Chapter 38
Rowan Speaks
Rowan's voice came from the school intercom, but the speakers had been disconnected years earlier.
“My name is Rowan Vale,” she said again. “I was born in Bellwether Clinic. My father is Daniel Vale. My mother is Elise Vale.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
The officer turned toward him. “Sir?”
“Do not answer,” Claire said.
Rowan continued.
“I was twelve when they moved me into the witness program. I was told my father had forgotten me. That was not true. He had been told I was a model.”
Daniel's hands shook.
“I am not a model,” Rowan said. “I am the person who remembers being treated as one.”
The intercom clicked.
Owen Bell's voice interrupted. “This is a fabricated recording.”
Rowan answered, “Then say my name.”
Silence.
The officers looked at one another.
Claire watched the camera above them. Its red light was off.
The public feed had lost control.
Rowan's voice returned. “There are twelve names beneath the gym. There are thirty-seven names beneath Cabin 12. There are more beneath the courthouse.”
One officer stepped toward the wall. “Where is the source?”
“The source is the person who keeps asking you to ignore the evidence.”
The answer did not sound like a child. It sounded like the woman in the cream sweater.
Claire looked at the copy.
The copy was crying.
“You are Rowan,” Claire said.
The copy did not deny it.
“I was Rowan first.”
Daniel turned toward her. “You are my daughter?”
The copy looked at him.
“I was your daughter before they moved me.”
“Why do you look like Claire?”
“Because Claire was the witness who remembered me.”
The police officer lowered his hand.
The gym's front doors opened.
Outside, reporters gathered behind the barricade. Someone had brought a live camera. The public version and the real version now occupied the same frame.
Owen Bell appeared on the school steps.
“This is a medical privacy matter,” he said. “No patient information will be released.”
Daniel walked toward him.
“My daughter is not a patient.”
Owen smiled. “Your daughter died fourteen years ago.”
The copy stood behind Daniel.
“Then why do I remember your first name?” she asked.
Owen's smile disappeared.