She had been caught in the cross fire of what the police thought was gang violence. In the course of the postmortem, it was determined that shed never given birth to a child. She met his gaze briefly and then looked away. Robert and I assumed I was adopted, but we couldnt find adoption papers anywhere. Hes started a search through court records, but without knowing where or when, it seems impossible to trace.
Trey tried to imagine himself in that situation and ran up against a blank wall. He couldnt even begin to think what it must be like. His family roots went deep here in Echo Falls, where everyone knew everything going back several generations. But you must have a birth certificate.
I have a baptismal certificate from a church outside Boston that appears genuine, but thats when I was three. What we thought was a birth certificate was actually a hospital form, not a state-registered certificate. And no such birth actually occurred at that hospital on that date.
Trey frowned, caught up in the story in spite of himself. Your mother must have been very determined to wipe out traces of who you really were. If she were desperate to have a child...
No. If youre thinking she took me because she was mentally unbalanced...well, you never knew my mother. Thats not something she would do.
Hed reserve judgment on that one. Children werent always the best judge of what their parents would do. Come to think of it, that worked the other way around, too.
So youve run into a lot of blind alleys. But what brought you to Echo Falls?
She hesitated, and for a moment he actually thought she was going to call the whole thing off, say goodbye, send me a bill and walk away. But instead she took something from her bag and handed it to him.
Do you recognize that?
It was a photograph of what seemed to be a painting.
The subject was familiar to him. Thats Echo Falls. He studied it closely. But Ive never seen that painting of the falls.
My mother painted it. She was Juliet Curtiss. I dont know if youre familiar...
Yes, of course. I read the account of her death somewhere. That shed a bit more light on things. Juliet Curtiss most likely had a considerable estate to leave her heir, which was now in doubt. On the other hand, if the woman thought the painting would lead her to answers about her parentage...
This is a photo of the words on the back of the painting. I enlarged it to make it more readable.
He read the short line of printing, struggling to make sense of it. It sounds as if your mother did the painting as a tribute to a friend, but that doesnt mean theres a connection to you.
Its a memorial, so its logical to assume that the date on it was the date when this person died.
He nodded. M. Im with you, but...
The date is two months after I was born. She seemed to think that made everything clear. It didnt.
Even so, he began.
You think Im imagining a connection that isnt there. Her face flamed with sudden anger.
I think youre building a great deal on a slim chance. If I thought I could help you...
Never mind. She held out her hand for the photos. Robert suggested I see you rather than a private investigator, both because he trusts you and because as a local attorney, youre more likely to know what to search for. Maybe Ill do better looking into the situation on my own.
Annoyed, he held the photos out of reach. Hold on. I didnt say I wouldnt try. I just dont know that I can come up with the answers you want.
I want the truth. Her tone was uncompromising.
Good. So do I. Now we have common ground, at least. May I hold on to these?
Why? She shot the word at him.
Well, mainly because I was four years old in 1989. Id like to show them to someone who might remember something from that year.
She frowned. I assume you have a copier in the office. Suppose you keep a copy.
Trey nodded. We can do that on the way out. Now, where are you staying?
At a motel down near Williamsport. It was the closest place I could find that would allow dogs.
Let me have your cell number, then. Ill call you if I find anything. He hesitated, but it ought to be said. In the meantime, it probably would be best if you didnt start investigating this in Echo Falls yourself.
Why not? She was instantly defensive.
Its a small town. And like most small towns, people dont like outsiders poking around asking questions. He could see by her expression that she didnt understand. Obviously shed never lived in a place like Echo Falls.
Ill think about what you said. She stood, and the dog lumbered to his feet, his nap interrupted. She handed Trey a card with the number hed requested. It also identified her as Dr. Amanda Curtiss, DVM. A vet. Hed never have guessed that, but it seemed to explain that air of competence.
Trey rounded the desk to join her. Meaning youll follow your own instincts?
That seemed to break through her guard for an instant, and she smiled. I suppose so.
Tell me something. He opened the door for her. Did Robert McKinley approve of this investigation of yours?
Probably not. But I told him, and Ill tell you. There was a fierce quality to her determination that he hadnt seen before. I intend to know the truth. Im going to find out who I am, no matter who stands in the way.
He tried for a noncommittal expression. Thats your right. He wished he could say it was wise, but he couldnt. For no reason that he could put his finger on, he had the feeling that Amanda Curtisss quest could land her in a big bunch of trouble. And him with her, if he let himself be sucked in.
CHAPTER TWO
WHEN AMANDA REACHED the sidewalk a few minutes later she paused, considering. That appointment hadnt gone as badly as it might have, she supposed. Shed almost become accustomed to the series of disturbing events that had turned her life upside down, right up until shed tried to verbalize them to a stranger. If the story sounded off-the-wall to her, she could imagine how it had sounded to that attorney.
To do him justice, Alter hadnt escorted her politely to the door and suggested she consult a mental health professional. Maybe he was a bit too staid and reserved, despite his age, for such an act.
Barney pressed against her leg as if to ask why they were standing irresolute on the sidewalk. Walk, Barney?
A wave of the tail answered her. Barney was too well trained to give his usual ecstatic bark in public, but there was no denying a walk would suit him fine. And it made a good excuse to have a look at the place that had seemed to hold such significance to her mother.
To Juliet Curtiss, she corrected, starting down the sidewalk away from the law office. Was she ever going to get used to the idea that she wasnt Juliets biological daughter?
Juliet had seen her as a daughter. Hadnt she said so plainly in her will? That was the important thing, Robert had told her over and over in the past two weeks. Hed been distressed by what he saw as Amandas obsession with finding out who she was and where shed come from.
And as her attorney, hed been firmly opposed to her leaving Boston at all. Stay in residence at the brownstone had been his repeated refrain. That way, if Juliets brother did get a hint of any irregularity, hed have much more difficulty in getting her out.
Amanda couldnt do it. She couldnt live her life cautious and afraid. It would have been a betrayal of the way Juliet had raised her. Juliet Curtiss had taken her own course all her life, and shed taught Amanda to do the same.
Robert had been sympathetic, but he hadnt understood. As for the attorney hed sent her to...well, Alter didnt understand, either. He clearly wanted her to do nothing except, possibly, go away.
Had he been right about the people here and their attitude toward outsiders? So far as she could tell, Echo Falls inhabitants appeared friendly. Instead of the usual eyes averted posture of a busy city, most people she passed here gave her a pleasant smile or a nod.
The main street of Echo Falls was lined on either side by small shops and offices. A gift shop, a bank, a bookstore...she checked them off as she passed. Ahead of her was the town square, with a small plot of grass, a fountain and a memorial to someone or other. The redbrick buildings around it looked solidly turn of the century. Another bank anchored one corner, while the town hall and the public library accounted for two more. The last was occupied by the local newspaper.
A library and a newspaper office were two of the first places shed thought to check for information. It was tempting to go in now, but Barney probably wouldnt be welcome, and her stomach informed her it was long past lunchtime.
With a longing glance at the library, Amanda turned back the way shed come. Noticing a bakery-café across the street, she put Barney in the car, cracked the window a couple of inches and headed in search of lunch.
Several people were coming out of Beilers Café as she reached it. Judging by the quiet interior, she must have missed the lunch rush, if there was such a thing in a town this size.
The pleasant-faced woman behind the counter waved her to a table. Wilkom. Will you have coffee?
Yes, please. The fact that the woman was Amish surprised her. Shed grown accustomed to seeing the Amish when shed done her veterinary training in Pennsylvania, but somehow she hadnt expected to find an Amish settlement this far north in the state.
A steaming mug appeared first, followed quickly by a menu. Lunch, or maybe a cruller to go with the coffee? The womans smile widened. Im Esther... Esther Beiler. And you are a visitor, aint so?
Amanda relaxed, whatever tension shed held on to evaporating at the womans friendliness. Thats right. I havent been to this part of Pennsylvania before. You have such a pretty downtown area. True enough, and it occurred to her that she should seize the opportunity to chat when offered.
Ach, its not so bad, Esther acknowledged. I think the valley is at its best in the fall, when the ridges have so much color. Its already close to the peak, I think. We get a fair number of tourists coming through on weekends.
Nodding, Amanda scanned the menu. What do you recommend?
Chicken potpie is most popular. I have homemade vegetable beef soup, too, and its not so bad.
Deciding that not so bad was high praise, Amanda opted for the vegetable beef soup. As the woman headed back toward the kitchen, Amanda noticed tourist brochures on a rack inside the door. She picked up one to look at while waiting. Her preliminary research had told her that the actual falls for which the community was named was a couple of miles away. She was eyeing a sketch map in the brochure doubtfully when Esther returned with the soup and a basket of rolls that smelled fresh from the oven.
Youre interested in the falls, yah? Esther seemed to have no inhibitions about looking over Amandas shoulder.
Id like to see them, yes. She couldnt expect that looking at the falls would tell her anything about why her mother had painted them, but somehow she had to see for herself. But this map...
Thats for pretty, not for finding your way. Esther dismissed the tourist brochure. Best if you have someone take you there the first time. Its not an easy walk.
Walk?
Yah. You can park not too far away, but youll need to walk through the woods. Esther gestured toward the street. I saw you coming out of the law office. Trey could take you. Or was it Jason Glassman you came to see?
The firm was Alter and Glassman. Obviously news spread fast here. Trey? she questioned.
Theodore James Alter. Esthers smile widened. His father and grandfather had the same name, so everyone calls him Trey.
Amanda stowed that information away. Obviously Alter was well-known here. Whether that would help her or not, she didnt know.
I had some business with the office. I dont know Mr. Alter socially. And the idea of having him along when she went to the falls didnt appeal. I saw a painting of the falls once, she added. If Esther knew everything that went on in town, she might have been aware of Juliets visit, although there didnt seem much chance shed remember it after all these years.
A painting. Think of that, now. Ive seen lots of photographs of the falls, but never a painting. She shrugged. Funny, that is, but people have kind of odd feelings about the falls.
Odd? Amanda had her own reasons for mixed emotions about the falls, but...
Lots of superstitions, you know. Esther seemed vaguely uneasy. I dont put much stock in those old stories myself.
What kind of old stories? She asked the question around a spoonful of vegetable soup, rich with tender beef chunks.
Esther frowned, brushing her palms down the front of her white apron. Ach, old Indian tales and the like. She hesitated. Theres one that says you should never climb up the trail by the falls alone. Seems if you do...
The pause might have been for effect, but Amanda suspected the womans hesitation was genuine enough. Yes?
They say if you do, youll hear something following you. Coming after you. All you can hear is the rushing water and the footsteps behind you.
Esthers rosy face had lost some of its color. She wasnt putting this on to entertain the tourist. Suddenly she flicked her apron, as if shaking something off it.
Ach, thats all nonsense, probably made up to keep kids away. I dont believe a word of it.
Amanda didnt, either, of course. She was far too sensible to be frightened by ghost stories.
But the words lingered in her mind like a cobweb clinging to her fingers, impossible to shake away.
* * *
SO HOW DID the appointment with the new client go? Jason Glassman, Treys law partner, tossed some mail on Treys desk. Anything there?
Trey shrugged. Doubtful. He and Jason had spent plenty of hours trying to rebuild the firm in the past few months, and he didnt think Amanda Curtisss wild-goose chase was going to help them.
Dont tell me your big-shot Boston friend sent you someone who doesnt have a case.
Worse. He frowned. At least, I think its worse. Its either going to be time wasted on nothing at all, or its going to be something...
What?
Im not sure. He couldnt rid himself of the feeling that if there was any substance to Amandas story, it would lead to a messy situation that wouldnt do the firm or himself any good.