7:30 a.m.
Reva had never realized the knock at her door hadn't been part of her dream. It had been very real. Her sobs had drowned out the sound of a car pulling away.
The early-morning caller was not, of course, Jeffrey. It was her son Shayne.
He'd spent the night with Marina, at her place. Rising early this Saturday morning, he'd discovered they were out of milk, and headed out to buy some before breakfast.
Or maybe, if we weren't out of milk, I would have found another excuse, he admitted to himself as he drove on toward the supermarket.
He'd deliberately knocked very softly - hoping to get his mother's attention if she was already up, but not to wake her, and certainly not to wake Colin.
Bad idea, he told himself now. I should stay out of it, like everyone else has. Let her make her choice without pressure from any of us.
Not that he'd intended to pressure her. What he'd wanted to tell her was that he'd behaved like an ass when he said he couldn't bond with her. He'd been weighed down by his own problems, but he shouldn't have taken it out on her. Of course he'd bonded with her! He loved her, without reservation. He'd wanted to beg her forgiveness.
But I waited too long, he thought sorrowfully. Today isn't the time for it.
He didn't have a firm opinion as to whether she should go with Josh. He couldn't think clearly about any of this, because he was so distracted by worry about Edmund.
Shayne never spoke of Edmund to anyone but his father and Marina. But their old enemy was always in his thoughts.
He'd gone out of his way to publicize Henry's having a rare blood type, and his being a match, so Edmund would hear about it. He won't try again to kidnap Henry. Unless he means to snatch me too, and keep me in a cage! That wasn't likely. And Edmund wouldn't risk killing him, either. But what might he do to others, out of spite?
Shayne's relationship with Marina wasn't discreet by choice. They'd shared a past, before they found other loves; they'd actually lost their virginity to each other. Shayne guessed it was Mallet's knowledge of their history that had convinced him it wouldn't work for Henry to have "two daddies." And while Shayne couldn't help having some guilt feelings, Mallet had been right. By now, both his annulment and Marina's divorce were final, and they wanted to live together openly - to marry.
But he couldn't consider it, not while Edmund was alive and free. He'd be making the woman he loved a target for a madman.
During the last year, both Shayne and Josh had considered taking up the mission that had claimed Jeffrey's life. Hunting Edmund down, and either making a citizen's arrest or killing him.
This wasn't a fugitive hunt that could be left to the professionals, aided by America's Most Wanted. No law enforcement agencies outside Springfield were willing to be on the lookout for Edmund Winslow. His victims knew he was alive, knew it was a lookalike who'd been murdered; but they had no proof.
Still, it was quixotic to think either of the Lewis men could succeed where Jeffrey had failed. Neither one had the skills, the covert-ops experience, that he'd possessed. In the end, each of them had talked the other out of it.
Shayne had only given in when Josh pounded home his strongest argument: that Henry might need his blood, at any time.
He was sure his father - no more experienced than he, and middle-aged to boot - wouldn't stand a chance against Edmund. He'd told him that - and argued that he, Josh, was the only person who could, at some point, become the surrogate father little Colin would need. Josh had yielded...but Shayne had never felt confident that he wouldn't reverse course.
If Mom goes with him, she'll keep him from taking off in pursuit of Edmund.
Or will she? She couldn't stop Jeffrey.
And Dad might never do that anyway. Realistically, he has to know he'd only get himself killed.
He knew Josh's reason for wanting to take Reva away was that Edmund might target them if they stayed in Springfield, and he learned they'd reconciled.
But selfishly, I want at least one of my parents here. And despite what I told Dad, I want Colin here, for Henry! That isn't selfish...is it?
No, Shayne couldn't have given his mother any advice.
He could only, silently, curse himself. For having been fool enough to let Edmund know he'd been responsible for Lara's death.
x
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9:30 a.m.
Jonathan Randall tried to smile as his daughter wolfed down her breakfast. He hoped the smile didn't look like a grimace.
Sarah had talked him into agreeing to take her to the park. Which was probably as good a place as any to spend the day - all his friends and relatives had been hanging out there recently, on pleasant Saturdays.
But the relatives will be talking about Mom. Guessing what she'll do. Will they see that I'm more jumpy than anyone else?
He'd debated calling Reva. But what on earth could he say? He didn't know what advice to give her.
Jonathan had been a wreck for the last six months. The reason? His cell phone provider had been bought out by a competitor, and in the reorganization that followed, he'd been forced to accept a new phone number. On two weeks' notice! And the provider had told subscribers that with so many numbers being changed at one time, it couldn't implement a system for directing callers to the new numbers. Jonathan - whose cell phone was his only phone - had fought the change tooth and claw, to no avail.
And of course, Murphy's Law had kicked in. Jeffrey, who'd been calling him almost every day, had been silent for the entire two weeks. That was scary in itself, but he may just have been in an out-of-the-way place where a cell phone wouldn't work.
After the phone number switch, Jeffrey - assuming he was still alive - had been unable to reach Jonathan. And Jonathan had no way to contact him. Jeffrey had been making all the calls, on prepaid phones that he quickly disposed of.
So now, if Jonathan were to take the huge risk of telling his mother the truth, that truth could only be that her husband had been alive six months ago. God knows what Edmund may have done to him since. And if Jeffrey is alive, he must be tearing his hair out, wondering what's happened to me!
Jeffrey, if he was still out there, knew nothing of Josh's plan for Reva. When Jonathan first learned about it, he'd hoped Jeffrey would make it home in way less than a year. He'd decided Jeffrey was better off, in any case, not thinking he faced a "deadline": that might have driven him to take some ill-advised risk, and get himself killed. So all he'd told him was that Josh was temporarily away, supervising a major construction project in Tulsa.
If they'd been in touch within the last few weeks - the "deadline" that imminent - he definitely would have told Jeffrey what was going on, and let him make the fateful decision on what to tell, or not tell, Reva. But now it was all on Jonathan.
Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in Springfield in recent months; he wanted to believe that was a good sign. A sign that Jeffrey and Edmund were still caught up in hunting each other, leaving Edmund no time to wreak further havoc.
But still, the man's threats had been so dire that he couldn't ignore them. He had to act on the assumption that Edmund really did have spies everywhere - and if those spies even suspected Reva had learned Jeffrey was or might be alive, they or other agents would try to kill Henry, Colin, and Jonathan's own daughter, Sarah.
I'm sure Mom's never guessed Edmund would hatch a plot that dark. Or Shayne, either.
Jeffrey had theorized that Edmund had changed his plan from abducting and raising the three children to killing them - for spite - when he learned about Henry's blood disorder. Learned that the one child he really wanted to raise might not survive if he was separated from his father. And Shayne probably let him know about it deliberately, thinking he was protecting Henry!
Jonathan couldn't see any good outcome of the decision Reva had to make this day. If she left with Josh, and those all-seeing spies got word to Edmund, he might strike out in fury because she'd found happiness. No matter who with. But if she didn't go, he might jump to the conclusion that it was because Jonathan had told her Jeffrey was alive - even though he hadn't.
Sarah had finished breakfast, even washed the few dishes she'd used. Now she bounded up to him, clutching a favorite toy. "Come on, Daddy! I wanna get to the park."
Damn, he thought, how I love you! It's killing me to think of a threat to you. Maybe I should warn your mother of the danger? After my mother - does whatever she winds up doing today?
Aloud, he said, "Yeah, you're right." He ruffled her hair. "It's a beautiful day, and time's a-wasting."
x
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11:30 a.m.
Reva looked at herself in the mirror.
For God's sake, why did I dress like this?
A year before, she'd come into the house after Josh left. Fighting back tears. And she'd caught a glimpse of herself in this mirror.
She'd been amazed at what she saw.
In a casual, patterned t-shirt and blue jeans, with loosely curled, windblown hair, she'd looked terrific. Teary-eyed or not, it was the best she'd looked since she learned Jeffrey was dead.
That was the image of her that Josh had taken away with him.
She'd decided to go with him today, if he still wanted her. But then she'd put on a long dress - dull, dark green - and coupled it with a severe hairstyle. Neither was becoming.
The dress was certainly low-cut. Her large peace-symbol pendant - she'd chosen that because Colin liked to play with it when she held him - rested way down in her cleavage, but was clearly visible.
That just proves low-cut doesn't always mean sexy.
She thought she looked downright frumpy.
Was I subconsciously trying to make Josh not want me?
Or to test him, knowing I'll be able to read in his eyes whether he really wants me like this...whatever he may say?
In any case, it was too late to change now.
Too late to change my clothes. Not to change my mind...
Three separate times, while she was packing, she'd caught herself humming. "Out of my dreams and into your arms I long to fly..."
She'd tried to convince herself that what she really wanted was to run away from her dreams of Jeffrey, with Josh.
But that's not true. I always imagine myself running to someone, into his arms. And then, the arms I imagine around me are Jeffrey's.
While she was vacillating, Colin toddled over and began playing with her long dress. "Mama?" He was understandably confused, having watched her hasty packing. He looked up at her, all wide-eyed innocence, and asked, "Go bye-bye?"
How important is it that a boy have a father figure in his life? Do I have the right to deny Colin that?
I've been Jeffrey O'Neill's widow longer than I was his wife...
She picked Colin up, cuddled him, and kissed him. "Yes, dear," she said firmly. "We're going bye-bye."
After she'd set him down, she locked eyes with the woman in the mirror. You know what still has to be done. One final thing.
It wasn't easy. But with a long shudder, she did it.
Removed her wedding ring.