Look Again - Lisa Scottoline [126]
Ellen felt her heart truly at peace for the first time since she’d first seen that white card, so long ago. She set Will down in the living room, but, oddly, he frowned, even as he stood at the center of an adoring circle. His glistening eyes scanned the room, ignoring the twisted streamers of green crepe, the green helium balloons on the ceiling, and even the pile of wrapped gifts from a love-crazed family.
“What’s the matter, sweetie?” Ellen asked, puzzled. She reached down and ruffled his soft hair with her fingers. She thought she might never stop touching his hair.
“Where’s Oreo Figaro, Mommy?”
“Oh. He was here a minute ago,” Ellen answered, looking around, and in the next second, they both spotted the cat under the dining room table, running from all the commotion, a black-and-white blur with a tail like an exclamation point.
“There he goes!” Will hollered, taking off after the cat, who bounded into the kitchen.
“Uh-oh.” Ellen went after Will, and everyone watched him, collectively holding their breaths. They had all discussed how he would react to seeing the kitchen again, and she had talked to a child psychologist who’d told her to let Will take the initiative in asking questions. The therapist had also approved her redecorating idea, and she prayed Will would, too. She held her breath when he reached the kitchen threshold.
“Mommy!” Will hollered, surprised. “Look in here!”
“I know, it’s a surprise for you.” Ellen came up behind him and rested a hand on his head. She and Marcelo had worked in the kitchen all weekend, installing laminated wood over the subfloor and painting the walls to cover the bloodstains. The wall color had been the easiest choice, although when sunlight flooded in through the back window, the room looked like it was growing. She doubted she’d ever get used to a bright green kitchen, nor should she.
“It’s my favorite!” Will exclaimed, then grabbed the cat, and gave him a kiss. “I love you, Oreo Figaro.”
“I love you, too,” Ellen replied, in her Oreo Figaro voice.
Will giggled and set the cat back on the floor. “Can I open my presents now?”
“Yes, but gimme a kiss first.” Ellen bent over, and Will threw his arms around her neck. If she was expecting a big reunion kiss, she wasn’t getting one, not when there were gifts waiting to be unwrapped. Will ran out of the room, and she called after him, “Love you!”
“Love you, too!”
Ellen went to the cabinet and got a trash bag for the gift wrap, then straightened up, remembering that the last time she had stood here, she had killed a man. She turned to the wall where Moore had slid down, as if to reassure herself that it wouldn’t still be bloodied.
But it was.
A sudden horrific flashback shot out of nowhere. Before her eyes, Moore slumped against the wall. Bright red blood spurted from a deep hole in his forehead. A crooked grin crossed his face.
Ellen froze, remembering. That smile was crooked because it turned down on the right. Like Will’s.
She put it together, stunned. She hadn’t noticed it then, because she was sure that Bill Braverman was Will’s father. But now that she knew that he wasn’t, the crooked grin assumed a new significance. Then she remembered what Moore had said that night to Carol.
You shoulda said to him, “Honey, wifey-poo isn’t the good girl you think.”
Ellen stared at the wall, but it had turned green again. She stood a moment, shaken, trying to collect her thoughts, trying to process what she had just learned.
If Bill wasn’t Will’s father, she had at least a guess who was.
Epilogue
About a year later, there was another winter snow and another party with wrapped presents, balloons, and crepe streamers crisscrossing the living room, which this time was packed with noisy, sugar-fueled classmates of Will’s. They ran back and forth, played with new toys, ate grocery-store sheet cake, and generally wreaked havoc for his fourth birthday.
“Watch