Amanda Stevens - The Dollmaker

“What was wrong with her?”

Doatsy hesitated, her gaze dropping to the cookie plate. “According to her mother, she had asthma that was aggravated by severe allergies. That’s why you would never see her outside playing with the other children.”

“What about the boy?”

“Matthew? The complete opposite. He was a sad, solemn little thing. One of those unfortunate children who seem to be born with an old soul. I used to see him outside quite a bit, but he was always by himself and it was almost always when his father was home. I think the poor little thing was trying to avoid him. Daniel Cypher was a fairly well-known surgeon, one of those brilliant, handsome men who casts a big shadow. The kind, I suspect, who would have a lot of expectations for his children, especially his son.”

“How well did you know the Cyphers?”

“Not well at all, I’m afraid. But they were right next door and I couldn’t help noticing some things.”

“What kind of things?”

She sighed. “The kind of things that should have been confronted.”

“Like abuse?”

Her mouth tightened. “I don’t know that for sure. I never saw him lay a hand on them. It was just a feeling I got from some of the things Katherine said. She and Daniel were so secretive and stand-offish. I knew something had to be going on inside that house.”

“Did they have any other family in the area?”

“Not that I know of. Although I do seem to recall her mentioning something about a sister once. She didn’t say much about her, but I had the impression they weren’t close.”

Doatsy paused, then nodded toward the photograph that lay on the table between them. “I’ll tell you what I do remember. On the day of that party, Daniel came home unexpectedly and he sent all the children home early. I was working in my garden when Annie got back, and a little while later, I heard loud voices coming from next door. I knew Katherine and Daniel had to be fighting, and I was afraid of what he might do to her. He seemed to have a terrible temper. So I walked over and rang the bell.

“Katherine answered the door, pale and trembling. She said she was fine, just had a little dizzy spell. Later that night, I saw Daniel and Matthew come out of the house carrying suitcases. Not the kind of overnight bags you might take to the hospital or on a brief trip, but several large bags. Daniel put the luggage in the trunk while Matthew climbed into the back seat. Then Daniel got in and they drove off. As I said, I never saw any of them again.”

“What about the mother and the little girl?”

Doatsy’s gaze went back to the window, where she had a view of the house next door. “They didn’t leave with Daniel and Matthew that night, but I never saw them again either.”

“What did you think happened to them?”

“It was awhile before I found out,” Doatsy said mysteriously. “My sister used to be a nurse and she worked at the same hospital as Dr. Cypher. I mentioned to her one day that I was worried about Katherine and Maddy. She knew we were neighbors, but she would never gossip about Dr. Cypher while he was still on staff. That day she told me that Dr. and Mrs. Cypher didn’t even have a daughter. They had only one child and he was a son.”

“So who was the little girl?”

“There was no little girl.” Doatsy’s gaze met Dave’s and she nodded. “That’s right. Maddy and Matthew were one and the same child. Nowadays, the proper term for someone like Matthew is intersexual. Babies born with ambiguous gender. My sister was on duty the night he was delivered, and she said Dr. Cypher was beside himself. He was almost in a fit of rage.”

“Directed at whom?”

“His poor wife, I suspect. Or maybe God.”

“What about Matthew?”

“This was back in the early seventies, and my sister said that surgery on intersexed babies was still routinely ordered by the attending physician, and often requested by the parents. You would assume that most did so out of love. No parent would want to see their child shunned and stigmatized for being different. But Daniel Cypher?” She said his name in disgust. “I’ve known powerful men like him all my life. He probably considered a child like Matthew as an affront to his own masculinity. So he ordered reassignment.”

“Meaning surgery.”

“A very complicated and painful surgery with more to come as the child grew older. And then injections of hormones when he hit puberty.” She put a hand to her mouth as she shook her head sadly. “Can you imagine how confused that little boy must have been? A cold, domineering father set on having a son, and a loving mother who indulged the child’s natural inclinations when they were alone. I later heard that Katherine had suffered a complete psychotic breakdown and had to be permanently institutionalized. I shudder to think what Matthew’s life must have been like with Daniel as his sole influence.”

“And you say you never heard from any of them again?”

“No, but something strange happened a few months ago. It was right after the house next door had been put on the market. I saw the same car drive by every night for about a week.”

“Did you happen to notice the make or model?”

“It was a black sedan—that’s all I could tell. But a few minutes after I saw the car go by one night, I noticed a man out walking on the street. It was raining and he had his shoulders hunched over. But he stopped in front of the house and just stood there staring up at it for a long time. And when he turned, and the streetlight caught him just right, something about him reminded me of Matthew.”

Charlotte was sitting on Claire’s front porch when she got home from work that day. Her sister wore a light gray silk suit and heels, and Claire figured she must have come straight over from the office. She had on sunglasses, but she slipped them off as Claire climbed the steps.

She rose, hands on hips. “I tried to call you I don’t know how many times last night. Where on earth were you?”

“I went for a drive.” Claire got out her keys to unlock the door.

“I was worried sick about you!”

“Why?”

“You were gone for hours.” Charlotte followed her inside and closed the door. “That’s not like you.”

“A lot’s happened lately. I just needed some time to sort things through.” Claire wasn’t about to admit to her sister that she’d spent the night with Dave. She wasn’t ashamed of what she’d done, but she didn’t feel like having to justify her actions. And besides, what she and Dave had shared was a very private thing. She wasn’t ready to have it brought out in the open and analyzed.

“Why were you trying to reach me?” Claire asked. “Was anything wrong?”

Charlotte dropped her purse on the couch and turned, but her gaze didn’t quite meet Claire’s. “I need to talk to you about Alex.”

“Oh.” Claire tossed her keys into a basket on her desk. “I already know what you’re going to say.”

Charlotte lifted her brows in surprise. “He told you?”

“Reluctantly. He didn’t want to, but he didn’t have a choice. When I went to confront him, I already knew what he’d done, but I wanted to hear it from him. And even then, I still had a hard time believing he could do such a thing. What kind of man would use a little girl’s kidnapping to cover up a murder?”

Charlotte quickly looked away. “I know, Claire. I can’t believe it, either. I’m so sorry. I keep thinking about all those times I tried to get you to reconcile with him. I thought he was the perfect guy. And now to find out what he did…” She closed her eyes. “I feel like such a fool.”

“But you didn’t know. He fooled me, too.”

Charlotte rubbed her temples with her fingertips. “He’s in a lot of trouble, Claire.”