Part 24 (1/2)
”In case this day came?”
”Yes. Yalena wanted to take the stones back from Benjamin and return them to Klesko's a.s.sociates in Russia,” Claire said, ”in the hope that they would stop looking for her. But Benjamin made it clear that if she tried anything like that, he would reveal her new American ident.i.ty-and yours, Wally-to those same people. There was nothing she could do.”
”What about after Benjamin died? Did his sons know where the caches were?”
”From the looks of that house,” Claire said, ”I would say not.”
”Probably drove them crazy,” Wally said. ”Thinking about the stones somewhere out here, just waiting to be found.”
”You're probably right. But it didn't matter, for Yalena. She still couldn't risk trying to retrieve them, however many of the stones were left. The brothers knew about her new ident.i.ty, so she couldn't do anything to anger them.”
Claire stopped in the snow and faced Wally. ”Klesko will never let us walk away. You understand? No matter what we do or what we give him. If we want to live, we have to win.”
”I understand,” Wally answered.
”Good. The snow will show our tracks, so we'll take an indirect path to the first cache.”
Wally nodded in agreement and they began to walk, heading off to the side of the Hatches' property, where their tracks in the snow would be less obvious.
”You know a lot of Yalena's story,” Wally said.
”Yes.”
”Please tell me what you know about her,” Wally asked as they walked along. Claire was silent for a long while before she began.
”Your mother was young when she got together with Klesko. It was a terrible mistake, and she realized it too late. It will be hard for you to hear this, Wally. ...”
”I may never get another chance.”
”Yes, okay,” Claire said, and gathered herself to continue. ”Yalena tried to get away from him several times over the years, but he tracked her down and brought her back. The last time, he beat her mercilessly, almost to death, and raped her. That is how you were conceived.” She paused, and the full weight of the message hit Wally all at once. ”I'm sorry,” Claire said, reaching for her hand.
Conceived by rape. The shocking story-Wally's own cruel history-was a savage body blow, striking Wally with a depth of pain she didn't think she was capable of feeling anymore. She looked to Claire, wanting to be a.s.sured by her loving gaze that life was not always this cruel, that there was still peace and goodness in the world. Claire had always been able to make Wally feel safe that way, but instead Claire turned her head away from her daughter, avoiding Wally's glance as if it might burn her.
”Mom ...” Wally's voice quavered.
Claire steeled herself to continue. ”When Yalena learned that she was carrying you, she was determined that Klesko could never be a part of your life. She never told him about you.”
”He doesn't know about me?”
Claire shook her head no.
Wally considered this for a moment. Her path had crossed Klesko's three times so far, and he had been following her when she finally found Yalena's safe house. Who did Klesko imagine she was, anyway? Probably it made no difference to him, as long as Wally led him to Yalena, to the stones.
Wally and Claire walked in a wide arc away from the grounds of the Hatches' property and past small signs that marked the edge of the Mashomack Preserve. Claire continued to tell Yalena's story, the first part mostly covering what Wally already knew.
”So Benjamin Hatch took the stones in exchange for getting Yalena to America,” Wally said, still needing to understand. ”What went wrong? Why did she leave me behind?”
”The problem was,” Claire said, ”Klesko's a.s.sociates-powerful men-figured that with Klesko in prison, his riches belonged to them. After your mother made off with everything, they hunted her relentlessly, knowing she would try to escape the country. It was too dangerous for Benjamin to try to get her out at that point. So they waited. With the help of family and friends, she stayed hidden for six months, long enough to give birth to you. She and Benjamin thought that enough time had pa.s.sed for her to make her break, but as soon Yalena came out of hiding-with you-she was spotted. Your mother was certain she was going to be caught and both of you killed. She had an old family friend-Irina Ivanova-who was a nurse at a children's home. Your mother made the hardest decision of her life.”
”She left me behind.”
”She did. She left you behind to save you. She never expected to escape Klesko's a.s.sociates, but fate surprised her. Benjamin got her out of the country alive.”
”And eventually she found me again.” Wally filled in the logical progression of events. ”In the U.S., with you.”
”She never gave up,” Claire said.
The woods became denser. Claire pointed to a small clearing with two red maple trees at its center, bare of foliage now.
”Between those two red maples is the first cache,” Claire said. ”That's our moment, okay?”
Wally nodded. ”Yes.”
”We'll find a place with cover and wait.”
Claire led the way as they marched past the first cache, finding a spot among some snow-covered scrub brush just thirty yards beyond the cache. They both knelt down on one knee and waited, their eyes focused on the woods beyond the clearing, where Klesko would most likely appear.
”In all this time,” Wally said, ”why didn't Yalena ever reveal herself to me? Why didn't she tell me our story?”
Claire considered this. ”She was ashamed. She had abandoned you.”
”But it was to save me.”
”Yes, but that truth was not enough for her to forgive herself. She had left you behind-alone and an entire world away-while she made her own escape.”
Wally sensed a note of judgment in Claire's voice and objected.
”She had no choice.”
”No, and she hoped that one day you would be able to hear everything and understand. But by the time you were old enough, you were so very angry, Wally. Angry at everything and everyone. It wasn't your fault; there were lies in our home, and unhappiness. You took all of that on your own shoulders, especially when your father left. Yalena thought that if you heard the truth, about her decision to leave you behind, your anger would fall on her. She was afraid you wouldn't be able to forgive her.”
”I would have,” Wally insisted.
”Are you so sure?”
They were silent for a long time after that. A full hour pa.s.sed, there in the cold woods, and Claire wrapped Wally up in her arms to share her warmth. They almost didn't hear it-quiet footsteps approaching in the snow-but the sound of a branch snapping alerted them. It was still a few minutes before the sun would rise, but there was enough ambient light in the woods for them to make out two figures approaching the clearing: one was Klesko, still limping but moving ahead with a sense of purpose, a handgun in one hand and a small shovel in the other. Beside him was Johanna, looking barely alive. She walked gingerly and off balance, with her hands fastened behind her back, and there was dried blood around her nose and mouth.
Claire let out a quiet gasp at the sight of Klesko.
”G.o.dd.a.m.n it,” Wally whispered. ”They've beaten her more.”
”It's just Klesko?” Claire whispered. ”I thought you said ... didn't you say there were two of them? Klesko and another?”
”There are two ...” Wally answered, and both of them began to scan the woods, looking for signs of the younger Russian. There was nothing. No sound and no movement, only the gentle snowfall.
”He's here somewhere,” Claire said, frustrated. ”Following them, protecting against an ambush. We can't make a move until he shows himself.”