“Oh,
Jesus, I never even considered that,” I said.
What
had
crossed my mind was the guy who’d been threatening me. I wondered if he’d killed Scott as a warning to me. I’d even thought of mentioning it to the investigators, but the niggling voice in the back of my head kept warning me to keep quiet. If he did kill my husband, he might also murder my children. I didn’t know who to trust. Not even the police.
“What about drugs?” she asked. “Do you know if he was into any?”
“I guess it’s possible. If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I would have said
absolutely
not. But after these last few days, I really have no idea.”
After a few
more consoling words, she agreed to take me to the morgue.
“
Of course I’ll take you. I’ll be over shortly,” she said. “I just have to make a phone call and then I’ll shoot over.”
“Thanks Darcy.”
I hung up, went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My face was puffy from the tears and I looked horrible. I grabbed my makeup bag and started applying some concealer under my eyes, but it wasn’t much help and I soon just gave up. As I washed the makeup from my hands, the doorbell rang.
“Come on in,” I said
to Jake, stepping aside. “We wouldn’t want the neighbors gossiping any more than they already are.”
“Fuck the other neighbors,” he said.
I rubbed my forehead and sighed.
“
So,” he said. “Are you okay?”
My eyes filled back with tears.
“I have to go down and identify my husband’s body,” I answered.
“I figured as much.”
“I just can’t believe this is happening,” I said.
He reached out and brushed a tear from my cheek.
“Would you like me to come with you?”
I cleared my throat.
“No, thank you. Darcy is taking me.”
He nodded
slowly. “Okay.”
“Look,” I said
, looking down. “Earlier today – it was great, but…”
He tilted his head
. “But what?”
“It’s not a good time. In fact, I think we should back of
f of whatever it is we’ve started.”
He stared at me for a few seconds and then nodded. “I understand. You’
re going through a lot of shit right now. You need time to sort things out.”
I
shook my head. “Jake, it’s more than that. I just can’t get involved with you. In fact, I shouldn’t have led you on in the first place.”
He frowned.
“You didn’t lead me on.”
“But I didn’t say
‘no’ either. That was my fault.”
He folded his arms across his chest.
“You haven’t done anything wrong; quit being so hard on yourself.”
I ignored him.
“You’re a great looking guy with a lot to offer someone and I’m not ready for anything right now. My kids need to come first, and I just…”
He stared at me through his thick
, dark lashes. “Just what…don’t have time for me?”
“I’
m sorry. It may sound cold, but my kids need me now more than ever. I have to be there for them.”
“Li
ndsey,” he said, leaning forward. “You’re in mourning and not thinking clearly. I’ll give you time, but I want you to know, I’m here for you and I’m definitely not going anywhere.”
I realized he wasn’t
really listening to me, and that it was pointless to argue, so I just nodded.
He sighed.
“Okay, I’m going to call you later to see how you’re doing. Remember, I’m right next door if you need anything.”
“
Um…my mother’s flying down and Darcy will be here. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” he said
. “Now, about that other problem we talked about. I’m going to take care of it while you deal with this.”
I nodded.
“
If you get any more threats in the meantime, let me know.”
I nodded.
His hand snaked out and grabbed my wrist. “Lindsey,” he said, staring into my eyes. “I’m serious as all hell. These guys are probably responsible for Scott’s death. It’s too much of a coincidence.”
“I wondered about that myself.”
“Did you tell the investigators anything?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He released my arm. “Good. Don’t trust anyone else with this information. I’ve already made a few phone calls and found out that Jerry has other family members working in different areas of the police force.”
I rolled my eyes. “Great.”
He nodded. “He has a cousin named Gary and a couple of step-brothers. I’m inclined to believe that Gary might be the guy fucking with you. My informant tells me he’s a real asshole.”
I bit the side of my lip. “I wonder if you can get me a picture of him. I want to see if it’s the guy from the restaurant.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks
, Jake. I don’t know what I’d do without your help.”
He squeezed my hand.
“I’m just glad I’m able to offer it.”
I nodded. “Well, Darcy sho
uld be here any minute. I’d better finish getting ready.”
“Okay,” he said, leaning forward to kiss me.
“Please don’t,” I said, placing my hand on his chest.
He touched my stomach
with his fingertips and it made my stomach all fluttery. “That’s fine,” he whispered, “for now. But if you think I’m going to walk away that easily, you don’t know me that well. I realize you’re mourning for Scott, but don’t forget the pain he caused you. I’d never hurt you like that.”
“
Jake.”
He silenced me wi
th a hard kiss. When he released me, his mouth twisted into a satisfied grin. “See, this isn’t over, not by a long shot,” he said, backing away. “I’m not giving up on you.”
I stared at him, unable to speak,
as he turned and went back to his house.
Darcy showed up when I was o
n the phone with my mother.
“Is she coming out here?” asked Darcy as I hung up.
I nodded. “She’ll be here sometime after nine o’clock tonight.”
“Will she need a ride from the airport?”
I shook my head. “No, she’s going to rent a car. She doesn’t want to be an inconvenience, she claims.”
“Sounds like her,” smiled Darcy. “How are you holding up?”
I sighed. “I’m still in shock. The kids will be home in an hour and I don’t know how in the hell I’m going to tell them.”
“I’ll help you,” she murmured, giving me a hug. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
“Thanks.”
“I suppose we should get going,” said Darcy, pulling away.
I nodded and then left a note for the kids, telling them I’d be back soon.
***
On the way to the m
orgue, I wanted to believe that the detectives had made a tragic mistake. That Scott was busy at work or even hiding out in a hotel somewhere, screwing one of his clients. But when they showed me the body, there was no mistaking that it was him, even with the horrific bullet wound.
“Molly shouldn’t see this,” I said to Darcy in a strangled voice as we walked out of the examining room. “Nobody should have to remember
a loved one that way.”
“
Isn’t that the truth? Speaking of which – I wonder where his parents are?” asked Darcy, looking at her watch.
“
They’re probably getting interviewed by the cops,” I said. “The investigators seem to have this notion that I killed Scott.”
Darcy snorted
. “Stupid idiots. They obviously have their heads up their asses.”
“I know…right?” I said, shaking my h
ead. “I tell you what, these last few weeks have been the worst times of my life and it just keeps getting worse.”
She squeezed my shoulder. “I know, hon. I wish there was something I could do.”
“You’ve done more than enough already,” I said.
After verifying that the deceased was indeed
Scott, we met with a member of the local church clergy who prayed with us. As we were ending the prayer, I heard Molly’s wails coming from the examining room. Apparently, my in-laws had also verified that it was Scott’s body.
Darcy cringed. “I guess mom and dad
have arrived.”
Two minutes later, a distraugh
t Henry helped his wife into the morgue’s “Grieving Room” and we exchanged hugs.
“How could this have happened
?” choked Molly, wiping her eyes with a tissue. “Scott was such a good man.”
“I know,” I said
as fresh tears filled my eyes.
“Have they found anything out
, yet?” asked Darcy.
Henry shook his head. “They don’t have any witnesses and not much to go on. Detective Parker is going to stay in touch with me, however.”
I cleared my throat. I didn’t want to bring it up, but I was curious. “Did Scott tell you exactly why we were separated?”
“He didn’t get into specifics,” said Henry. “But from what I understood, he’d screwed up
pretty big, and you needed some space to think things through.”
I
nodded, not wanting to bring the sordid details in front of Molly.
“I have to go,” I said. “The children are probably home by now and they need to be told.”
“Of course,” said Henry. “Molly and I were wondering if the children could still come and stay with us tomorrow night? I think having them close will be especially good for Molly,” he said, motioning towards her, although from the look in his eyes, he needed Scott’s children close to him just as much.
“Of course,” I murmured. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
We hugged once more and then Darcy drove me back home. The ride back was somber and I stared out the window, wondering how I was going to break it to the children.
When we pulled up to the house, Jake was in his yard, cutting the grass. He killed the engine when he saw us, but I avoided making eye contact.
“Damn that man is fine,” stated Darcy as she followed me onto the porch. “Every time I see him, I just want to jump his bones.”
I didn’t respond. What had happened between us was one thing I wasn’t prepared to share with her, just yet.
As we entered the house, I could hear Regan on the phone, laughing with one of her friends. What I was about to do tore me apart.
“
How do I do this?” I whispered.
Darcy grabbed my hand and squeezed. “You just have to tell them the truth. They’ll certainly hear about it on television
, so the sooner they hear about it from their
mother
, the better.”
“Jesus
, I didn’t even think about that,” I said, as we walked into the kitchen.
Regan was sitting at the dinette, smiling into her cell phone and Jeremy was stuffing his face with macaroni an
d cheese while leafing through a
Victoria’s Secret
catalog.
Jeremy looked up
and closed the catalog. “Oh, hey, mom. Hey, Darcy.”
I forced a smile
. “Hi, honey.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What’s wrong?”
I cleared my throat. “Regan, honey, get off the phone. I have something to tell you.”
She held up a finger, telling me to wait. Then she burst out laughing at something the caller said.
“Have you been crying?” asked Jeremy incredulously.
Regan’s eyes shot over to mine. “Crap, I have to go,” she mumbled into the phone and then hung up.
I stared at my children, my lips
trembling. “I have something very unfortunate to tell you.”
“What?” asked
Jeremy.
Darcy grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
“I…um…your dad’s no longer with us,” I said, my voice breaking.
Regan rolled her eyes.
“We know that, he moved out almost two weeks ago.”
I shook my head and the floodgates opened back up
. “No, kids, your dad, he’s…dead.”
“What?!” cried Regan.
“That’s a lie,” argued Jeremy. “We just saw him last night.”
Regan flung herself at me and I held her
in my arms. “It’s true,” I said. “He was killed.”
“
Killed?” choked Jeremy.
I held out my other hand and soon all three of us were holding each other and crying while Darcy stood watching, tears streaming down her cheeks as well.
“What happened?” asked Jeremy
We pulled apart and I stared
in sorrow at my children. “The only thing I really know is that someone shot him in his car. It might have been a random killing; they’re not even really sure why he was murdered.”