The Last Mrs. Parrish(37)

“Hi, Meredith,” Amber greeted her, feeling uneasy

Daphne had a look of concern on her face and put a hand on Amber’s arm. “Meredith says she needs to talk to us in private.”

Amber’s thoughts raced. Could she have discovered the truth? Maybe the photo from the fund-raiser had been her undoing after all. She took a deep breath to stop the hammering in her chest. No need to get upset until she heard what Meredith had to say. She rose from her stool.

“Margarita, could you please feed the girls now? We’ll be back in a little while.” Daphne turned to Amber and Meredith. “Let’s go into the study.”

Amber’s heart was still pounding as she followed them down the hallway and into the wood-paneled study. She stared straight ahead at the wall of books, willing herself to be calm.

“Let’s all have a seat.” Daphne pulled out a chair and sat at the mahogany card table in the corner of the room. Amber and Meredith followed suit.

Meredith looked at Amber as she spoke. “As you know, I run all our committee applications through a background check.”

“Didn’t you do that months ago?” Daphne interrupted.

Meredith put a hand up. “Yes, I thought I had. Apparently the agency misfiled Amber’s. They ran it last week and called me today.”

“And?” Daphne prodded.

“And when they ran the social, they discovered that Amber Patterson has been missing for four years.” She held up a copy of a missing person flyer, with a photo of a young woman with dark hair and a round face, who looked nothing like Amber.

“What? That must be some sort of mistake,” Daphne said.

Amber kept quiet, but her heartbeat slowed. So that was all. She could work with this.

Meredith sat up straighter. “No mistake. I called the Eustis, Nebraska, records department. Same social security number.” She pulled out a photocopy of an article from the Clipper-Herald with the headline “Amber Patterson Still Missing” and handed it to Daphne. “Want to tell us about it, Amber, or whatever your name is?”

Amber put her hands up to her face and cried real tears of panic. “It’s not what you think.” She choked back a sob.

“What is it, then?” Meredith’s tone was steely.

Amber sniffled and wiped her nose. “I can explain. But not to her.” She spat out the last word.

“Give it up, girl.” Meredith’s voice rose. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

“Meredith, please. This isn’t helping,” Daphne said. “Amber, calm down. I’m sure there’s a good explanation. Tell me what this is all about.”

Amber sank back into the chair, hoping she looked as distraught as she felt. “I know it looks bad. I didn’t want to have to tell anyone. But I had to get away.”

“Away from what?” Meredith insisted, and Amber shrank back more.

“Meredith, please let me ask the questions,” Daphne said and put her hand gently on Amber’s knee. “What were you running away from, sweetie?”

Amber closed her eyes and sighed. “My father.”

Daphne looked like she’d been struck. “Your father? Did he hurt you?”

Amber hung her head as she spoke. “I’m so ashamed to tell you this. He . . . he raped me.”

Daphne gasped.

“I’ve never told another soul.”

“Oh my God,” Daphne said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It went on for years, from the time I was ten. He left Charlene alone as long as I was around and didn’t tell. That’s why I had to stay. I couldn’t let him hurt her.”

“That’s horrible . . . couldn’t you tell your mother?”

She sniffled. “I tried. But she didn’t believe me, said I was just trying to get attention, and she’d whip my butt if I ever told anyone else such a ‘vile lie.’” A quick glance out of the corner of her eye assured her that Daphne believed her, but Meredith looked unconvinced.

“So what happened exactly?” Meredith’s voice sounded almost mocking, and Amber saw Daphne give her a look.

“I stayed until Charlene died. He told me if I left, he’d hunt me down and kill me. So I had to change my name. I hitchhiked to Nebraska and met a guy in a bar. He found me a roommate. I worked waitressing and saved my money until I had enough to come here and start over. He worked at the hall of records and got me the information on the missing girl, introduced me to someone who made me an ID in Amber’s name.”

Amber waited a beat for the women to respond.

To her great relief, Daphne rose and took her in her arms. “I’m so sorry,” she said again.

Meredith wasn’t letting it go, though. “What? Daphne, do you mean to tell me you’re just going to take her word for it and not investigate? I can’t believe this.”

Daphne’s eyes were cold. “Please go, Meredith. I’ll call you later.”

“You have a blind spot where she’s concerned.” Meredith walked to the door in a huff and turned around before she left. “Mark my words, Daphne—this will not end well.”

Daphne took Amber’s hand. “Don’t you worry. No one will ever hurt you again.”

“What about Meredith? What if she tells people?”