“How long did you know about this?”

Valerie shook her head repeatedly.

“I did not know the man was Thomas!”

“You certainly knew he was not Christopher,” Martha retorted.

“I was told that Christopher had passed away in a tragic fall,” Valerie claimed defensively.

“He just called your phone live from a basement,” Martha pointed out.

“I thought they were holding him somewhere temporarily,” Valerie stammered.

“Holding him for what purpose?” Martha demanded.