Look Again - Lisa Scottoline [69]
“Oh, she won’t take a dime for it. Carol does it because she loves children. Come with me.” Janice took Ellen by the elbow and led her back up the hall. “It’s actually a terrible tragedy. Carol’s little boy, Timothy, was kidnapped a couple of years ago and they never got him back. That first year, she was a mess. Depressed, in hell. But she pulled herself together and decided that it actually helps her healing process to be around children.”
Ellen felt a wave of guilt. “How can she do that? I would find that so painful.”
“I agree with you, but do you want to know what she said to me, when I asked her that very question?”
No. “Yes.”
“She said, ‘If I’m around children, at least I get to experience what it would be like if Timothy were still with me. I don’t miss out on everything this way, and when I get him back, I’ll be right up to speed.’ ”
Ellen felt like crying. She didn’t want to know this, any of it. She couldn’t believe she was doing this to another woman. She wished she’d never come.
“I know, right? It’s so sad.”
“Think she’ll get him back?”
“I’m sure the chances are low, but we’re all pulling for her. If anybody deserves it, Carol does.” They reached the office, and Janice brightened. “If you’ll come in with me, I’ll give you that literature I mentioned.”
Ellen followed her inside the office, but her thoughts had skipped ahead.
She didn’t know if she had the heart to stalk Carol to her next stop.
Much less to get the proof she didn’t want in the first place.
Chapter Forty-nine
The late-day sun was even hotter, and Ellen was trailing Carol back through the luxurious suburbs when her BlackBerry started ringing. She plucked it from her purse and glanced at the display, which showed the newspaper’s main telephone number.
Marcelo!
“Hello?” she said, picking up, but it wasn’t him, it was Sarah.
“Marcelo told us you’re taking a few days off. Listen, I won’t keep you, but I wanted to apologize.”
“That’s okay,” Ellen said, surprised. Sarah sounded genuinely contrite.
“I’m sorry I got so hyper about the story. When you fainted, I felt awful.”
“Thanks. It’s just this bug, I feel dizzy.”
“Okay, so, we cool?”
“Sure.” Ellen took a right turn, keeping up with Carol in rush-hour traffic. They were driving back through the congested part of the city, but she switched lanes, staying with Carol.
“I assume you heard, we got bumped for the Yerkes fire.” Sarah snorted. “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.”
“Listen, I gotta go back to bed.”
“Feel better. Take care.”
“Thanks. See you.” Ellen hung up and accelerated to make a green light as they wound left and right through traffic and finally traveled over the causeway to Surfside Lane.
Carol turned right onto Surfside, and Ellen drove down the main drag and took a U-turn, coming back to park in her position across the street, so that she could see if Carol went out again. She lowered the windows and twisted off the ignition, craning her neck to see down Surfside. If she tilted her head, she had a partial view of the Bravermans’ house and driveway. More people were walking on Coral Ridge than before, but no one seemed to notice her. A man who looked like a model jogged past, and behind him, two Rollerbladers skated toward the causeway, their thighs pumping away.
Ring Ring! Ellen reached for her BlackBerry, checking the screen. HOME. It had to be Connie. “Hey, Con, how’s it going?”
“Another day, another macaroni picture.”
“Art you can eat, right?” Ellen smiled. Her thoughts traveled back to her snug little house though her gaze remained on the Bravermans’.
“I don’t know if this matters, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. I think somebody just called here. Her name was Sarah. Is that someone from the newspaper or a story?”
“The paper.” Ellen tensed. “When was this?”
“About half an hour ago. Will answered the phone and told her that you weren’t home.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry. He got to the phone before I did. He thought it might be you. He talked to her and hung up. I heard him say Sarah. I didn’t even get