When I came out of the bathroom, Mum was on her knees in the office making up a bed using my mattress. She looked like she’d been crying.
“We’re just doing what we think is right for you, darling. Okay? No one is trying to upset anyone.”
I didn’t say anything and she turned back to tuck in the sheet. I went onto the landing to get a pair of gloves. Dad was still banging about in my room. I went back to the office and Mum stood up.
“Me and your dad have had a chat and your dad is right. We need to be tougher with you, Matthew, to help you get over this. I won’t be bringing food up to you anymore. We’re going to eat around the table like a proper family. Starting tonight.”
She didn’t look at me when she spoke.
“You’re seeing Dr. Rhodes on Monday. It’s a new beginning. For all of us. And you can make a start by getting rid of those gloves.”
When she said the word gloves, her head jerked toward me, but she still couldn’t bear to look in my direction. Then she walked out and went downstairs.
The latest Harrington’s catalog, the one I’d picked up for Gordon, was open on the desk at a page advertising slow cookers. Still wearing my gloves, I closed the catalog. There was a headline on the front cover: Want the Ultimate Protection from Germs? See Page 7! I casually flicked through the catalog until I reached the cleaning section. The first two pages were dedicated to a new steam mop that promised to eliminate dirt from a variety of surfaces. Mum had already bought this mop a few months ago but I’d never seen her use it, which probably meant it had ended up in the attic along with the juicer, pasta machine, and bread maker. I carried on, but the glossy pages became more and more crumpled and creased. Someone had scrawled deep, jagged lines over the bottles of disinfectant and antibacterial wipes. They’d scribbled so hard in places the paper was torn. I slammed the catalog shut and pushed it to the back of the desk. Mum must have lost her head for a moment and taken her anger out on the catalog. Shame seeped into my veins and flooded my body.
At 5:24 p.m. Dad announced loudly to the house:
“Quick! Something’s going on at the Rectory!”
I jumped up from my mattress on the floor and went to the window. The police must have taken Melody and Claudia seriously. I looked at number three, but Claudia’s car wasn’t back yet.
“This is it, Lion, this is it! They’re going to find him!” I said to the Wallpaper Eye in my pocket.
Detective Bradley and a female officer in plainclothes were standing on Old Nina’s step and appeared to be asking her some questions. She kept the large black door as closed as possible while she poked her head around the side. The female officer leaned in, her head nodding intently, and then slowly, very slowly, Old Nina opened the door and stood back as they both walked in and the door closed behind them. I could hear Mum and Dad muttering downstairs; they must have been watching as well.
I waited.
Five minutes passed. Any minute now the door would open and a grubby but happy Teddy would appear in the arms of the female officer, followed by a handcuffed Old Nina being led away by Detective Bradley. But the door remained shut. A shadow appeared behind the curtain near the orange lamp and an arm brushed against the window. Whoever it was, they seemed to be fiddling with the lamp.
Twenty minutes passed. I waited, and nothing. I heard the kettle switch on downstairs as Mum and Dad lost interest. I was just considering washing my hands again when at 6:22 p.m. the door of the Rectory opened again.
“Here we go. Come on, Teddy, where are you?”
Detective Bradley appeared first, closely followed by the other officer. They were both smiling. Any second now Teddy would appear, a little stunned but no harm done. I was surprised they weren’t carrying him though. I tried to see around their legs, looking for the lost boy, but he wasn’t there. Perhaps they’d called for backup. Is that what they did in cases like this?
They both stopped on her step and turned to face Old Nina, who stood at the threshold. I couldn’t see any handcuffs, and she didn’t seem to be following them out. She had her body turned to one side and there was something in her arms. I blinked, trying to see what it was, but Detective Bradley’s head was in the way. The female officer moved slightly to one side and then reached a hand out toward the old lady as Detective Bradley took a step backward. And then I could see exactly what it was in Old Nina’s arms. There was no toddler; there was no Teddy. She hadn’t taken him to replace her dead son—she’d just gotten herself a little companion and had been trying to hide it so she wouldn’t be evicted.
It was a kitten. A small, tabby kitten. The officer tickled it under the chin and then they walked away.
Detective Bradley glanced up at me. I swallowed. They both climbed into a black car and it slowly edged out of the close. I looked back over at the Rectory and saw the lamp in Old Nina’s window was glowing once more.