed me.”
Dominic looked at his brother.
Olivia continued.
“The real danger is someone I welcomed into our home because I thought she was helping me.”
Claire frowned.
“She?”
Olivia looked directly into the camera.
“Her name is not Vanessa.”
Dominic leaned closer.
“Then who?”
May you like
Olivia's next words made Claire's blood run cold.
“Her name is Evelyn Morgan. And tonight I discovered what she has been hiding from her own daughter.”
