Hidden Falls

by Newport, Olivia

  1:14 p.m.

  When the phone on his desk rang, Jack kept his eyes on the real estate contract in front of him as he hit the speaker button and answered the call. “Jack Parker.”

  “This is Liam Elliott.”

  Jack pushed the contract away from the center of his desk and set a fresh legal pad in front of him. “How are you?”

  “Better than you might think,” Liam said.

  “How so?” Jack put the point of a pen down on the paper, ready to begin writing. Maybe Liam was calling on behalf of Jessica McCarthy—or perhaps he had been mixed up in the financial violations himself. Everybody deserved a strong defense.

  “Do you think you could come down to the corner?” Liam asked.

  Jack heard a snicker in the background and laid down his pen. He was not in a mood to be the butt of a prank.

  “Where are you, Liam?” Jack stood up and tapped his desk.

  “About two minutes away.”

  “Why don’t you just come up to the office? I’ll be happy to speak to you.”

  “Come on, Jack. Loosen up.”

  Liam Elliott was telling Jack to loosen up? They weren’t pals. Until the last week or so, they’d barely said more than good morning to each other as they passed on the stairs. Had Liam been drinking in the middle of the day? Jack could think of no reason not to end the call.

  “Stop in,” Jack said, his finger poised over the button that would cut off the call. “I’ll see what I can do for you.”

  “Oh, I don’t need a lawyer,” Liam said. “Well, at least not today. Tomorrow could be a different story. Just come to the corner. We’ll be there in one minute.”

  “Who’s ‘we’?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Liam’s voice dropped away, and Jack realized the call had ended. He took his suit jacket off the back of his office door and pushed his arms into the sleeves as he left the suite. By the time he reached the corner at the end of the block, three cars had parked and the doors flew open.

  Ethan raced around his black Lexus to get to the passenger door before Nicole emerged unassisted.

  Liam and his cousin got out of her muddied Jeep.

  The third vehicle was the mayor’s red Ford Taurus. She got out of one side, and a man Jack didn’t recognize got out of the other.

  And Ted Quinn unfolded himself from the backseat. What in the world?

  Jack buttoned his suit jacket.

  “I don’t remember if you’ve met Quinn.” Liam strode toward Jack.

  “In passing a couple of times,” Jack said. Though he didn’t know Quinn beyond his reputation in Hidden Falls and the affection his daughters felt toward him, Jack felt as if he’d been racing Quinn toward the goal of unraveling the mystery of the Pease and Tabor babies—and Quinn had a considerable head start.

  “He wants to talk to you.”

  The sidewalk was uncharacteristically crowded, but then most afternoons did not herald the return of the town’s favorite personality. Quinn raised his head toward Jack and winked one eye, but at least a dozen people filled the space between them with others trailing behind Quinn’s steps. Quinn patiently accepted embraces and offered handshakes.

  Sylvia stepped in and spoke with mayoral authority, asking people to step back and assuring them there would be plenty of time to greet Quinn. With outstretched arms, she cleared a path for Quinn to walk toward Jack.

  “Hello, Jack.” Quinn extended a warm handshake. “I seem to be quite the celebrity today.”

  “People have been very worried about you,” Jack said. “I know my girls have.”

  “How are your girls?” Quinn raised his eyebrows and looked sincerely interested.

  “They’re well—and they’ll be delighted to hear that you’re back.”

  “I’m looking forward to reading Eva’s family history project,” Quinn said. “She’s the first Parker to come through my tenth-grade class, so it’ll be a fresh family history to dive into. We’ve had some good conversations about it.”

  Jack looked around as more people came out of office buildings and around the corner from Main Street.

  “I wanted to invite you for a cup of coffee,” Quinn said. “I suppose that’s not realistic now.”

  “Not unless you want to have coffee in the school gymnasium,” Jack said. “I’m glad to see you are safe and sound.”

  Quinn waved away the concern. “I have a feeling the next few days are going to be out of my control. Before the whirlwind starts, I wanted to express my thanks for your help.”

  “My help?”

  “With Nicole and Ethan. I understand you helped piece together some of the information about Ethan’s history. It’s a very different story than the one he wrote when he was in the tenth grade.”

  Jack shrugged. “You were the one who started that line of inquiry.”

  “Give yourself credit,” Quinn said. “You did some good sleuthing. Ethan tells me you declined to destroy the old will and the contract between Pease and Tabor.”

  “That’s right,” Jack said. “They may yet come in useful.”

  “I would very much like to see them.”

  Jack’s gaze bounced around the growing crowd. Sylvia, Ethan, and Liam were all fully engaged in encouraging people to allow Quinn to have this conversation. Nicole sat in Ethan’s car with the door open watching the scene, and Dani leaned against her Jeep talking with the man Jack didn’t recognize.

  “I think the mayor has this in hand,” Quinn said. “Let’s give them all the slip.”

  Jack chuckled. “I believe you already tried that trick.”

  Quinn grinned. “And I was quite successful!”

  Jack caught Liam’s eye before leading Quinn into the office building and up the stairs. They were halfway to the second story when Jack’s cell phone pinged, and out of reflex he looked at it.

  “A text message from my daughter,” he said.

  “Which one?”

  “Brooke. She says, ‘Is it true that Quinn came home?’”

  “Well, news gets around quickly in Hidden Falls,” Quinn said, “but I didn’t expect it to hit the schools quite yet. Tell her I look forward to seeing her at church on Sunday.”

  Jack typed while they walked. By the time he hit SEND, they had reached Jack’s suite.

  “I suppose you’ve got a few files on me,” Quinn said. “The younger Mr. Morris handled my interests when I bought my home thirty years ago.”

  “Then the papers are here somewhere,” Jack said. “Morris and Morris did not seem to believe in throwing anything away.”

  “A fortunate habit for us, or you would never have found that contract between Mr. Tabor and Mr. Pease, and we might have all sorts of notions about why Ethan Jordan looks so much like Harold Tabor.”

  Jack turned the key in the lock and opened the door. As he did so, his phone rang.

  “Sorry,” he said. “This time it’s Eva calling.”

  “She should be in her sixth-period English class,” Quinn said. “Let’s hope Principal Devon doesn’t discover she’s been using her phone during class.”

  Jack debated about ignoring the call.

  Quinn turned up one corner of his mouth. “May I answer your phone?”

  “Help yourself.” Jack turned on the phone’s speaker and slapped it into Quinn’s open palm.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Parker,” Quinn said.

  Jack heard his daughter’s gasp.

  “Mr. Quinn?” she said.

  “Yes, it’s me.”

  The girl squealed. “Everybody, it’s true. He’s back.”

  “I’m delighted by your enthusiasm,” Quinn said, “but your teacher may have other ideas.”

  Eva laughed. “She’s the one who suggested we find out if the rumor was true.”

  “And what exactly was the rumor?”

  “Zeke Plainfield’s mom sent him a text message and said she saw you on the street and it’s a mob scene.”

  “The street is rather abuzz.”
r />   “When are you coming back to school?”

  “Soon. So when you see your history classmates, tell them to get those projects in shipshape.”

  Eva giggled. “What are you doing with my dad’s phone?”

  “I’m at his office. I couldn’t resist.”

  “Tell my dad to call me later, please.”

  “Will do.” Quinn handed the phone back to Jack. “You heard the lady. Now about those documents.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Jack went into the file room, where he had created a new file folder with Ethan’s name on it and placed it among his current files in a locked cabinet. When he sealed the envelope containing the originals of the relevant documents just a few hours ago, Jack hadn’t expected he would break the seal so soon. He had intended only that he would be able to produce the files if Ethan wanted them at some point in the future. Now he laid the papers in a straight row on his desk and stepped aside so Quinn could inspect them.

  Jack looked down on the scene in the street while Quinn read the tattered, yellowed papers.

  After a few minutes, Quinn sighed. “It looks like we got to the same destination by separate routes, but I admit I’m glad to have this confirmation.”

  “From a legal standpoint, it’s still largely speculation,” Jack said. The contract didn’t specify that the families were exchanging children, after all.

  “Of course,” Quinn said, “and if Ethan hadn’t inherited the particular set of genes he did, we wouldn’t even have had reason to speculate. Or if that crate of old Tabor belongings hadn’t made its way to the historical society, we would never have known there was anything to speculate about.”

  “I suppose not,” Jack murmured.

  “A moment can change your whole life. Maybe someday I’ll tell you about the one that changed mine.”

  Jack didn’t know if he would have another private opportunity with Quinn. If he wanted to ask, he had to do it now. “About the grave?”

  Quinn nodded as he stacked the documents and slid them back into the envelope. “I haven’t quite got that part figured out, either. I finally decided I had to tell Ethan what I knew so far, even if not all the questions were answered.”

  Jack took the envelope from him and set it aside. Later he would again seal the past against the future. “Are you giving up on the final question, then?”

  Quinn stepped away from the desk. “We should probably go back down to the others.”

  “You’ve come this far,” Jack pressed. “Don’t you want to know?” Between the two of them, perhaps they could still figure out the mystery of who was buried in the infant grave only a few feet from the Pease markers without causing distress to the Jordan family.

  “It’s hard to know what to do when you’re staring into the dark.” Quinn tilted his head. “Sometimes you only go as far as you can see and then wait for the light again.”

  2:28 p.m.

  “What’s going on out there?” Lauren was sitting up in a chair in her hospital room and now leaned toward the closed door. Cooper sat in another chair borrowed from an empty room. He’d only come in about six minutes ago. “Did you see any ruckus when you came in?”

  Cooper shook his head. “Just the usual frenzy of overworked hospital staff.”

  Lauren cocked her head. Something was definitely happening out there. She’d been in the hospital long enough to know what sounds were normal at mealtimes and shift changes and peak visiting hours. What she heard now wasn’t normal. The door opened, and footsteps and voices rose, but Lauren couldn’t make out any words.

  Nurse Wacker came in. “How’s the patient?”

  “Not very patient.” Cooper laughed at his own pun.

  Lauren scowled at him.

  “Your CNA seems to have gone AWOL,” Nurse Wacker said. “I’m just going to get some quick vitals since you’re off the monitor.”

  “Is something happening out in the hall?” Lauren asked.

  “Like what?” The nurse put fingers on Lauren’s wrist to feel for her pulse.

  “Some kind of commotion. It seems noisy.”

  “Nothing for you to worry about.”

  Lauren held her retort. She wasn’t worried. She was curious. What was wrong with asking a simple question?

  “Your pulse is a little fast,” the nurse said as she pushed up Lauren’s sleeve and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm. “Keep in mind that Dr. Jordan doesn’t want you to be stressed.”

  “I feel fine.” Lauren offered a smile as proof and took a deep breath, determined that the nurse would not find her blood pressure elevated as well.

  A minute later Nurse Wacker rubbed Lauren’s shoulder. “You look good. Just try to relax for a little while longer.”

  Once again when the door opened, the hall sounds rose for a few seconds. Lauren heard muffled laughter this time.

  Cooper’s phone emitted a sound Lauren had come to recognize as the signal that he had a text message. A smile spread across his face as he looked at his phone.

  “Good news?” Lauren said.

  “Yes, from my brother.”

  “Have you seen him today?”

  “No, but he seems to be having a good day.”

  “I’m glad.”

  Lauren waited for Cooper to say more, but he didn’t.

  “I don’t understand why Ethan didn’t come to see me this morning,” she said. “I was hoping he would spring me by now. My aunt was in and out of here in such a hurry last night, and I haven’t heard a word from her all day, either.”

  “Give Sylvia a break. She’s the mayor, runs a local business, and looks after her mother.”

  Cooper looked at his phone again, still smiling. If he wasn’t going to tell her what he found so amusing, Lauren wouldn’t press the question. She was more interested in what was happening outside the room.

  She stood up. “I don’t think there’s any reason I can’t take a short walk. I did it this morning.”

  That silly grin was still stuck on Cooper’s face. It was starting to annoy Lauren.

  “Do you want to come?” Lauren asked as she moved toward the door. With or without Cooper, she was going to find out what the commotion in the hall was about.

  “Maybe you should take it easy,” Cooper said.

  Lauren cinched her robe tighter. “I feel fine.” She walked at an unhurried but determined pace toward the door and pulled on the handle.

  It gave too easily, and Lauren stumbled back a couple of steps. Ethan appeared, pushing on the other side of the door.

  “Hello, Lauren.”

  “Hello.” Lauren lifted herself to her toes to look over Ethan’s shoulder. How was it possible that the few square feet of the hall she could see were vacant at that moment? The buzz was still there, though, distinctly floating in one direction.

  Ethan applied slight pressure to Lauren’s shoulder, turning her around. “Why don’t you sit down?”

  “What’s going on out there, Ethan?”

  He shrugged. “You can never tell in a hospital hall. Maybe somebody got good news.”

  Lauren huffed, but she sat on the side of the bed. She was used to the paces Ethan would put her through, even though her responses had been normal ever since the procedure he’d done early Monday morning. She pushed against his hand, followed his finger in the path through the air, and winced when he drew his pen across the bottom of her foot.

  “Has anything odd happened today?” Ethan said.

  “You mean in addition to the funny stuff in the hall?”

  He tilted his head and smiled. “Just wondering how you’re feeling. No trouble with words or memory?”

  “I feel fine, Ethan. When can I go home?”

  “I think we can get discharge under way. I’ll leave orders at the nurses’ station.”

  “Good!” Lauren glanced at Cooper, wondering if he would want to take her home. First she’d have to ask Aunt Sylvia to bring her some clothes.

  “Put your slippers back on,” Ethan said.
“I’d like Cooper to take you for a short walk.”

  “I told you it was okay.” Lauren threw Cooper a glance.

  “Why don’t you go down to the waiting room?” Ethan said. “Get some new scenery.”

  Cooper stood and offered an arm. Lauren slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. His arm was solid muscle. Lauren wasn’t sure why she’d expected anything else.

  Ethan went first into the hall, letting Cooper hold the door for Lauren. She heard him murmur something to Nurse Wacker, who gave a sly smile. Lauren looked down the hall in both directions. Had the activity passed with such swiftness? It didn’t seem possible the medley of voices she’d heard could have dispersed so quickly. She blew out her breath.

  “Are you all right?” Cooper asked.

  “I’m fine.” Why did everyone keep asking her how she was? The crisis was long past. As she turned toward the waiting room, Lauren glanced over one shoulder at Ethan making notes at the nurses’ station.

  The farther down the hall they went, the more convinced Lauren became that the blanket of hushed noise she’d heard outside her room had transferred to the waiting room. She clutched Cooper’s arm, wondering what she was about to encounter.

  The room was full—of people, of laughter, of hugs, of light, of grins.

  Of sheer joy.

  “There have to be at least forty people here,” Lauren said. She looked for a thread to connect the faces she saw, but the group was too varied. Some were from Our Savior Community Church, some from shops along Main Street, some from the hospital in their scrubs, some from neighborhoods all over town. Some she didn’t even know. Lauren could connect one person to another, and then the second to a third, but by the time she got to the fourth or fifth, the direct connection faltered.

  She could think of only one thing that would unite this diversity.

  Quinn.

  He stepped out of a huddle in the middle of the room. Lauren felt Cooper’s grip on her elbow tighten as she gasped.

  “You knew about this, didn’t you?” she said.

  “Guilty as charged.”

  Quinn moved toward her. Lauren was only briefly self-conscious about walking into a room full of people in her bathrobe and slippers.

  “I hear you had a run-in with a sidewalk,” Quinn said as he embraced Lauren.