Chapter 7 - ELISE
Elise Carter called me.
I almost did not answer.
Unknown Colorado number.
“Kate Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Elise.”
Silence.
I stood in Juniper Street Bakery's walk-in pantry.
No, different business? Let's make Kate own an interior design studio? But no need. Keep bakery? Source only barbecue. Let's say I worked as a dental office manager? We don't need. Continue no occupation specifics.
She said:
“Daniel’s attorney told mine you have copies of old court records.”
“Why would his attorney tell yours?”
“Because I filed again.”
My stomach tightened.
“For Ava?”
“Yes.”
“What do you want?”
She inhaled.
“To see my daughter.”
Not:
Custody.
Not:
Money.
“Why now?”
“I have been asking for years.”
“That’s not what Daniel said.”
“I know.”
Her voice did not sound angry.
That made me more suspicious, not less.
I asked:
“Are you sober?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Five years, nine months.”
“Any relapses?”
“One in the first year after treatment. None since.”
Court records supported that.
“Why did you miss visits when Ava was younger?”
“Sometimes I was using. Sometimes I was ashamed. Sometimes Daniel canceled and told the court I did.”
Direct.
Not saintly.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why call?”
“Because my lawyer said you may be subpoenaed.”
That was honest.
Then:
“And because I need you to know I don’t think you stole my daughter.”
I closed my eyes.
I had feared that sentence for years without knowing it.
“I helped raise her.”
“I know.”
“Do you hate me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She loves you.”
That nearly broke me.
Elise continued:
“I hate what Daniel did.”
“Do you know what he did?”
“Some.”
“Do you blame him for everything?”
“No.”
Another good answer.
“I gave him ammunition.”
Silence.
“I drove drunk. I missed things. I scared Ava when she was little.”
Her voice cracked.
“He took real failures and turned them into a permanent story.”
That sentence matched what I had been learning.
Not fabricated danger from nothing.
May you like
Frozen danger after circumstances changed.
Control becomes more believable when it starts with a legitimate reason.
