what she had just heard. “I need to talk to her now.” Hurrying to the den, where Christina lay in the hospital bed watching TV, Anna took the remote from the side table and turned off the set.
“Mom! I’m watching that!” Christina whined.
“You can finish it later. We need to talk, now.” Anna sat on the edge of the bed, scooting Mr. Waffles to the side. The contraptions to stabilize her leg had been removed since Ed had freed her to start using her wheelchair. “Tell me exactly what you told Mandy and how it happened. I’m serious. This isn’t the time to worry about what anyone thinks, other than me. Now, start talking.” She hated that she had to be so forceful, but this was serious. More serious than her thirteen-year-old daughter knew.
“Mom, come on, I’m gonna be walking soon. All I want to do is forget that this ever happened. Aren’t we supposed to forgive people? Isn’t that what you’ve taught me all my life?”
“Christina Michelle Campbell! Listen to me, and I am not joking. A crime was committed against you. Mandy said you told her that Renée pushed you. I suspected as much, but I don’t expect you to lie for her, or try to cover this up, pretend it never happened. Forgiving and allowing someone to harm you are two completely different issues. Now, tell me. I’m not leaving your side until you tell me the truth. No fairy tales, Christina.”
Her daughter sighed like a woman ten times her age. “I’m not stupid, Mom.”
“No one said you were. Stop stalling, and tell me what happened,” Anna said, her tone stern.
“We were in my room, and I was showing her some of my stuff, my Harry Potter collection, the necklace that belonged to Grandma.” Anna felt her blood pressure soar. She’d given the necklace to Christina for Christmas last year, along with the responsibility of its care. It was the only expensive piece of jewelry her mother had ever had.
“I’m listening,” Anna persisted.
“She liked the necklace. Duh, who wouldn’t? Anyway, she asked if she could borrow it, for the first day of school. Said she’d give it back, but I told her no.”
She saw how upset Christina was getting just remembering that day. This was just the beginning; who knew what kind of damage she’d suffer down the road?
“Renée called me a couple of names, said I was nothing but a spoiled, rich bitch—sorry, but that’s what she said. I took the necklace to put it away. I was taking it to your room, thinking if I did, she’d just forget about it. I stepped out of my room, and she followed me. I didn’t say anything. I just thought she was kinda weird and all. Then it happened so fast, but I remember, I felt her hand on my back as I walked past the top of the stairs, and she shoved me.”
Anna was sure her skull was going to explode. Anger, unlike anything she’d ever felt, possessed her. She sat on the edge of the bed, a million thoughts running through her mind.
“Are you okay?” Christina asked.
“No,” Anna said. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be okay again. She’d brought this man and his children into their lives. Could she do what the law required? To stop Renée from harming, possibly killing, some other innocent person? Possibly get her the help she needed?
“The necklace,” Christina said. “Did you find it?”
Until that moment, Anna hadn’t known it was missing. Maybe this explained why Renée had lingered upstairs. “Mandy, did anyone locate a necklace after we left in the ambulance? You know, the ruby-and-diamond necklace my mom had.” Anna had told Mandy the story behind the necklace; it had belonged to her mother’s great-great-grandmother, and was the only piece of jewelry she’d ever cared about. Keeping it in the family was a tradition. Her mother always told her that if something were to happen to her, to take the necklace and pass it on to her daughter. It was like she’d known about Christina before Anna had even graduated from high school. To this day, she believed her mother had had a premonition about her death.
“No one mentioned a necklace to me,” Mandy said. “I can ask Mona.”
“Let’s forget the necklace for now; it’s not important,” Anna lied, knowing that if it were found in Renée’s possession, Christina’s story would hold more weight. Given the time that had passed, coming forward now could be seen as some