spyhole and I knew she was there assessing whether to open the door to me.
After a few seconds the door opened.
“Hello. You must be the courier.”
Molly Callendar wasn’t anything like what I expected. Instead of a witless young woman who tripped into an office affair I saw a tall, slender woman close to my own age with short red hair brushing her shoulders. She smiled at me and stepped back to allow me to enter.
The harsh chemical smell told me she’d recently colored her hair. It made sense considering she was about to relocate and wanted to change her appearance. An oversized flowery blouse and blue jeans completed the image of harried mother.
“I’m Rebecca.” I scanned the room behind her automatically. Standard hotel issue, including a kitchenette. A portable crib sat in the far corner. “You’re Molly Callendar?”
“Yes. You must be from David’s office.” She gestured me in with a nervous glance into the hallway. Molly closed and locked the door before moving to sit on the couch, motioning for me to join her.
I sat opposite her in an overstuffed dark red chair, then pulled the envelope out of my messenger bag. “I brought the agreement for you to look over. Before we get started I have to ask—are you being forced into this? Is he threatening you in any way? Are you or the baby afraid for your life?”
“No, not at all.”
I heard the truth in her voice. My shoulder muscles eased up, the tension rushing out of them as I watched her.
“I have to ask, you understand.” I passed over the envelope. “I want to make sure you’re doing this of your own volition. If you think you’re in danger I can take you to a shelter, someplace safe for you and the baby.” I knew I sounded paranoid but I’d seen angry men lash out at anything, anyone vulnerable if they felt they weren’t getting what they perceived as their fair part.
There was no one more vulnerable than a mother and her newborn.
She nodded. “Thank you. I’m sure there might be women who fall into that sort of situation but I’m not one of them.” The wad of legal documents fell onto her lap from the overturned envelope. “David’s a nice fellow but we both got...stupid.” Molly shook her head. “Both of us were fools. I should have known better, taken more precautions. I knew he wasn’t going to leave his wife but it was the right time and the right place.” She glanced at the crib, a gentle smile replacing the sadness of talking about her ex-lover. “But I can’t be too mad at the man. He did give me Liam.”
I glanced over as she flipped through the pages. “Liam. Lovely name.”
“Runs in my family. He’ll be the third generation. My father has it as a middle name and my grandfather had it as a first.” She picked up a pen from the table, monogrammed with the hotel’s name, and turned her attention to the forms. “Excuse me.”
“Take as long as you need.” I sat back. “There’s no rush. Make sure you read everything through and understand what’s being proposed and agreed to. If you have any questions, ask. I’m not a lawyer but I might be able to help you decipher the legalspeak.”
She chuckled. “I think I’ll manage. If it’s got to do with money I’m pretty hip.” Her attention went to the agreement. Molly chewed on the end of the pen as she flipped pages back and forth.
I didn’t say a word.
My cell phone buzzed against my hip. I snatched it up, giving Molly a quick look. She hadn’t turned away from studying the papers.
The text message leaped out at me in blocky letters.
It was from Bran.
WHERE R U?
I chuckled. He’d easily forsworn basic English for the textspeak.
My fingers bounced across the tiny keyboard. I hadn’t gotten all the bells and whistles of this fancy model figured out. It was easier to mangle simple sentences than compose odes like other people could.
I FINE. WORKIN
I heard Shakespeare spinning in his grave like a wind turbine in my mind.
The response
After a few seconds the door opened.
“Hello. You must be the courier.”
Molly Callendar wasn’t anything like what I expected. Instead of a witless young woman who tripped into an office affair I saw a tall, slender woman close to my own age with short red hair brushing her shoulders. She smiled at me and stepped back to allow me to enter.
The harsh chemical smell told me she’d recently colored her hair. It made sense considering she was about to relocate and wanted to change her appearance. An oversized flowery blouse and blue jeans completed the image of harried mother.
“I’m Rebecca.” I scanned the room behind her automatically. Standard hotel issue, including a kitchenette. A portable crib sat in the far corner. “You’re Molly Callendar?”
“Yes. You must be from David’s office.” She gestured me in with a nervous glance into the hallway. Molly closed and locked the door before moving to sit on the couch, motioning for me to join her.
I sat opposite her in an overstuffed dark red chair, then pulled the envelope out of my messenger bag. “I brought the agreement for you to look over. Before we get started I have to ask—are you being forced into this? Is he threatening you in any way? Are you or the baby afraid for your life?”
“No, not at all.”
I heard the truth in her voice. My shoulder muscles eased up, the tension rushing out of them as I watched her.
“I have to ask, you understand.” I passed over the envelope. “I want to make sure you’re doing this of your own volition. If you think you’re in danger I can take you to a shelter, someplace safe for you and the baby.” I knew I sounded paranoid but I’d seen angry men lash out at anything, anyone vulnerable if they felt they weren’t getting what they perceived as their fair part.
There was no one more vulnerable than a mother and her newborn.
She nodded. “Thank you. I’m sure there might be women who fall into that sort of situation but I’m not one of them.” The wad of legal documents fell onto her lap from the overturned envelope. “David’s a nice fellow but we both got...stupid.” Molly shook her head. “Both of us were fools. I should have known better, taken more precautions. I knew he wasn’t going to leave his wife but it was the right time and the right place.” She glanced at the crib, a gentle smile replacing the sadness of talking about her ex-lover. “But I can’t be too mad at the man. He did give me Liam.”
I glanced over as she flipped through the pages. “Liam. Lovely name.”
“Runs in my family. He’ll be the third generation. My father has it as a middle name and my grandfather had it as a first.” She picked up a pen from the table, monogrammed with the hotel’s name, and turned her attention to the forms. “Excuse me.”
“Take as long as you need.” I sat back. “There’s no rush. Make sure you read everything through and understand what’s being proposed and agreed to. If you have any questions, ask. I’m not a lawyer but I might be able to help you decipher the legalspeak.”
She chuckled. “I think I’ll manage. If it’s got to do with money I’m pretty hip.” Her attention went to the agreement. Molly chewed on the end of the pen as she flipped pages back and forth.
I didn’t say a word.
My cell phone buzzed against my hip. I snatched it up, giving Molly a quick look. She hadn’t turned away from studying the papers.
The text message leaped out at me in blocky letters.
It was from Bran.
WHERE R U?
I chuckled. He’d easily forsworn basic English for the textspeak.
My fingers bounced across the tiny keyboard. I hadn’t gotten all the bells and whistles of this fancy model figured out. It was easier to mangle simple sentences than compose odes like other people could.
I FINE. WORKIN
I heard Shakespeare spinning in his grave like a wind turbine in my mind.
The response
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