“I will not accept another vague answer tomorrow.”
“You should not.”
“Will Doctor Serrano speak with us?”
“I asked him to meet us at Elena’s address.”
“You gave him the address?”
“I gave him the name. He already knew where she lived.”
Mother Caridad rose slowly.
“He knows Elena.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you not lead with that?”
“Because I learned it only an hour ago.”
Paloma reached into her bag and withdrew a folded note.
“He said something else.”
Mother Caridad took it.
The note contained a sentence Paloma had written during the telephone call.
Elena Valdés has spent the last three years trying to prevent another pregnancy.
Mother Caridad read it twice.
“That does not fit what we assumed.”
“No.”
“Did he explain?”
“He said the explanation belonged to Elena.”
“Convenient.”
“Perhaps. But he did not sound evasive.”
Mother Caridad folded the note.
“How did he sound?”
“Tired.”
The answer unsettled her more than defensiveness would have.
A dishonest person might be frightened, angry, or careful.
