Piece of My Heart (Under Suspicion #7) - Mary Higgins Clark Page 0,14

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