Stay close

31

Megan was down the hall from Agnes’s room when her cell phone sounded.

The Sunset Assisted Living facility tried like hell to be something other than what it was. The exterior aimed for Second-Empire Victorian B and B but landed more like prefab motel with the aluminum siding and fake ferns and wheelchair ramps on the lemonade porches. The interior too had lush green carpeting and too-bright reproductions of Renoir and Monet, but even the artwork came across as something you’d pick up at a bad yard sale or one of those clearance showrooms.

She passed by Missy Malek, who gave her the practiced, concerned face and said, “Perhaps we should talk soon?”

“After I see Agnes.”

“Of course,” Malek replied with something close to a bow.

So Megan had just made the turn down Agnes’s corridor when the phone number she recognized as Ray’s popped up on her mobile’s screen. She froze, unsure what to do, but in the end, she knew there was only one choice here. She hit the answer button and put the phone to her ear.

“Hello?”

“I hear they call you Megan now,” Ray said.

“It’s my real name.”

“I’d make the obvious comment that maybe nothing about us was real-”

“But we both know that would be a lie,” she said.

“Yeah.”

Silence.

“Did Broome find you?” she asked.

“He did.”

“Sorry about that.”

“No, you made the right move telling him.”

“What did you say to him?”

“Pretty much the same thing I told you.”

“Did he believe you?”

“I doubt it. The police are searching my apartment.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“If it helps,” Megan said, “I believe you.”

There was no reply.

“Ray?”

When he spoke again, his voice was different, softer and with a strange timber. “Are you still in Atlantic City?”

“No.”

“Can you come back down?”

“Why?”

More silence.

“Ray?”

“I didn’t tell you the truth,” he said.

Megan felt the chill. “I don’t understand.”

“Come back down.”

“I can’t. I mean, not now anyway.”

“I’ll wait inside Lucy. I don’t care how long it takes. Please come.”

“I don’t know.”

But he had already hung up. She stood there, staring down at the phone, until a sound snagged her attention. She looked up and saw Agnes wander out of her room, confused and blank eyed. Her gray hair was a complete mess. The skin of her face was pale past the point of translucent, the blue of the veins too visible.

When a nurse intercepted her, Agnes cried out, “Don’t hurt me!” and pulled away.

“I would never hurt you, Agnes. I’m just trying-”

“Stop!” Agnes cringed now as though she expected the nurse to strike her. Megan hurried down the hall and nudged the nurse out of the way. She looked her mother-in-law in the eyes, her hands on her shoulders, and said, “It’s okay, Agnes. It’s me. It’s Megan.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Megan?”

“Yes. It’s okay.”

Agnes cocked her head to the left. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you at home with the babies?”

“They’re not babies anymore. They’re teenagers. I’m here because you called me.”

“I did?” Fear crossed Agnes’s face. “When?”

“It’s not important. It’s okay now. I’m here. You’re safe.”

The nurse looked on sympathetically. Megan took Agnes in her arms and led her back into the room. Behind them, Missy Malek appeared, but Megan shook her off and closed the door. It took some time, but Megan got Agnes to calm down, to stop shaking and whimpering, and then, as had happened before, clarity came back to her mother-in-law’s eyes.

“Are you okay?” Megan asked her.

Agnes nodded. “Megan?”

“Yes.”

“Who were you on the phone with?” Agnes asked.

“When?”

“Just now. When I came out of my room. You were down the hall talking on the phone.”

Megan wasn’t sure how to respond. “Just an old friend.”

“I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, that’s okay, it’s just…” She stopped, fought back the tears. Agnes looked at her with such concern that Megan could actually feel something inside of her give way. “My whole life has been a lie.”

Agnes managed a smile and patted her hand. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Do you love my Davey?”

“Yes.”

“Megan?”

“What?”

“I know,” Agnes whispered in a voice that chilled the room.

“What?”

“Last week.”

“What about last week?”

“The day after Davey brought you to our house, I called Emerson College. You said you went there. But, well, something didn’t add up. So I called them. They never heard of you.”

Megan didn’t know what to say.

“I won’t tell.” The voice was a whisper again. “It’s okay, really. I lie about my age to Roland. I am three years older than him, but he doesn’t know. The truth is, you love my Davey. I know. You’re good for him. Not like those snotty, rich girls from town. Your secret’s safe with me, honey. I just ask one thing.”

A tear had escaped and ran down Megan’s cheek. “What?”

“Give me some grandchildren. You’re going to make a wonderful mother.”

Agnes knew, Megan thought. All these years, this whole time, Agnes had known about the lie. The realization was almost too much to bear.

“Megan?”

“I promise.”

“No, not that.” Agnes’s eyes flickered. She looked toward the door. “They want to move me to the third floor, don’t they?”

“Yes. But you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“It won’t help.” She lowered her voice. “He will find me. Even there. He will find me and he will kill me.”

“Who?”

Agnes looked to her left, then to her right. She leaned in closer and locked eyes with Megan. “The bad man who comes at night.”

It was then that Megan remembered the spy camera in the digital clock. “Agnes?”

“Yes?”

“Was the bad man here last night?”

“Of course. That’s why I called you.”

Sometimes it was like dealing with a human TV set that kept changing channels. Megan pointed toward the clock. “Do you remember when I was here yesterday?”

Agnes started to smile. “The spy camera!”

“Yes.”

“So you can see him? You can see the bad man?”

“We can look.”

Megan had set the spy camera’s timer to run from nine P.M. until six in the morning. It didn’t record everything-it worked by motion detector-so it wasn’t as though they’d have to go through nine hours of material. Megan checked the back of the clock and saw the light was flashing. That meant there was something in the digital hard drive.

“I’ll be right back, Agnes.”

She hurried down the corridor and back to the front desk. She borrowed a laptop and came right back to the room. Agnes was still on the bed. The clock/camera worked via a USB port. She moved the camera to the bed and plugged it into the laptop. Agnes moved closer. The spy camera icon came up. Megan moved the cursor over it.

“If he was in your room,” Megan said, “we should see it now.”

“What’s going on here?”

They both looked toward the door. Missy Malek had entered, her hands on her hips, her lips pursed. She took in the whole scene-the two women on the bed, the clock/camera plugged into the laptop-and her eyes opened. “What is this?”

“It’s a surveillance camera,” Megan said.

“Excuse me?”

“A hidden camera. It’s built into the digital clock.”

Malek’s face reddened. “You can’t have that in here.”

“I already did.”

“We have privacy rules. When Agnes first joined here, your husband as her guardian signed an agreement. It specifically stipulated-”

“I never signed it,” Megan said.

“Because you have no legal standing.”

“Exactly. And this is Agnes’s room. She wanted the camera in here, didn’t you, Agnes?”

Agnes nodded. “Yes, I did.”

“I don’t understand,” Missy Malek said. “You taped us?”

“I guess I did.”

“Do you know what a violation of trust that is?”

Megan shrugged. “If you have nothing to hide…”

“Of course we don’t!”

“Terrific,” Megan said. “Would you like to watch with us?”

Malek shot a glance at Agnes, then back to Megan. “This is a mistake.”

“Then it’s our mistake,” Megan said.

The images were grainy, not so much because the camera had a poor resolution but because it was set to film in the dark. The first thing to pop up was a still frame of Agnes sitting up in the bed. The camera’s night-vision setting gave the room a spooky green haze.

Though the lens was set on wide to take in the entire room, you could still make out the frightened expression on Agnes’s face. The night vision made her eyes glow white.

There was a play arrow on the still frame. Megan looked back at Missy Malek. Malek looked resigned. Megan clicked the icon.

The video began to run-and it did indeed solve the mystery, but not in the way Megan expected.

No sound was recorded, but maybe that was merciful. On the screen, Agnes was sitting up. You could see that she was screaming, crying. She was clearly terrified. She picked up her pillow for protection. She cowered into the far corner of the bed, trying to escape, pulling her knees up to her chest. She stared up at her assailant, her right hand shielding her face.

But there was no one there.

Megan felt her heart sink. She sneaked a glance at Missy Malek. Her face was still resigned, but not out of guilt or fear. She had known. Megan looked at her mother-in-law. Agnes watched the screen with her mouth opened. At first she looked confused, but through the fog, Megan could see clarity. Agnes could see what was happening. Part of her mind could accept it, but a bigger part simply would not. It was like suddenly telling someone that up was down and left was right.

“He made himself invisible,” Agnes said.

But her heart wasn’t in it.

After what seemed like an hour-in truth, it was maybe two minutes-a nurse rushed on-screen and began to calm Agnes. Megan could see that the nurse had a cup in one hand. With the other, she produced pills. Agnes swallowed them using the cup of what Megan assumed was water. Then she leaned back. The nurse gently tucked her in, waited a moment, and then tiptoed out the door.

A minute later, the recording stopped.

To her credit, Malek didn’t say a word. Agnes stared at the screen, waiting for something else to happen. The screen came alive only one more time. According to the digital clock in the corner, it was about an hour later. Agnes and Megan leaned forward for a better look, but all they saw was a nurse checking upon Agnes.

On the screen, Agnes remained asleep.

That was it.

“You saw him, right?” Agnes said, pointing at the screen. “With the knife? One time he came in with a coyote and a bottle of poison.”

Malek slipped out of the room without saying another word.

“Megan?” Agnes said, her voice so frail.

“It’s okay,” Megan said, feeling a fresh wave of devastation. Damn. What an idiot she was. Hadn’t she known in her heart of hearts what the surveillance would show? Had she really believed a man with a knife (not to mention the occasional coyote and bottle of poison) came in at night to terrorize an old woman? Talk about wishful thinking. Agnes had been the closest thing a woman like Megan-a woman living a lie for almost her entire adult life-had to a confidante and best friend. Today she had learned just how close they had been-that for all these years Agnes had known, if not the truth, something close to it. She hadn’t cared.

Agnes had known Megan better than anyone, and she had loved her anyway.

“You should go home now,” Agnes said in a faraway voice. “You need to take care of the baby.”

The baby. Singular. The human TV had changed channels or at least time zones again. But either way, Agnes was right. Enough. Enough chasing the past. Enough living with lies. Her father-in-law-the late, lied-to-about-age Roland Pierce-had often said, “Youth is but a breath.” True, but so is your twenties and middle age and every stage. It’s pretty much life’s only guarantee.

When had Agnes started to fade away? When would Megan?

She didn’t want to live one more day with the lies.

Megan kissed her mother-in-law on the forehead, holding her lips there and closing her eyes. “I love you so much,” she said softly. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”

She pulled away and started down the corridor. Missy Malek was there, looking a question at her. Megan nodded and said, “I’ll talk to my husband, but let’s start making arrangements for the move.”

“She’ll be happier. I’m certain.”

Megan kept walking through the overdone lobby and passed the cafeteria. The doors slid open. Megan welcomed the cool air, especially after the stifling heat inside. She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

There was still no message from Dave on her cell phone. She felt sad and angry and exhausted and confused. Ray was waiting for her at Lucy. She didn’t want to go. He was part of her past. Opening that door could only lead to unhappiness. It was time to move on.

Ray’s words came back to her: “I didn’t tell you the truth.”

Could she just let that go? And his tone, the desperation in his voice… could she really walk away from that? Didn’t she owe him something? And maybe, in the end, that was what had brought her down. Maybe it wasn’t the chance to relive some bygone youth, but the chance to help someone else find his footing.

She arrived at her car door. As she reached for the handle, something caught her eye.

Megan turned quickly and saw the knife heading toward her.