I couldn’t breathe.
“That’s why he’s mad sometimes,” Leo said softly.
I looked up, trying to pull myself together for his sake.
“Mad? When is he mad, Leo?”
“When Mom doesn’t answer his texts right away. Or when she says he can’t stay when he brings me home.”
My stomach twisted into a hard knot. “What texts, honey?”
Leo hesitated.
“What texts, honey?”
“He says he’s checking on Mom while I’m with him. That Daddy would want that. But he gets a scary face when she doesn’t call back.”
A cold, furious clarity settled in my chest. No wonder Leo seemed so anxious around Mark! He knew my husband had ulterior motives all along.
“Thank you for showing me this, Leo. You did a very brave thing. Would you like me to take you home now?”
He nodded rapidly. The relief on his little face was so clear it hurt to see.
As I guided him to my car, I got a sinking feeling. How would Sarah react when I showed her this note?
No wonder Leo seemed so anxious around Mark!
Sarah’s smile dropped when she saw I’d brought Leo home instead of Mark.
“Hey, what’s going on? Where’s Mark?”
“Can we talk? In private.”
She frowned. “Uh, sure. Leo, why don’t you go watch TV?”
Leo raced down the hall. As soon as he was gone, I handed her the folded note.
“Leo saw Mark put this into David’s casket. He took it out before they buried him.”
Sarah went pale as she scanned the page.
Sarah’s smile dropped when she saw I’d brought Leo home instead of Mark.
“What the…” Her hands began to shake violently. “You got this from Leo? He read this?”
“I’m afraid so. Maybe he didn’t understand the nuances, but he clearly knew it was a secret he wasn’t supposed to have. He knew it was wrong.”
“Oh my God.” She looked nauseous. “All those Saturdays. All those ‘check-ins.’ I thought he was just being kind, even if it was a bit much. But now… I think I’m going to be sick.”
Sarah closed her eyes for a long moment. When she opened them, the tears were still there, but there was something steadier and harder behind them.
“He knew it was wrong.”
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