Chapter 7: The Woman Who Came Back From the Grave
"That's Margaret Sterling.""
Eleanor repeated the name as though saying it twice might make the photograph disappear.
Nathaniel snatched the phone from my hand.
"That's impossible. You just told us Margaret died three years ago.""
"I attended her funeral," Eleanor replied.
"I watched them lower her coffin into the ground.""
I stared at the photograph.
The woman outside the Queens storage facility had silver streaks in her dark hair. Her face was thinner than it probably had been thirty years earlier, but there was no mistaking her eyes.
She looked exactly like the woman in the old photographs.
"Then who was buried?"" I asked.
Eleanor sat down heavily.
"I don't know.""
Nathaniel called Detective Brooks.
"We need you at the Callaway estate. Immediately.""
The detective sounded irritated.
"Mr. Callaway, we've already assigned officers to your mother's attempted murder investigation. What happened now?""
"Someone just sent my sister's photograph from a storage facility. My mother says the woman in it is supposed to be dead.""
There was a pause.
"Don't go anywhere. I'm sending a unit.""
Nathaniel ended the call.
I looked at Eleanor.
"You said Margaret raised our sister. What was her name?""
"Margaret called her Elizabeth.""
"Why?""
"Because she wanted to give the child a new identity. Richard arranged the paperwork.""
I studied the photograph again.
The woman was standing outside a building with a large silver number above the entrance.
Unit 318.
A message appeared.
Midnight. Storage facility. Come alone, Rose. If you bring Nathaniel, the truth dies with me.
Nathaniel read it.
"Absolutely not.""
"She's my sister," I said.
"Or someone pretending to be her.""
"Then I need to find out.""
Eleanor grabbed my hand.
"Rose, your mother spent thirty years hiding you from these people. Please don't throw away her sacrifice.""
I pulled my hand free.
"Your sacrifice? Your decisions? Everyone keeps telling me what was done for my protection. Nobody ever asks what I wanted.""
The front door suddenly opened.
Detective Brooks entered with two officers.
"Nobody is going anywhere," he announced.
Nathaniel showed him the photograph and the messages.
The detective examined the image.
"Do you recognize this woman, Mrs. Callaway?""
Eleanor shook her head.
"She looks like Margaret. But Margaret is dead.""
Brooks studied her face.
"Did you see the body?""
Eleanor hesitated.
"Yes.""
"Did you identify it yourself?""
"I saw her face.""
"Before or after the funeral director prepared her?""
Eleanor's expression changed.
Brooks looked at his officers.
"Get the burial records. I want the death certificate, medical examiner's report, and cemetery documentation.""
Then he turned to Nathaniel.
"Nobody approaches that storage facility without police protection.""
I almost protested.
But before I could speak, Eleanor suddenly clutched her chest.
"Mom?"" Nathaniel rushed toward her.
She was breathing rapidly.
"Margaret didn't die," she whispered.
Brooks crouched beside her.
"What do you mean?""
Eleanor looked at me.
"The woman I buried had a scar beneath her left ear. Margaret never had one.""
My stomach tightened.
"Then who was in the coffin?""
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Grace.""
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
"What?""
Eleanor began sobbing.
"Richard told me Grace had died in the fire. Years later, Margaret showed me a photograph of a body she claimed was Grace. I believed her. I didn't know until the funeral that something was wrong.""
I stepped backward.
"You buried my mother?""
"I thought I was burying Margaret.""
"Was it Grace?""
"I don't know.""
Nathaniel stood up.
"Detective, we're going to that cemetery.""
Brooks shook his head.
"Not without a warrant.""
Nathaniel stared at him.
"Then get one.""
An officer approached the detective and whispered something.
Brooks's expression hardened.
He looked at Eleanor.
"Mrs. Callaway, there's something else. Margaret Sterling's death certificate was filed under a different first name.""
"Which name?"" I asked.
The detective looked directly at me.
"Grace Carter.""
My legs nearly gave way.
The woman we had buried three years ago might have been my mother.
And the woman who had supposedly died in that coffin might have been alive all along.
Then Nathaniel's phone rang.
An unknown caller.
He answered on speaker.
A woman's voice spoke.
"Good evening, Nathaniel.""
Victoria.
"How are you enjoying your family reunion?""
Nathaniel's expression darkened.
"Where are you?""
Victoria laughed.
"Somewhere your mother should have visited thirty years ago.""
Eleanor covered her mouth.
Victoria continued.
"Ask her what happened to the third baby after Grace begged her to save all three.""
The call ended.
A second later, Detective Brooks received an alert on his phone.
He read it and looked up.
"Mr. Callaway, we just received confirmation that someone has opened a grave at Greenwood Cemetery.""
My stomach dropped.
Brooks turned the screen toward us.
May you like
The grave belonged to Margaret Sterling.
And according to the cemetery's records, the coffin inside had been empty for three years.
