At first Kaitlyn wondered if Franny was playing a prank. There was probably some slang she hadn’t learned that described what it was. “Catfishing” or “cyberstalking” or something like that. Kaitlyn told Franny she knew who she was and that they’d been through this. Stop writing me. But Franny persisted. They were two ships passing in the night. Kaitlyn would write something like: I’m not your mother. Stop writing me. And Franny would respond with: I’ve missed you so much, too. I can’t wait for us to meet in person.
It was infuriating. She tried blocking Franny’s e-mail, but she’d just opened another account and written her again. She tried not answering, but then Franny’s tone turned threatening. She couldn’t wait to meet her stepfather and sisters, she said. Then she’d name some location the family had all been to the week before as a good meeting place. In a desperate moment, Kaitlyn even called the police, but the bored dispatcher didn’t give her much hope of relief. She took Kaitlyn’s details down and said a detective would call. But when he did, weeks later, and Kaitlyn described what was going on, he said there wasn’t much they could do. If this woman hadn’t made any threats, she’d be better off just ignoring her until she went away.
So Kaitlyn did what he said. When a new e-mail from Franny came in, she deleted it without reading it. She never answered. She didn’t even block her because that might be seen as some point of connection, a conversation.
In the weeks before October tenth, Kaitlyn had a lot on her mind. Mostly to do with Cecily and Tom, and the fact that they were getting divorced. Cecily was torn up about it, but Kaitlyn thought only of the relief it might bring. Maybe she should get divorced, too. Not to marry Tom, that wasn’t what she wanted. But to make some major changes in her life. To come clean with someone, herself at least. And the thought of having some time to herself, the weeks when Joshua would have the girls . . . That was appealing. Too appealing. She began to fantasize about it as she used to do about Tom’s messages.
She’d sat at her desk that morning waiting, waiting. Knowing the meeting between Tom and Cecily was going to begin at ten a few floors above her. Then the e-mails started. Constant, relentless. She wanted it to stop. She’d gotten up from her desk and almost run to the elevator. She barely remembered the ride down, the exit into the lobby. Then the explosion. Then she was out in the street, running again. She’d been running ever since.
Franny entered the bar, a scarf tied around her head and big glasses over her eyes. Kaitlyn cursed to herself. Always the drama queen, needing attention wherever she went. Franny was the one who was going to get them caught. She should’ve met her in the park and brained her with a rock. And good riddance.
The violence of this thought surprised her. She wondered if she could pull it off. But that would be too easy for Franny. She hit a button on her phone and turned it over so it was facedown on the table as Franny sat.
“I can’t believe this,” Franny said. “You’re alive.”
“I’m alive.”
“But why, Mom? How?”
“Stop calling me that.”
Kaitlyn knew she shouldn’t let Franny get to her, but she couldn’t help it.
“You said I could call you that.”
“I never . . . Never mind. Thank you for coming.”
“I can’t believe it. You’re here. We’re going to be together.”
“I’m here.”
“This is so great. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
“What about Joshua?”
“What about him?”
“If I’m alive, you can’t marry him.”
A smile crossed Franny’s face that Kaitlyn could only describe as creepy. “That’ll work out. Joshua’s such a sweetie.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say.”
“I’m not feeling very nice right now. So, how did you do it?”
“Do what?”
“The explosion. I can’t work it out.”
The smile dropped from Franny’s face. She looked around her. She seemed scared.
“No one’s here,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s just you and me. How’d you do it?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh, come on. October tenth at ten a.m.? October tenth is your birthday, and you used to write me at ten a.m. every day. I should’ve seen it right away, but I had my own . . . I was distracted. I know you did it. I just want to know how.”
“Don’t you want to know why?”
“I’ve got the why. It’s me. Some form of punishment because you felt rejected.”
“You did reject me. Over and over again, my whole life.”
“For the last time, Franny, or Eileen, or whoever the hell you are, I’m not your mother.”
“You are. I had a DNA test done.”
“No, you didn’t. I never gave you my DNA.”
“Yes, you did.”
Kaitlyn was back in the terrible merry-go-round. What was there to say to this girl?
“When? How?”
“Okay, fine. So I took a glass you left at a restaurant, okay? So what. It’s the results that count.”
“You what?”
“You kept lying and lying. What choice did I have? You’re my mother.”
Kaitlyn closed her eyes. When had she lost control of this conversation? This wasn’t going to work. Threats never worked with Franny. She knew. She’d tried. There was only one choice.
She opened her eyes and did her best to smile.
“Okay, Franny. You win.”
“You admit it? You admit you’re my mother.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you admitting this now? After all this time?”
“Because I’m tired. I’m tired of denying it. Of running.”
Franny started to cry. “I can’t believe it. It’s happening, it’s finally happening.”
Kaitlyn reached across the table. She felt sick to her stomach as she stroked the back of Franny’s hand.
“I’m sorry I lied to you.”
“Why did you?”
“I’ll tell you everything, okay? But I need you to be honest with me. I need you to tell me how you blew up the building.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I want to be close to you. But there can’t be any secrets between us for that to happen. So tell me. I want to understand.”
Franny was shaking her head, but Kaitlyn could feel her tipping. She leaned forward.
“It’s pretty amazing that you got away with it. I’m impressed.”
“You are?”
“Of course I am. You must be very, very smart.”
“Everyone thinks I’m stupid.”
“I’ve never thought that. So tell me, Franny. Tell me, sweetheart . . . How did you do it?”
Franny smiled the slowest smile Kaitlyn had ever seen. “It was easy. People are stupid, you know? And they underestimate people. They underestimate people like me all the time.”
“I’ll bet they do.”
Franny’s smile spread. She was enjoying this. “I was working at Peoples Gas as a secretary.”
“You were living in Chicago?”
“I moved here two years ago.”
“That’s how you were following us around so easily?”
“That’s right.”
“And what happened at work?”
“All I was hearing about was how bad the pipes were. How one might blow at any moment and God forbid because it could bring down a whole building. And one day this guy, this technician, Carl, who was a bit sweet on me, showed me a map of where the worst pipes were. And he pointed to one, and it was like a sign or something. It was right under your building.”
Kaitlyn shivered. “And then what?”
“I asked him, all casual like, how could it happen? What could make something blow up? He told me it would only take a small hole in the pipe. Something that could easily go overlooked, especially if one of the sensors was out, which they were all the time. The gas would accumulate, and if it didn’t get repaired quickly, all it would take is a spark to blow the whole thing up.”
“How did you get in the tunnel?”
“That was easy, too. All the maps were there, and I swiped a security pass when a worker came in one day. I just had to be patient.”
“And that morning you went down and made a hole in the pipe?”
“Yes, and I turned off the sensor so no one would know there was a leak.”
“That was clever. What created the spark?”
“I found this thing on the Internet about how to rig a trash can to burst into flames on a delay . . . I put that in a maintenance closet where I knew one of the vents led down to the tunnels. The timing worked out even better than I expected.”
Franny smiled that smile again. The room turned cold. Kaitlyn leaned back in her chair. All she wanted to do was get up and run, but she had one last thing to do.
“I want you to leave town,” Kaitlyn said.
“You want to go somewhere together?”