MARY CLARK - Piece of My Heart

Laurie had not only been raised by a police detective, but also had been investigating true crime cases as a journalist for years. She couldn’t remember a single case where the principal suspect wasn’t someone with some kind of connection to the victim. Because Johnny was only seven years old, they had been assuming that the explanation was either a tragic accident in the water or a sociopath who had targeted Johnny at random. But now that Marcy was recounting Johnny’s backstory, Laurie realized there was another possible explanation.

“How is it that you ended up adopting Johnny, by the way?” she asked.

“We didn’t even plan for it,” Marcy said. “The priest in our parish was aware of our desire to be parents, despite the fertility issues. Out of nowhere, he asked if we were willing to take in a boy who was only days from being born. It was only seven years ago. I still remember the words he used. A young woman was ‘in trouble.’ The poor girl didn’t even know who the father was and was trying to find a family willing to adopt the baby.”

“No wonder you call him the miracle.”

“Johnny still doesn’t know,” Marcy said, choking back a sob. Laurie could tell she was fighting to keep her composure. “When you got together with Alex, it was such an added blessing that you and Timmy sort of resemble Johnny. He never had the experience of looking like anyone in his family.”

Marcy’s shoulders began to shake, and this time she could not stop herself from breaking into tears. Laurie rubbed Marcy’s back and did her best to comfort her.

“I’m so sorry, Marcy. I didn’t mean to upset you by asking about the adoption. I brought it up for a reason.”

As Marcy sniffled and slowly regained control over her breathing, Laurie could tell that she was eager to focus on what Laurie had to say.

“A random crime is every parent’s nightmare,” Laurie said, “but it’s extremely rare. You know how I follow all the true-crime message boards looking for cases for the show?”

Marcy nodded, her tears beginning to ebb.

“Last year, a child who had been missing from Missouri for more than six years was found in Toronto. It turned out that her parents had adopted her. The birth mother had regrets years later and managed to track down the adoptive family. She lured the girl away by telling her she was adopted and that she was the ‘real’ mother. She even pointed out that they had the same eye and hair color.”

When Marcy spoke, her voice was distant. “His light hair and eyes,” she said. “He knows he doesn’t look like the rest of us.”

“Do you know how to get hold of the biological mother?” Laurie asked.

“No, but Father Horrigan might. I’ll call him right now.”

Chapter 10

For half a moment, Marcy’s spirits brightened at the sound of Father Horrigan’s Irish lilt. “Marcy, what a wonderful surprise to hear from you. I thought you and Andrew were hobnobbing with the rich and famous this week in the Hamptons.”

She never ceased to marvel at his ability to commit to memory every last detail about the lives of his parishioners. Oh, how she wished this could just be a friendly call to fill him in on the wonderful memories they were forming on their trip.

“Father, I have to ask you something that I’ve never raised before. It might literally be a matter of life or death.”

“I’d like to think you’re pulling my leg, but you sound terribly upset.”

She closed her eyes, trying not to lose control again as she had before. “We can’t find Johnny. It’s been hours. The police are searching for him.”

She heard him suck in his breath at the other end of the line. “No. Oh, Marcy, that’s terrible.”

“We’re looking at every possibility. One of them is that his birth mother changed her mind after all these years.”

“I can’t imagine that would be the case—”

“Well, I can. Because the other scenarios I’ve contemplated are even worse, Father. I have to think that if she took Johnny, she would at least be looking after his well-being. At this point, I’m almost praying this is the explanation, so I need to know where she is.”

“It was a closed adoption, Marcy, at least from your perspective. We discussed this at the time.”

The birth mother had asked that the adoption be closed with respect to her identity, meaning that Marcy and Andrew had no information about her. There was no direct contact whatsoever with her, either before or after the birth, and the adoption files were physically sealed. The birth mother had been nervous about placing Johnny with a family Father Horrigan knew directly, in case they discovered her identity from him, but Marcy and Andrew had assured Father Horrigan repeatedly that they would respect the biological mother’s request for anonymity and never ask him to disclose her identity.

“Please—I just need to make sure. If we can confirm that she’s nowhere near Long Island, I promise that we’ll never bother her again.”

The silence that followed was so long that she began to wonder whether she had lost the connection.

“Do the police believe that this woman is responsible for Johnny’s being missing?” Father Horrigan asked.

“They don’t believe anything yet. They’re investigating every possible explanation—looking at local criminals, searching surveillance tapes. We’re grasping at straws because we can’t find him and have absolutely no idea where he might be.”

“I’m sorry, Marcy. I gave my word, don’t you see? Just as I would never break a promise I made to you, I cannot violate my obligations toward her.”

“Please, Father. I’m begging you.”

“I can’t even begin to know how scared you are right now, Marcy, but for what it’s worth, I don’t think this is a straw you need to grasp. I’ve never gotten any indication that Johnny’s birth mother regretted her decision to give him up, and why would she follow you all the way to New York when she knows exactly who you are and that you live right here in D.C. How would she even know where to find you up there? It doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

Marcy took a deep breath. Father Horrigan had a good point. Laurie had been the one to suggest the possibility that Johnny’s disappearance was connected to his adoption, but the theory had been total conjecture. Unlike Laurie, Father Horrigan had a connection to Johnny’s birth mother and could speak from firsthand knowledge.

“I understand you made a promise to her,” she said softly, “but there must be an exception if she has my son. You really don’t think it’s possible she came for him?”

“I don’t. Honestly. She was a good young woman, despite her problems. I don’t think she’d have anything to do with this. I’ll say a prayer Johnny will be walking right back to you before you know it.”

As she hung up the phone, Marcy found herself praying that Father Horrigan was right.

Chapter 11

By the time Leo Farley arrived at the South Shore Resort, hotel guests were gathered on the beach deck overlooking the ocean, prepared with champagne glasses and martinis to take in one of the south fork’s famous summer sunsets. That is where we should all be right now , he thought, as a family.

It had been a long time since their family had felt complete. Of course, when Eileen was alive and they were raising Laurie together, the three of them were as close as a family could be. Eileen used to say she married the first boy she ever kissed, and Leo never questioned for a minute if she might be exaggerating. They were the kind of couple who held hands whenever they were beside each other, without even thinking about it. Leo never thought he could be any happier, and then Laurie was born. Even when he worked swing shifts, Leo joked it meant that he needed to find time to “swing” by their apartment to see his little girl before her bedtime. Then before he knew it, his little girl was a grown woman breaking into the television news business.