Emma's Secret: A Novel

squeezed Megan’s hand, and she looked over at him. He obviously caught the difference in Emma too.
    Megan held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Marie.” She smiled at her and waited for the little girl to shake her hand.
    “I miss Emmie.” Marie gripped her hand and shook hard. Megan didn’t have the heart to correct her.
    Peter cleared his throat. “Well, that just won’t do, will it?” He bent down and winked at Emma. Megan’s breath caught in her throat as she realized what he was about to do. “We’ll have to make sure you guys get to play together more often. Friendships are important.”
    Marie’s head dipped low as she nodded in agreement. Emma beamed, threw her arms around Peter, and held on tight. Megan looked up and caught the smile Sherri gave her.
    “She’s really all right, isn’t she? I was so worried.”
    Something registered in Megan’s mind. A phrase Detective Riley had said a couple of times.
If it hadn’t been for the neighbor…
    “You were the one who told the officer about Emma, weren’t you?”
    Sherri nodded. She cocked her head and stepped to the side, away from the girls. Megan noticed that Hannah moved her body so that she stood between Emma and Megan, almost as if she were also trying to shield her sister from overhearing their conversation.
    “Dottie had just had her stroke, and Jack needed to go to the hospital. I offered to have her stay overnight with us. It was Marie who noticed Emma’s image on the flyer that came in the paper that day. When the officer came to the house asking about Jack, I knew I had to say something. The resemblance was too much to ignore. I’m so sorry that I didn’t notice right away. I should have. The signs were all there, now that I look back. Of course, Matt, my husband, tells me there was no reason to suspect anything.”
    “Signs? What do you mean?”
    Sherri shook her head. “Nothing major, just little things. Dorothy was overprotective of Emma. It took me a lot to convince her to let Emma come and play with the kids I take care of. Emma was very sheltered.” Sherri shrugged her shoulders. “She didn’t recognize some of the kids’ programs on the television, so I knew she didn’t watch much. I wasn’t sure, though, whether some of the issues were due to Dorothy’s dementia or whether she was just an overprotective grandmother.”
    Megan bit her lip. “She wasn’t Emma’s grandmother.”
    Sherri nodded. “I know. I’m sorry.”
    One question continued to plague Megan, and finally she could have it answered.
    “Was she happy, though? I mean…”
    Sherri reached out and touched Megan’s arm. A tender smile covered her face. “Yes. Quiet and seemed okay to play by herself, but yes, she was always a happy girl. And she loved Daisy. Does she still have her?”
    Megan nodded, thinking about the dog Emma refused to let out of her sight for the first few weeks after she came home.
    Sherri sighed. “Oh, good. I think that dog was her lifeline. She used to talk about how much she missed you, you know? She talked about you as if you were in heaven, especially toward the end, right before you came and got her.”
    Megan’s face blanched. “She thought I was dead?” Of course she did. Megan knew that. Or thought she did. But to hear it confirmed…it hurt. Really hurt. The emotional trauma her daughter must have experienced. How did a child that young recover from believing her mother was dead?
    “She used to draw you pictures all the time. Does she still do that?”
    Peter stood and placed his arm around Megan. It was amazing how the body reacted to shocking news. The sun beat down on her, and she was sure she’d be as red as a lobster tonight, since she forgot to put sunscreen on, yet shivers ran down her body as if a cold northern wind blew directly on her.
    “That much hasn’t changed. Emma still loves to draw,” Peter replied for her.
    Megan had so many questions. She felt as if she too had been given a lifeline. An insight into her daughter’s life while she lived on the farm. All those questions that plagued Megan in the middle of the night—Where had Emma slept? Did she cry herself to sleep? How did the other woman discipline her?—now she might have at least some of them answered.
    “Listen, I’m sure you have lots of questions. Why don’t we schedule a playdate for the girls, and I’ll try to answer as much as I can.”
    Megan nodded, a smile slowly growing on her face as she stared into