But there was something else Elaine hadn’t told us.
Something she seemed reluctant to say.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Elaine looked at Michael.
Then at me.
“Nora believes Caleb is still looking for her.”
PART 3 — THE MAN WHO KNEW WHERE SHE WAS
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The noise from the café continued around us.
Forks against plates.
People laughing.
A coffee machine hissing behind the counter.
Ordinary sounds.
But my world had stopped again.
“Caleb is alive?” Michael asked.
“We don’t know.”
“Then why does Nora think he’s looking for her?”
“Because she received a message.”
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
“What did it say?”
Elaine hesitated.
“It said, ‘I know you’re still wearing the sun.'”
I felt cold all over.
The sun.
The tiny yellow sun my mother had stitched into Nora’s cover-up.
“How could he know about that?”
“We don’t know.”
Michael stood.
“We need to get Nora out of here.”
Elaine grabbed his arm.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone really is watching her, running inside and announcing yourselves could put her in danger.”
Michael looked furious.
“She’s our daughter.”
“And she’s survived eight years without you.”
That sentence hurt.
But Elaine continued.
“I’m not saying you should leave her. I’m saying you need to understand what you’re walking into.”
