Page 87 of All We Carry Home

Elaine Hartford squinted at me through her thick glasses and then blinked in amazement. “My heavens, is that Bill Birkstrom’s girl?”

“It’s nice to see you again.” I motioned to Warren. “May I introduce Warren Hayes, who owns the Janów-bred stallion Phantom.”

“We heard about that horse.” George Hartford stood to shake Warren’s hand. He looked at me. “Bill said you’d gone into the nurse corps?”

I nodded. “Warren here served as well, as a captain in Patton’s Second Cavalry.”

George slapped his knee. “By Jove, really?”

Warren gave me a patronizing look. I think he hated the spotlight as much as I did.

“Part of Operation Cowboy, in fact,” I added.

George leaned on the table and questioned Warren further, but Elaine just stared at me, and it started to make me uneasy.

After a few more moments, her husband noticed it too, nudging her with his elbow. “Stop staring, Elaine. You’re being rude.”

“I’m sorry.” Elaine waved a hand and picked up the water glass in front of her. “You just look so much like—” She shook her head and laughed. “I know this is silly, but Irene Chalmers.”

I froze, careful not to let my surprise or terror show through my mask. I schooled my breathing so as not to indicate just how fast my heart was racing. “Oh, I get that all the time,” I said, waving a hand breezily.

That was partially true. Irene and Raymond were still celebrities, even posthumously. But no one thought of Evelyn Chalmers, the child who had survived her parents’ crime spree and graced the headlines for weeks after their bloody end.

Elaine looked at her husband. “Do you remember that, about twenty years ago?”

George nodded. “Everyone remembers that, except these youngsters, probably.”

“Oh, I remember,” Warren said, his voice deep and thick. “I grew up in Philadelphia.” He took in a long breath. “My father owned the bank where they were killed.”

Something shattered inside me. “Your family owns the Continental Savings and Loan banks?”

How had I missed this? It was clear he’d come from a wealthy family, but there were dozens of Continental Savings and Loan branches across the East Coast. And my parents had robbed most of them.

Warren looked at me with a deep notch in his forehead, as if confused by my question.

Elaine cut in before he could answer. “What was that like?”

“I just remember a lot of police around.” Warren’s attention went back to the Hartfords. “Several of our employees were injured that day and in other branches during their crime spree.”

“How exciting,” Elaine said with a sickening smile.

“People died.” Warren frowned. “I don’t find that exciting.”

“Oh, of course,” Elaine said somberly.

My chest tightened, the dress constricting around me like a python. “Excuse me,” I said as I stood. “I’m going to the powder room.”

Warren stood and put a hand on my back. “Everything all right?”

“Of course,” I squeaked. “I’ll be right back.”

I fled the room that was now thick with people. I caught a glimpse of Keith’s distinctive blond hair out of the corner of my eye but didn’t slow my flight.

I reached the outside door and burst into the cool air. The breeze over the Puget Sound wafted over me, carrying the scent of salt and fish. It roiled my stomach further. I leaned forward, one hand on the wall, gasping for breath.

I had to pull it together. If I didn’t, Warren might suspect something, and I couldn’t risk that. No one could know that I had any connection to the Chalmerses. I just looked a lot like that notorious woman who’d met a tragic end.

Gramps had always insisted I embrace my true name and past. He was always so focused on his horses that the events of the rest of the world never distracted him. He didn’t understand the fury of the public and their obsession with the macabre.