Chapter 6 - THE NAME SHE BURIED
Norah sat in Roman's study with a cup of tea she hadn't touched.
Outside, snow drifted against the windows.
Roman stood near the fireplace.
Teresa sat beside Norah.
Nobody spoke for several minutes.
Finally, Norah looked up.
“My name was Nora Bell.”
Teresa reached for her hand.
“You don't have to tell us anything you're not ready to.”
Norah smiled sadly.
“I think I do.”
She took a breath.
“After the fire, I stayed in the hospital for eleven days. I had burns on my shoulder, smoke damage to my lungs, and a fractured wrist.”
Roman listened.
“When I was discharged, a police detective came to see me.”
“Name?” Roman asked.
“Detective Paul Harker.”
Roman's expression changed.
He knew the name.
Harker had retired from the Chicago Police Department after an internal investigation into evidence handling.
Norah continued.
“He told me the little girl had died. Then he asked whether I remembered the man who carried her away.”
“What did you say?”
“I described him.”
Roman leaned forward.
“The ring?”
“Yes.”
Norah's hands tightened around the cup.
“Two days later, someone broke into my apartment.”
Teresa gasped.
“They didn't steal anything. They left a photograph on my pillow.”
“What photograph?” Roman asked.
Norah swallowed.
“A picture of me outside the diner. Taken the night before.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
“There was a message on the back.”
She looked at him.
“You didn't see anything.”
The room went silent.
“I went back to Detective Harker. He told me I was imagining things.”
Norah shook her head.
“Then a woman from a federal agency contacted me. She said the fire might be connected to an organized crime investigation and that I could be in danger.”
Roman's eyes narrowed.
“Who was she?”
“Agent Elaine Porter.”
Roman wrote down the name.
Norah continued.
“I gave a statement. They moved me temporarily. Later, I received a new identity.”
Teresa stared.
“Why didn't you tell anyone?”
Norah's eyes filled.
“Because I was told that if I did, the people who threatened me might find me.”
She looked down.
“And because I thought Lucia was dead.”
Roman sat opposite her.
“Why did you come to work here?”
Norah looked at him.
“I didn't know the Bellandis were her family.”
He studied her.
“The agency hired you.”
“Yes.”
“Who referred you?”
“A woman named Marlene Price.”
Roman's expression darkened.
Marlene Price had worked for a staffing company that supplied domestic employees to several wealthy Chicago families.
Including the Carusos.
Roman reached for his phone.
Then stopped.
He looked at Norah.
“You've spent thirteen years hiding from someone.”
She nodded.
“And now that someone knows where you are.”
Norah's eyes filled.
Roman spoke carefully.
“I can arrange protection, but I won't make decisions about your life without asking you.”
She looked surprised.
“What do you want to do?” he asked.
Norah stared at the fire.
May you like
Then whispered:
“I want to find Lucia.”
