CHAPTER THIRTEEN E: THE BANNER

Friday morning began with rain against Nora’s bedroom window.
She woke before her alarm and found three missed calls from an unfamiliar number.
A message waited beneath them.
It said that the ceremony organizers had changed the order of speakers and that Walter Mercer would not be permitted near the microphone.
Nora read it twice before calling Caleb.
He answered while fastening his father’s coat.
“Someone is trying to keep him off the program,” she said.
“He was never on the program.”
“Now they’re saying he can’t speak at all.”
Caleb made a sharp sound.
“Who sent that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t reply.”
Nora heard Walter speaking in the background.
He wanted to know whether the rain had stopped.
Caleb told him the forecast looked better by noon.


Nora ended the call and went to the cafe.
Denise was already arranging pastries in the front case.
“Did you get a message about the ceremony?” Nora asked.
Denise shook her head.
“Only a call asking whether you were working today.”
“Who called?”
“They wouldn’t give a name.”
Nora looked at the clock.
She had two hours before the ceremony began.
Denise handed her a paper bag containing sandwiches.
“For the people who won’t remember to eat,” she said.
Nora accepted it with surprise.
“I can pay.”
“I know you can.”
Denise turned back to the pastry case.
“Get going.”
At the exhibition hall, workers were struggling to secure the banner against the wind.
The fabric snapped above the rows of folding chairs.
Nora saw Elliot Voss standing beside a white tent with two men in matching jackets.


One held a clipboard.
The other watched the entrance as though he expected trouble.
Nora approached the nearest volunteer.
“Who is coordinating the speakers?”
“The mayor’s office.”
“Can I speak to someone from the office?”
The volunteer pointed toward the tent.
Nora crossed the gravel and asked the man with the clipboard for the event coordinator.
He introduced himself as Aaron Pike.
“I understand Mr. Mercer wants to interrupt the ceremony,” he said.
“He wants to correct a story about his own childhood.”
Aaron shifted his weight.
“This is a planned civic event.”
“Then plan for a witness to speak.”
“That’s not how programs work.”
Nora looked toward the empty chairs.
“How many people are you expecting?”
“About two hundred.”
“And how many of them know that the building has an exit the official story never mentioned?”
Aaron’s expression changed.
“I don’t handle historical questions.”
“Then who does?”
He pointed toward the mayor’s aide, a young woman in a navy coat.
Nora recognized her from the public meeting earlier in the week.
The aide listened without interrupting.
“Mr. Mercer can request a public comment period after the scheduled remarks,” she said.
“He is elderly and recovering from an injury.”
“We can provide a chair.”
“Will he have a microphone?”
“If the mayor approves the comment period.”
Nora looked toward Elliot.
He had stopped speaking and was watching them.
“Please tell the mayor before the ceremony starts,” she said.
The aide nodded and went inside the tent.
Elliot approached a moment later.
“You’re making this into a spectacle,” he said.
Nora kept her voice level.
“You invited a crowd to celebrate a rescue story.”
“Because people want to honor my father.”
“Then they should know what happened.”
Elliot’s face reddened.
“You’ve been stirring up people who haven’t thought about this in decades.”
“They thought about it.”
Nora pointed toward the parking area.
June Mallory was helping Beatrice Lyle out of Caleb’s car.
“They simply stopped believing anyone wanted to listen.”
Elliot looked at the two women.
“Who are they?”
“People who were there.”
He stepped back.
Nora watched him reconsider the conversation.
“Your mother had a reputation for causing arguments,” he said.
Nora felt the familiar rush of anger.
“She had a reputation for asking why children were locked inside a building.”
Elliot opened his mouth, then closed it.
The mayor’s aide returned with a folding chair.
She asked where Walter would prefer to sit.
Nora turned away from Elliot without answering another question.