Chapter 5 - THE DOCTOR AT THE RECEPTION
Daniel crossed the lawn so fast Emily had to lift her dress to keep up.
The reception had not officially started. Guests stood in small confused groups under the white tent while the band waited beside a silent dance floor.
Dr. Paul Kessler saw Daniel coming and set down his glass.
"Daniel. This is not the time."
"It's exactly the time."
Mara appeared behind him.
"Oh, God."
Mara said, "You remember me."
He looked toward Victor, who had followed them out of the church.
"Stop looking at him. Look at me. Did you sign my mother's death certificate?"
Kessler swallowed. "There were complicated circumstances."
"She's standing right there. Make them simple."
Victor barked, "Everyone go inside."
Kessler rubbed both hands over his face. "I signed a medical affidavit. Not a death certificate."
"Your signature."
"That form was altered after I signed it."
Hale shouted from behind them, "Don't say another word."
Kessler turned on him. "You said no one would ever see that file."
"What file?"
Kessler looked twenty years older than he had five minutes earlier.
"The St. Catherine's file. Your father wanted emergency custody while your mother was unconscious. Leonard prepared the papers. I certified that Mara was medically incapable of caring for you."
"For how long?"
"Thirty days."
Mara's voice broke. "They turned thirty days into nineteen years."
Victor moved toward him. "Paul, shut your mouth."
"No. I'm done."
"Why did I lose my memory?"
"You had a concussion. Some memory loss was natural. But your father insisted that discussing your mother caused panic attacks. He changed therapists twice until one agreed to stop using her name."
Then Kessler said something that changed the entire shape of the day.
"Daniel, the crash that put you both in St. Catherine's wasn't an accident."
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And that was when Daniel knew his father wasn't afraid of a scandal.
He was afraid of a crime scene from twenty-two years ago.
