I stared at him.
“What?”
“The travel, accommodation, and expenses related to the program have already been covered.”
“Who paid for it?”
He hesitated.
And suddenly, I knew that was the part that frightened him.
“They asked me not to tell you.”
I stood up.
“You called a national park to find me, but you can’t tell me who is paying tens of thousands of dollars for my daughter?”
“I understand how that sounds.”
“No, you don’t understand.”
“Mom,” Hailey said quietly.
I forced myself back into the chair.
“How long has this person been involved?”
Dr. Carter hesitated.
“Years.”
“Doing what?”
“Contacting specialists. Sending research papers. Keeping Hailey’s medical records circulating among researchers.”
That answer bothered me more than the money.
Very few people knew how serious Hailey’s illness was during those first few months.
That night, in a motel near the hospital, I made a list.
