Chapter 5 - THE LITTLE GIRL WHO REMEMBERED
Mabel refused to sleep.
She sat in the guest bedroom with her crocheted rabbit tucked beneath
her chin while Alina brushed her hair.
“Grandma is in the bag?” she asked.
Alina’s hand paused. “Yes, sweetheart. Her ashes are safe.”
“Can she hear me?”
“I think the people we love stay with us in the stories we remember.”
Mabel nodded solemnly. “I remember her song.”
She began humming a simple tune Rosa used to sing while folding laundry.
Alina recognized it immediately. Her mother had sung the same melody
every night when Alina was small.
Tristan stood outside the half-open door, listening.
When Mabel finished, he entered.
“Can I sit with you?”
She nodded.
He sat on the edge of the bed. “Sweetheart, I need to ask you about the
night Grandma got sick.”
Mabel’s little fingers tightened around the rabbit.
“Which night?”
“The night you said Auntie Serena went into Grandma’s room.”
Alina looked up sharply.
Tristan kept his voice gentle. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t
want to.”
Mabel thought for a while.
“Grandma was sleeping in the blue room. Auntie Serena came in with a
glass.”
“What was in the glass?”
“Water. Maybe medicine.”
“Did Grandma drink it?”
Mabel shook her head. “Grandma said it smelled funny. She told Auntie
Serena to take it away.”
Alina’s face went pale.
“Did anyone else come into the room?” Tristan asked.
Mabel nodded. “The doctor man.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Dr. Bell. He had a shiny watch.”
Tristan exchanged a look with Alina. Dr. Bell had been the family’s
physician for nearly twenty years. He had signed Isabelle’s death
certificate.
“What happened after he came?” Tristan asked.
Mabel’s voice grew smaller. “He told Grandma to be quiet. Then he said
Mama was going to sleep for a long time.”
Tristan closed his eyes briefly.
“Did you tell anyone this before?”
“Grandma said I should tell Papa if the blue bird disappeared.”
Alina brushed a tear from Mabel’s cheek.
“Why didn’t you tell him sooner, sweetheart?”
“Because Auntie Serena said Papa would go away if I talked about the bad
night.”
Tristan pulled his daughter gently into his arms.
“I am not going away.”
Mabel clung to his neck. “I don’t want another person to disappear.”
“I know.”
Alina turned toward the window, fighting her own tears.
Tristan looked at her over Mabel’s head. “Your mother tried to protect
my daughter.”
“She loved her.”
“And now we’ll find out what happened to Isabelle.”
He kissed Mabel’s forehead and tucked the blanket around her.
Then he called Daniel.
“Find Dr. Bell. Quietly. I want his original records, his travel
history, and every payment he received from Serena Cross.”
Daniel’s reply came immediately.
“Boss, there’s something you should know. Dr. Bell resigned from the
family clinic this afternoon.”
Tristan looked toward the dark window.
“Where is he?”
“He checked out of his hotel an hour ago. His car was found abandoned
near the river.”
Mabel’s small voice came from the bed.
“Papa?”
Tristan turned. “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“The doctor man said he had to make the blue bird sleep too.”
Alina froze.
Tristan’s expression became terrifyingly calm.
May you like
“Daniel,” he said into the phone, “find him before he reaches the
airport.”
