Mariah Stewart - Cry Mercy

She grabbed her bag and the briefcase and headed for the door. “I'll see you all in the morning, with or without Emme Caldwell.”

Emme glanced out the window at the perfectly manicured grounds of the Magellan estate and fought an urge to pinch herself. The view was beautiful, the gardens spacious and gloriously in bloom. Beyond the garden was a cattail-ringed pond where fat ducks dove beneath the water only to resurface to float in the sun. It was so much more like a dream than any dream she'd ever had, it was hard to believe it was real. Had she really been chosen as the first hire of the Mercy Street Foundation?

Okay, provisional hire, she reminded herself, but she knew she could do this job. She'd been reading over the file on the case Mallory had handed her when she arrived that morning, and already she'd made some notes on how she wanted to proceed. She would discuss it with Mallory, of course, Mallory being her immediate boss, or so it appeared. She wasn't sure just what everyone else's role was in this, but she'd figure it out.

She sat back in the new leather chair and took stock of her office, with its wide wooden desk and walls lined with handsome walnut bookcases and matching file cabinets-all empty, of course. She hoped she'd be around to fill them. Robert Magellan was obviously a man who didn't hesitate to spend money, the fact borne out by the generous starting salary they'd offered. If she made the cut, the benefits would be great, every bit as good as what she'd had in California. But what had made Emme happiest was the consideration that had been given to her daughter.

“Chloe mentioned to Trula that she missed being in school,” Mallory said when she'd called with the offer the night before. “Father Kevin wanted us to let you know that Our Lady of Angels, his parish school, has an excellent all-day preschool program that runs year-round. If you'd like, she can start as early as tomorrow. Of course, if you've made other arrangements, or if you'd prefer a secular school, or you'd like to look around on your own-”

“No, no, I haven't had time to make any arrangements,” a stunned Emme had replied. She was still getting over the surprise of having the job offered to her so soon. “Chloe was in a full-day school back in California, and she really loved it, which was a blessing to a working mom. I'd sure she'd love to check out Our Lady of Angels. How nice of Father Kevin to think of it.”

“I'll give you his number so you can call him and let him know what time you'll be in with Chloe. If you decide not to start her until Monday, she can stay with Trula today and Friday while you work. Unless you have other babysitting arrangements…”

“No, I…” Emme's throat constricted with emotion. “I can't thank you all enough, but Trula doesn't have to watch her. I'm sure that babysitting isn't in her job description.”

“Trula's job description is whatever Trula feels like doing on any given day.” Mallory laughed. “You'll find that she rules the roost here, with Robert's blessing. If she didn't enjoy your daughter's company, believe me, she'd never volunteer. So if she says bring Chloe in when you need to, I say bring her in.”

“That's so kind of her.”

“She definitely has her moments.”

“I'll call Father Kevin and find out what time school starts in the morning. I'm sure Chloe is going to want to go. She's been lonely without her friends.”

Chloe had been so excited at the prospect of going to school she was barely able to sleep and was up with the sun, urging Emme out of bed and chatting about what she should wear-“Do you think I should take my smock? Do you think there will be painting today?”-and whether she should bring her own crayons.

“Maybe I'll make new friends,” Chloe whispered hopefully as she dropped out of the backseat and landed on her sneakered feet in the church parking lot.

“I'm sure you'll make lots of new friends,” Emme had assured her. She took Chloe's hand and followed the concrete walk to the side door of the parish hall, just as Father Kevin had told her to do. She'd been about to ring the bell when the door opened and a tall, dark-haired woman greeted her warmly.

“I'm Mary Corcoran,” the smiling woman said. “Father Kevin is a little tied up right now, so he asked me to welcome you and to walk you over to the classroom. What do you think, Chloe, does that sound like a good idea to you?”

“It sounds like a very good idea,” Chloe had responded thoughtfully.

Mary handed Emme an envelope. “All the enrollment forms, the requests for medical records, that sort of thing, are in here. Just get them back as soon as possible. Now, Chloe, shall we go?”

Before Emme knew it, Chloe was settled for the day. The classroom in the church basement was in a long, narrow, bright room with a carpeted floor and lots of books and play areas. The teacher, Mrs. McHugh, appeared to be running a structured ship, which was what Chloe was accustomed to, and she welcomed the Caldwells with a wide smile.

“Chloe, we're so happy that you're joining us today. Victoria, would you like to show Chloe where to put her things?”

Not hesitating even for a kiss good-bye, Chloe skipped off, her little backpack over her shoulder.

“She'll be fine,” Mrs. McHugh had assured Emme, who merely smiled and said, “Apparently.”

Emme itched to take a quick run over to Our Lady of Angels at lunchtime to check on Chloe, but knew better than to actually go. If there were a problem, someone would have called her, she was sure. But knowing Chloe, there'd be no problems. She was a very social little girl and was never happier than when she was with her friends. The fact that Chloe had taken off without a backward glance that morning had reassured Emme that her daughter would be fine and would indeed be making new friends before the day was out. Knowing that Chloe was in a good place was all Emme needed to be able to turn her attention to the file on her desk.

She read for several hours before Susanna had tapped on her office door.

“We're going to lunch,” she told her. “You're welcome to join us.”

“Oh.” Emme glanced at her watch. “I didn't realize it was so late.” She reached for her bag. “Do you generally call out for lunch? Is there a place that delivers?”

“Yes, it's called Trula's kitchen.”

“Trula makes lunch for everyone?”

“Every day. And if you work late, you get dinner as well.”

“Isn't that a bit of an imposition on her?”

Susanna laughed. “Let me know when you're going to have that conversation with her, would you? I'd like to listen at the door.”

They met up with Mallory in the hall, and Robert in the kitchen where Trula was ladling soup into white bowls.

They enjoyed a chatty, informal, intimate meal for a full hour before Robert excused himself and left the house by the back door. Susanna looked over at Trula, who said, “Golf with Kevin and a couple of his parishioners.”

“Have you made any headway with that file?” Mallory asked as they returned to the wing of the house Robert had turned over for offices.

“I think so,” Emme replied. “At least, I have a plan in mind, if you have a few minutes to go over it with me. I'm sure you have ideas on how you'd like to proceed.”

“One of the good things about this being our first case is that there is no precedent.” Mallory snapped on the switch for the overhead light in her office, then paused in the doorway. “Why not get your notes and come in and we'll talk it over.”

Their ideas for working the case had been eerily similar, right down to the notes they'd made. By the end of the workday, Emme had her game plan ready, and had made several calls, the first to Nick Perone, the uncle of the missing girl. The second was to Edward Dietrich, chief of police in Eastwind, Maryland, the home of Chestertown College and, until five months ago, Belinda Hudson. She'd meet with both of them tomorrow, as well as, hopefully, Belinda's roommate, though she knew that might be a stretch. Emme had left a message for Debra Newhouse, and with luck, that call would be returned by the end of the day.