Page 61 of Dead Man's Hollow
“Was he dating my sister then?”
Maisy coughs. “No. They didn’t start dating until after you disappeared.”
Rich doesn’t like where this conversation is heading. He lowers his headphones so they dangle around his neck and stretches across Maisy.
“Hey, Emilie,” he says loudly, trying to draw her attention away from the book she’s reading.
Bastian taps his daughter on the shoulder. She glances up, and he jabs a thumb toward Rich.
“Wanna see some pictures of your cousins?”
He opens his photo gallery and swipes to the album of family pictures before passing the phone over to Chloe, who smiles politely and hands it to her daughter. They bend their heads over the screen and peruse the photos together.
Maisy twists in her seat to look at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
They lock eyes for a moment, then she turns back to the Tremblays.
He lets his head fall back against the headrest and closes his eyes. He’s not sure how long he can keep this up.
It’s late when Maisy,Rich, and the Tremblay family deplane, make their way through customs, and claim their bags. Jordana volunteered to pick them up, despite the hour, so Maisy is pulling out her phone to let her know they’ve arrived, when she hears the chorus of voices.
She stifles a yawn and looks across the baggage claim area to see Diana; Kristy, her husband, and sons; and Amy and her three teenagers clustered together near the exit for ground transportation. Owen, Ava, and Evan Marino hold a large hand-lettered banner that reads “Welcome, Tremblays!” Jay and Theo stand in front of the sign with noisemakers at the ready. Maisy’s relieved to see that the banner doesn’t read ‘Heather.’ She spoke briefly with Dr. Marchand herself before they left Quebec City to arrange a phone interview for the podcast. Before they ended the call, the doctor advised that everyone continue to honor Chloe’s identity as Chloe because, unlike her Heather Ryan identity, it’s fully integrated.
Maisy had planned to suggest DNA testing or dental records, fingerprinting,somethingto confirm Chloe’s identity, but the reaction of the gathered Ryans to the sight of Emilie makes it clear that any testing will be a formality at best. Diana’s crying, Nick appears to be holding Kristy upright, and Amy’s eyes are like saucers.
Through the wall of windows, Maisy spots Jordana parked at the curb just outside the door, flashers blinking and the trunk already popped.
She turns to the Tremblays, “Are y’all ready to meet your family?”
Chloe nods wordlessly. Bastian and Emilie grip her hands tightly as they walk forward together. Rich trails behind, and Maisy locks eyes with Amy as he approaches. Her expression slams closed like a door at the sight of her husband.
Maisy scoots ahead of him and hurries toward Amy. She leans in for a hug and whispers, “Should I get rid of him?”
“No. I’ll do it. I found this in our shed.” She pushes a nylon rucksack toward Maisy, who scoops it up without missing a beat, then continues toward the kids to compliment their welcome decorations.
While Amy pulls Rich aside and whispers furiously at him, Maisy distracts the rest of the Ryans.
“This is Chloe and Bastian,” she announces unnecessarily. Then she addresses the children, “And this is your cousin Emilie.”
Emilie and Ava immediately start chattering like longtime besties. Maisy heads to the car while Chloe says her goodbyes to Diana and Kristy and Bastian tries to pry Ava and Emilie apart with promises that they’ll be reunited in less than an hour. The Tremblays are staying with Amy, who insisted that her sister was not returning home to stay in a hotel after a thirty-year absence. The rest of the family is coming over in the morning for a proper reunion.
Rich brushes past Maisy without so much as an ‘excuse me’ as she heads toward Jordana in the waiting car. He storms over to the rideshare line and takes out his cell phone. His face is stony.
As Maisy slides into the passenger seat, she nods toward Rich. “Amy kicked him out?”
Jordana shrugs. “It’s what I’d have done. Especially with Chloe staying at her place.”
“Chloe has no memory of Rich. She definitely doesn’t remember sleeping with him.”
“Still, it’d be awkward, to say the least.” Jordana shakes her head. “I can’t believe we found Heather Ryan. What are we going to do for the rest of the season?”
Maisy gives her a look. “We found the woman, but we’ve barely answered any of the questions. She’s alive, but what the devil happened that night in the Dead Man’s Hollow?”
“Fair point.”
