When Shadows Fall by Barbara Freethy Page A

about the charity? Surely, your families and friends could support your efforts in that regard?"
    "Not really," Ginnie muttered again.
    "Ginnie," Constance said sharply.
    Ginnie shrugged. "Well, it's true."
    Olivia turned to Eleanor, sensing that the other women were not going to tell her anything else unless Eleanor took the lead. "Eleanor? How did you feel about stopping?"
    Eleanor shifted in her seat. "I was unhappy that it had come to an end," she said carefully. "I knew there were more people we needed to help, but we weren't going to be able to do it, so we had to accept that."
    Olivia sighed. She tried to be a patient person, knowing that sometimes you had to wait for a clue to reveal itself, but she only had a few days in San Francisco, and the clock was ticking.
    "Okay, ladies. Here's the deal," she said. "Molly asked me to fly across the country to hear your stories. She told me I'd hear from amazing, courageous women, whose secrets were worth telling. So far I haven't heard one thing that would make me believe she was right. You're a group of interesting women, but you're holding something back. Now, you can either talk to me or I can go back to my job. It's your choice."
    The women exchanged pointed glances, and there appeared to be some sort of silent communication going on.
    Finally, Eleanor said, "You're right, Olivia. Molly wanted us to talk about something we all did together, something important. It's just been so long since we said it out loud."
    "We never said it out loud," Ginnie interjected, drawing accompanying nods from Lucy and Constance.
    "What is it?" Olivia asked, beginning to feel like she was finally getting somewhere.
    Before any of the ladies could respond, Colton suddenly sat up a little straighter. "None of you has to say a word," he said forcefully. "If you don't want to talk to Olivia, you don't have to. Molly was the one who asked her to come here. It might have been her decision to speak, but that doesn't mean it has to be yours."
    Olivia knew he was only protecting his grandmother, but she hated the way he'd put an abrupt stop to what had appeared to be a breakthrough.
    Eleanor patted Colton's leg. "Thank you for the reminder, Colton. But actually, what you just said makes me want to talk to Olivia."
    Colton frowned and muttered, "Why?"
    "Because Molly can't talk, but I still can." Eleanor took a breath, then continued. "You asked about the charity, Olivia. Here's the truth. We used the theater group as a way to raise money to help women who were being abused by their husbands or boyfriends. Forty years ago domestic violence was not talked about the way it is now. And while it's still going on, and there are women still in trouble, there are more resources today. Back then there were very few options."
    Olivia edged forward in her seat, anticipation tightening her nerves. "How exactly did you help them?"
    "We tried to give them whatever they needed," Eleanor replied. "Every situation was different, but if what they needed was to get out of their home environment, we made that happen."
    "You helped women get away from their abusers? How did you do that?"
    "We gave them money and helped them plan their escape," Eleanor said.
    "You mean, like an underground railroad?" she asked in amazement.
    Eleanor nodded. "Yes. It was exactly like that."
    Olivia saw the same shock she felt reflected on Colton's face. She'd never imagined that these four old ladies had done something so daring.
    "Are you serious, Grandma?" he asked.
    "Very serious, dear."
    "It started with one person in trouble," Ginnie interjected. "It was a friend of ours. She needed money so she could go to her sister's house. Her husband controlled their bank account. She couldn't access it without his permission."
    Olivia couldn't imagine being in that kind of situation, but she was a woman from a different generation.
    "Most of us were also on budgets controlled by our husbands," Constance said. "We couldn't take the money out