“I can’t. Not if it’s going to cause trouble.”
“A little late for that, don’t you think?” Steve said.
Hunter turned toward Caroline, his eyes filled with both hope and pain. “You really think there’s a chance in hell she could be Samantha?”
“Oh, please,” said Michelle, making fists in the air. “You’re as bad as she is.”
“What say you, Mother?” Steve asked. “You’ve been curiously quiet throughout all this. It’s not like you to be so restrained.”
“Mother?” Caroline said, growing alarmed. “Are you all right?”
“It’s her,” Mary said softly.
“What are you talking about?” Steve protested.
“She looks just like you did at that age,” Mary told Caroline.
“You’re crazy,” Steve said. “She doesn’t look anything like Caroline did as a teenager.”
Mary got up from her chair and approached Lili, reaching for the young girl’s chin, turning her head from side to side. “I’m not sure what it is exactly,” she said. “You’re right. The features aren’t the same. But it’s Caroline. I can see it.”
“Are you sure?” Caroline asked.
“It’s her,” Mary said firmly. “It’s Samantha.”
“So, what happens now?” Steve asked after several seconds of stunned silence, voicing the question on everyone’s lips.
“I’ll call Peggy first thing in the morning,” Caroline said, remembering that Peggy and Fletcher were at a wedding and probably wouldn’t be back until late. “See if she knows where to go for a DNA test.”
“Oh, please,” Michelle said. “Hasn’t anybody here ever heard of the Internet?” She left the room. Seconds later, her footsteps could be heard running up the stairs.
“I’m really sorry,” Lili apologized to Caroline. “She seems so upset.”
“Can you blame her?” asked Steve. “It’s not every day your sister returns from the dead.”
“Let’s not get off track here, people,” Hunter interjected, in full lawyer mode. He glanced toward Lili, who sat perched on the edge of the sofa, her hand resting in Mary’s lap. “We won’t know anything until we take a DNA test and the results either confirm or deny. So I suggest we call it a day, get a good night’s sleep, Caroline will speak to Peggy first thing in the morning, and we’ll proceed from there. There’s little to be gained from further speculation or discussion. And nothing to be gained from telling anyone else about this. The last thing we want is for the press to hear about it. Are we agreed? Are we clear?”
“Clear,” Steve said, although the question had been directed at Caroline.
“I’m not going to tell anyone,” Lili said.
“You have to call Calgary,” Caroline told her. “Your mother…” She stopped, the word sticking in her windpipe, like an errant piece of hard candy.
“I forgot about her,” Hunter said. “She doesn’t know you’re here?”
Lili shook her head.
“Caroline’s right,” Hunter said. “You’ll have to call her.”
“What do I tell her?”
“The truth.”
“You really think that’s a good idea?” Steve asked. “What if she calls the police?”
“I guess that’s a chance we’ll have to take.”
“She wouldn’t do that,” Lili said.
“Certainly not if she has anything to hide,” Mary said, not quite under her breath.
“Is there anything you can tell us that might make me a believer?” Steve asked Lili. “Anything at all that you remember from that night…?”
Lili shook her head.
“She was only two years old,” Caroline reminded her brother.
A phone rang, a muffled collaboration of Beyoncé and Jay-Z emerging from Hunter’s pocket. He shrugged sheepishly and answered it, turning away from Caroline as he spoke. “Hi, babe.”
Caroline felt an unexpected and unwanted twinge in the pit of her stomach at such easy intimacy. He’d never called her “babe.”
“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry I haven’t called. I’m at Caroline’s. Something unexpected came up. I’ll tell you about it when I get home.”
“I thought we weren’t supposed to tell anyone,” Steve reminded him.
“You can’t expect me not to tell Diana,” Hunter protested, returning the phone to his pocket. “This affects her, too.”
“He’s right,” Caroline said, her eyes boring into Hunter’s. “It’s not good to keep secrets from your wife.”
Hunter had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I should go.”
“Don’t you want to know what I found out?” Michelle asked, reentering the room and holding up a piece of paper. “It seems there are a whole slew of places in San Diego that test for DNA, including a clinic right here in Mission Hills. Unfortunately, results take three to five business days, which means we’re kind of stuck with each other for the next little while.”