Someone Else’s Life(77)

“Fine, Marley. You can come.”

With the dog following closely at her side, she half walked, half waded down the street, and there it was. An unfamiliar white car. Picking up the pace, she stopped at the car and tried the door, surprised when it opened. She let Marley into the back seat, and closed the door behind him. Rather than wade around to the driver’s side, Annie got in on the passenger side. She closed the door and, when she turned, saw that the keys were in the ignition.

Tilting her head to the side, she contemplated the keys, her hand reaching out toward them, almost as if they had a mind of their own. She hesitated a moment and then turned the ignition, wondering why she was so surprised when the car started right away. She knew for sure now the broken-down car had been a ruse.

Shutting the engine off, Annie sat back against the seat and stretched her legs to get more comfortable. Her foot connected with something on the floor. Looking down, she saw a brown tote bag. She stared at it for a moment, then reached down to pick it up. She’d have to tell the police about the car, have someone come get it. But before she did, curiosity about Serena swept through her, a puzzle that Annie had to figure out.

She opened the tote and rummaged inside. There was a change of clothes, a hat and a wallet, along with the usual things found in a woman’s bag—tissues, wipes, ChapStick, and a bottle of water. There was also a laptop. Annie took it out and rested it in her lap for a moment, knowing it was too much to hope that there’d be a clue in there somewhere. She opened it, expecting to be asked for a password, since Serena’s phone had been password protected, but to her surprise, it opened right to the desktop. It was pretty sparse, only a few files on the outer edges. It took her a moment, but then her eyes focused on a file stored right in the middle of the screen. The file was named “ANNIE.”

The breath whooshed out of her as she stared at it. Then she clicked on it with Marley breathing behind her. There was only one document in the folder, and it was entitled “For Annie.”

Annie opened it, her heart pounding, and began to read. She skimmed through the entries, a bit from this one, some from another. And with each entry, her mouth dropped open a little more with shock.





48


Laptop ANNIE file


When he was about six months old, he started to push himself up into a crawling position. I was so proud. Our son was so ahead of schedule, and I knew he’d grow up to be something really smart, like a scientist who finds cures for cancer. Or even the president of the United States. He’d be the first half-Asian president of the US! And I’d be his proud mother, finally knowing my place in his life. How do they refer to the mother of the president? The First Mother? I’d be down for being called that. I’d rather be the first mother than the second mother. Or the wrong mother.

After he was gone, I was fine for a while. At least I thought I was. I rented a small apartment and continued to go to work, living my life as if I hadn’t just lost my son and him. And I kept going through life like nothing had happened for a couple of weeks until one day, I just couldn’t. I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t get dressed. I couldn’t do anything. I stayed in bed and when my cell rang with work asking where I was, I just stared at it without picking up. I don’t know how long I stayed that way, until I woke one morning and knew I needed help. I wasn’t depressed. I just needed help, needed someone to care enough about me to tell me what to do, even if I was paying them to do that.

I thought with longing of my stays at the hospital when he’d forced me to go, and how relieved I was when I actually got there. I needed someone to tell me what to do again. I needed my days to be regimented. I couldn’t be left to myself, drifting through life without an anchor and no one to care if I floated away or didn’t show up for work.

I dragged myself out of bed and found the card for the facility and I called. For once, I did something right for myself. I was in and out of there for the next year or so. And in between, when I was home, I watched you.

I did some research and it shocked me how surprisingly easy it is to travel with a child within the United States. You don’t have to provide any form of ID. You just buy the child a ticket in any name and they let him through. No questions asked. No photos to compare to, like they do with adults and their IDs. If I wasn’t using it for my own gain, I’d be terrified at how easy it is to take a child and just travel anywhere with them. I’m surprised more children haven’t disappeared, given the ease with which you can take a child to another state with no ID whatsoever.

Maybe one day, we’ll even come back here to Kauai, when he can look back on this time and say, “Remember when you came to get me? Thank you, Mommy. I was waiting for you. I always knew you’d come find me, your real son.”

Oh. My. God. Annie looked up in shock as she clicked on another entry. Reading about how Serena had planned on taking Finn and leaving with him . . . Annie’s heart pounded at the thought. What would she and Brody have done if Serena had carried out her plan? It was obvious she had some kind of mental disorder. Annie made a note to look it up later. But right now, there was more to the file that Serena had left for her. Despite the dread filling her body, she kept reading, unable to look away.

I’ve changed my mind. After watching you for weeks, I realized, just like in New York after what happened, you never let him out of your sight. And now there’s your father and sister. And neighbors. My son is never left alone, not even at home. So I need to change tactics.