“There is no con.”
“I believe you,” Michelle told Beth. “I really do. I saw your face when those reporters swarmed you outside. And I can see the love in your eyes when you look at Lili. You aren’t faking. Nobody’s that good an actress. So, I accept that this isn’t some sort of sophisticated scam, that Lili is as genuine as she appears, that she truly believes there’s a chance she could be Samantha. And as unlikely as I still think that is, and as firmly as you insist it isn’t, I have to wonder why you’re so anxious to spirit her away before the test results come back.”
Beth was immediately on her feet. “That’s it. I’m done.” She fumbled inside her coat pocket, retrieving a small card along with her cell phone and calling the number listed on its front. “This is Beth Hollister,” she said, her voice shaking. “I’m finished here a little earlier than I thought. Can you pick me up now? I’ll meet you at the corner. Thank you.”
“Please don’t leave,” Caroline said. “There isn’t a flight to Calgary until morning. You can stay here…”
“That’s not happening,” Beth told her, her voice as flat as if it had been run over by a steamroller. She spun toward Lili. “I’ll be at the Best Western Hacienda Hotel until tomorrow. Then I’m on the first plane home. I’m praying with all my heart that you’ll come to your senses in time to be on that plane with me.” She marched into the foyer, grabbing her overnight bag on her way to the front door.
“Mom?” Lili called, running after her. “Wait.”
“Thank God,” Beth whispered, wrapping Lili in a tight embrace.
Caroline watched them, holding her breath. Then she watched as Lili slowly extricated herself from Beth’s firm grip.
“I’ll call you as soon as the results come back,” she said quietly.
Beth’s face crumpled in a combination of resignation and disbelief. “I love you,” she whispered. “Never forget that.”
Then she opened the door, pushed through the phalanx of waiting reporters, and disappeared down the street.
Peggy called at one o’clock the next day. “I just had a call from the director of the clinic,” she said without preamble. “He has the test results.”
“The results are back?” Caroline asked, as if she might have misheard. “So soon?” Her heart started to flutter rapidly, as if a small bird were trapped inside her chest.
“He wants to know how you’d like to handle things.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Apparently the media has been camped outside the clinic since seven A.M. He feels terrible because he suspects it might have been his receptionist who leaked the story, and he wants to make sure your privacy is protected.”
“A little late for that, don’t you think?”
“What’s done is done,” Peggy said, as pragmatic as ever. “The question is, what do you want to do now? He can courier the results over to you, or you can pick them up in person…”
Caroline’s head was spinning. “I don’t know what to do. There are reporters everywhere.”
“What if I go?”
“What do you mean?”
“I can go to the clinic and pick up the report. Nobody’s going to recognize me.”
“You just can’t leave work…”
“I’m the boss, remember? I have a meeting, but I can get away in about an hour. In the meantime you’d have to call the clinic and give Sid Dormer your permission. Tell his receptionist your name is Angela Peroni.”
“Who?”
“It’s his ex-wife’s cleaning lady. He’ll know it’s you. You’ll give him the okay; I’ll pick up the results and bring them right over. Caroline? Caroline, are you there?”
“I’m here. Oh, God.” She started laughing, although the sound that emerged was more of a crazed cackle. “It feels like we’re in the middle of a spy movie.”
“Are you all right?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting the results back so soon. I thought I’d have more time. Another day, at least.”
“To do what?”
“I don’t know. Prepare myself, I guess.”
“You’ve been preparing for this for fifteen years,” Peggy reminded her.
Caroline braced herself against the kitchen counter, her legs threatening to buckle under her. “What if it’s not her?”
“Then we’ll deal with it,” Peggy said. “Look, the sooner I get to this meeting, the sooner I can leave, and the sooner we’ll know one way or the other. Do I have your okay to pick up the results?”
“Of course you have my okay.”
“Okay for what?” Michelle asked coming into the kitchen as Caroline was jotting down Dormer’s number. She was dressed as if she was going to the gym, in black leotards and a white tank top.
“The test results are back,” Caroline told her, punching in Dormer’s number.
“Already? It’s only been two days.”
“Can I speak to Sid Dormer, please?” Caroline said into the receiver. “It’s Angela Peroni.”