Page 40 of One Last Step

I don’t need to tell him who “her” is.“Oh my God,” he says.“Really?Alive?”

I take a deep breath.“No.I don’t think so.Possibly, but I don’t think so.”

There’s another pause, and then he says, “Mary, I love you more than life, and I know you’re dealing with a lot of emotion right now, but will you please just tell me exactly what you found so I don’t accidentally say something stupid?”

I laugh again.I’m not pregnant, but I understand Laura or Annie or whoever she is when she talks about her emotions being all over the place.“I found a journal.”

“Annie’s journal?”

“I think so.In fact, I’m pretty sure of it.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes.I’m also pretty sure I found her daughter.”

The pause is longer this time.“Annie’s daughter?”

“Yes.She’s an Interpol detective, and she’s here investigating stolen Nazi clocks, but she looks exactly like her.”

“Wait, what?Nazi clocks?You haven’t mentioned any of this.”

“Yes, that’s a whole other mystery.And in any other circumstance, it would be the more important mystery, but… Sean, I think this might be it.I think I might finally be able to learn exactly what happened to her.I might… This might be the end.”

Tears threaten again, and I squeeze my eyes shut to keep from bursting into tears.Sean keeps his voice gentle when he replies.It’s infuriating sometimes the way he treats me with kid gloves, but also I love it.It’s so nice to be cared for, even when it’s too much.

“I’m going to caution you not to get your hopes up too much.I really hope you’re right, Mary, but I don’t want you to collapse if you’re wrong.That being said, I’m sure you have good reason to feel the way you do.I also know thatyouknow that you need to talk to this Interpol detective and find out if she really is Annie’s daughter.That’s hard to do, but that’s really the only way you’ll know for sure.Or, if you’d like, I can find out for you.I don’t mind doing that.”

“No,” I say quickly.“No.I want to do this myself.I want… I think I should be the one to do it.”

“I figured that’s what you’d say.Well, I’m here for you if you need me.The last bit of advice I’ll give you before I promise I’ll shut up for good is that you shouldn’t wait too long.Interpol detectives don’t stay in one place for very long.We can find her again pretty easily if—what’s her name, by the way?”

“Claudia.Claudia Becker.”

“Becker.Got it.Well, now that we know her name, we can find her again pretty easily if we need to, but I think you’ll be happier with yourself if you don’t let her get away.”

I nod and wipe tears from my eyes.“Yes.You’re right.I’ll talk to her.”

“Good.”He pauses a final time, then says, “I love you, Mary.I’m so proud of you.”

If there are any words in the English language stronger than I love you, I’m proud of you has to be those words.I smile and say, “I love you too, Sean.”

“Talk to you soon.”

“Okay.”

He hangs up, and I take a deep, cleansing breath.

I’m still anxious.I’m still a little afraid.But I’m no longer overwhelmed.If this is the summit or only another ledge, I’m ready for what comes next.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I freshen up and then dress to go out.I believe I’ll take Sophie for a walk.It gets dark early in Geneva in January, but we’ll only pop over for a strudel and a quick stroll before coming back home.The neighborhood is well-lit, and I dragged a suitcase through almost all of Old Town the night I arrived and was left unmolested.

I just don’t want to be indoors right now.The journal sits open on my table, but I don’t want to read more of it yet.It’s a lot to deal with, and while Iameager to know for sure, I’m not as eager to know at this exact moment.I need to prepare myself for that.

As for the Nazi clocks, that's another can of worms I don't feel like digging through.I want the answer to that mystery, too, but right now, I just need to relax and reset.

I’m overthinking this, I know, but the fact that I need a convoluted explanation to justify my need to calm down just proves that I need to calm down.

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