Claire first called her mother from the Knoxville safehouse. Diane had arranged it—sitting beside Patricia in the sunroom, holding her hand. That evening, Diane sent him a text: “Mum knew her voice before Claire said her name. They talked for an hour. Mom cried the whole time but wouldn’t stop talking.”
Dellray read the message twice and thought about Lorraine Calloway, who had been right about her son every day for 32 years and had gone to her grave without a single person confirming it. He sat with that for a long time. There was no legal remedy for that.