Live to Tell (Live to Tell #1)(96)

It didn’t take him long to find out that the infant he and Marin had given up for adoption seven years earlier had been originally placed with a Rhode Island couple who already had four daughters and wanted a son.

But they changed their minds not long after accepting the baby and gave him back.

A real shame. Garvey was glad Marin didn’t know their son had wound up in the foster care system.

A few years later, he was adopted at last—and Garvey knew exactly where to find him.



Few cars are parked on the street in front of Glenhaven Episcopal Church today. Lauren easily finds a double space right out front, but it takes her several tries to pull in correctly.

How can she drive when she can barely breathe? She’s lucky she managed to maneuver the couple of blocks over from her house without crashing into anything.

The instructions were clear.

She hurries toward the door, remembering the last time she was here, with Ryan.

Now Ryan is out there somewhere with a gun to his head.

Please, please, please…

The church vestibule is dark and quiet. Lauren grasps her keys in a shaky hand as she descends the steps. What if he’s waiting for her here?

The basement is empty—or so she believes.

“Lauren!”

She jumps, startled by the voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you!”

She whirls around and spots Janet Wasserman in the far corner, waving, calling, “What are you doing here?”

Never mind me, Lauren thinks, what are you doing here?

Janet appears to be sorting through a box of clothing. Oh, that’s right. Janet’s in the Junior League.

Oh Lord. Why here? Why now? Why her?

Clenching her keys so hard they dig painfully into her palm, Lauren struggles to keep her cool. “I…you’ll never believe it, Janet, but I accidentally gave away something that I need back.”

“What is it?”

“One of Sadie’s stuffed animals.”

“What does it look like?”

“It’s a pink dog.”

“All the stuffed animals are over there.” Janet points at a table. “Let’s check it out.”

“Oh, I can do it. I don’t want to bother you.”

“It’s no bother.”

Yes it is, dammit. It’s a bother to me. Just let me do this. Please. My children’s lives are at stake.

Forced to swallow her fear, Lauren follows Janet over to a table piled with teddy bears, Beanie Babies, and enormous carnival prizes.

“Adorable, aren’t they?”

“Adorable. Yes.”

It doesn’t take long for Lauren to realize that the pink stuffed dog she seeks isn’t among them.

Sadie put it into one of the tag sale boxes, though.

Or so she claimed.

“Lauren?” Janet is asking.

Ignoring her, Lauren wonders if Sadie could have been lying.

It’s hard to imagine her parting with anything, given her attachment to her possessions.

Then again, she never wanted the dog. She said so just the other night, when Lauren was tucking her in.

Still, it doesn’t make sense. If she gave it away in a tag sale box, why isn’t it here?

“Earth to Lauren. Come in, Lauren.”

She looks up at Janet, wanting to kill her.

“I said,” Janet overenunciates, “I really don’t think it’s here.”

“Are you sure this is everything?”

“Positive.”

“But…maybe it got mixed in with something else.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for it, and I’ll call you if—”

“No, you don’t understand! I need it now!” Lauren cuts in shrilly.

Janet gapes at her, for once stunned to silence.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…you know how kids are when they’re attached to something. Sadie has been beside herself, and… I have to find it. Right now. Today. Or else…”

Or else my children will die.



Sitting in her living room with a cup of tea and the stack of photo albums, Elsa decides to begin today at the very beginning: Jeremy at four.

The first photo is one the foster agency sent.

She remembers her first thought upon seeing it: That little boy has the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen.

She knew, in that moment, that he was the one.

Brett wasn’t so sure—not after reading the file that came with the photo.

“This kid has serious problems, Elsa.”

“They all do.”

“Not like this.”

“He needs us, Brett. Please.”

To this day, she marvels that her husband agreed to try foster parenting in the first place, after years of infertility and failed adoption efforts. That he was willing to reach out to a troubled kid like Jeremy is even more surprising.

“I’m game if you are,” he said, and she made the call immediately, before he could change his mind.

The rest of the photos in the first album were taken after Jeremy came to live with them.

There he is in his new bedroom, outfitted with bunk beds for future sleepovers with friends he would never make. There he is on his swing set, with the teeter-totter that only Elsa ever shared with him. There he is as a Cub Scout, and a Little Leaguer—always standing away from the other children, never a part of the group.