The New Husband(74)

He looked over to Simon, hoping for approval. He had guessed right. Simon’s expression remained placid.

“Where are you calling from?”

Simon shook his head and Glen understood. They’d rehearsed this answer.

“I can’t tell you that,” he said. “You’ve got to trust me, okay?”

Simon gave a nod. Maggie said okay.

“Can you come home?”

Simon shook his head. Hit Mute.

“Ask about Nina,” he said in Glen’s ear.

Unmute.

“No, honey, I wish more than anything that I could, but I can’t. What about Mom? Is she hanging in there?”

Glen’s mind was churning, thinking how to work in something, that one little reference to tell Maggie about the danger, perhaps reveal something of his location. But he had pondered it, turning his ideas this way and that, coming up with nothing. Anagrams for Simon, like “minos,” were nonsensical.

He had tried to think up a sentence where the first letter of each word would spell out a secret message, like he did with “NICE GUY,” but ran into the same problem. Nothing sounded natural, so Simon would know. For days Glen had barely slept, thinking, thinking, but his mind wasn’t sharp anymore.

“Mom’s with Simon now,” Maggie said, as if that said it all.

Mute again.

“Is she happy?”

Glen knew that was for Simon’s benefit, and wondered: Does he think Nina confided in Maggie?

“Is she happy? Does she love him?”

Maggie fell silent for a moment. “No. She’s not happy. She loves you.”

Darkness seeped into Simon’s eyes.

Glen made a noise, a little clearing of the throat. He was delaying. Time was running out … he had to get the message to her, now. But Simon was watching him closely. One wrong word … one slip. Fear chilled his blood and held him back.

He wanted to scream, “CALL THE POLICE, I’M A PRISONER AT SIMON’S,” but couldn’t risk it. He had timed it, all sorts of variations, and thought it would take two, maybe three seconds to get the words out. A Taser fired faster than that. Maybe Maggie would catch enough to make some meaning of it, maybe not. All Glen heard in his head was his daughter screaming, begging for her life as Simon moved the knife from one side of her throat to the other.

He felt his opportunity slipping away.

Simon pointed to the cue cards on the floor, which he had written out prior to the call. He had returned the LED light so Glen could see the words.

“I know adults, Maggie, and I understand kids, too,” Glen said, reading from card number one. “You miss me, you miss the way things were, but it can’t be like that again. Not ever. Now listen to me, and listen carefully, even if you don’t understand what I have to say.”

Simon pointed to the second cue card. Glen read from it.

“I’m hiding for a reason. I’ve done bad things. I’ve hurt people.”

“Who? Who have you hurt?” Maggie sounded wounded and in utter disbelief.

“That’s none of your concern.”

Glen went slightly off script there, but Simon seemed good with it.

“Your mom has done some bad things, too. Things that have contributed greatly to my situation. Trust me, she’s no angel.”

Back on script.

“What things?” Maggie asked, still alarmed.

“Things I can’t tell you. Things I have to handle myself, okay? I’m still angry at your mom for what she did to me and I have to do something about it. It can’t go unpunished. I’m not saying I’d hurt her. I’d never do that, and I’d never hurt you or Connor, but something has to be done. Understood?”

“No, I don’t … I don’t understand at all. What do you mean you have to do something about it? Do what?”

Simon tapped his foot on cue card number three.

“That’s not your concern. Now, if this Simon person is treating you well, helping out financially, it makes things easier for me. I can’t provide for you all like I once did, and he can.” This part of the script was Glen’s idea. He had to embellish a bit to address Maggie’s specific comments, but knew to keep to the main points. “I don’t expect you to understand, but having Simon there with you gives me less to worry about. It’s up to you to find a way to make the peace. It’s important and it’s what I need you to do.”

It sickened Glen to ask his daughter to enter into a truce with Simon, but he had no choice. If he was right, and Nina left Simon instead of her job, doing so for Maggie’s sake, it could prove deadly for them all.

It took some convincing, but Glen eventually got Simon to agree it would be better if things were less fraught with tension at home. The question was how to get there. He knew Maggie wouldn’t respond well to a demand, but suspected she’d be more malleable to guilt. He eventually settled on financial concerns to coax his daughter into making nice with Simon, but equally important to him, if not more so, was the coded message he still hoped to deliver, and for that, he knew time was running out.

“I’ve given this a lot of thought,” Glen read on. “Simon can take some of my pain and worry away. All I care about is that you children are protected and looked after.”

“If you want me to be happy, then please come home,” Maggie said, her voice breaking again, basically sobbing out the words.