“No.”
Elena looked at Esperanza.
“They told me one had been scheduled.”
Esperanza’s breath caught.
“For when?”
“Eight weeks ago.”
One week before the date on the appointment card.
“But I never left the convent,” Esperanza said.
Mother Caridad remembered the night.
Esperanza had complained of dizziness after evening prayers. Sister Beatriz had taken her to the infirmary. By morning, she had seemed well.
Mother Caridad turned slowly toward Doctor Paloma.
“You were not called.”
“No.”
“Who was on duty?”
“Sister Beatriz,” Esperanza said.
The name settled uncomfortably between them.
Lucía had trusted Beatriz with the spare keys.
Beatriz had admitted Doctor Paloma through the gate that morning.
Beatriz had served as Mother Inés’s secretary for years.
Mother Caridad’s first instinct was disbelief.
Sister Beatriz was dependable, reserved, and deeply devoted to the convent. She kept the accounts when Caridad was ill. She knew every lock, every cupboard, every visitor.
