The New Husband(87)
“I think Nina’s going to quit this time. I really do.” Simon looked quite pleased with himself. “If not, I’ve got one more thing to try. Anyway, here’s to hoping.”
The door clicked shut. Alone again.
Glen’s LED light flickered … flickered … and returned him to darkness.
CHAPTER 47
There was something odd in the air at dinner, something strained. Meals had been quieter in general with Simon at the table, but usually Nina couldn’t hear the clink of a fork on a plate or a gulp of water going down. Tonight it was different, but when pressed, nobody owned up to anything being amiss. Connor took his usual mini-mountain helpings of pasta; Maggie ate her food solemnly with Daisy splayed out under the table at her feet; Simon served Nina the asparagus drizzled with olive oil, all with little more said than “Pass the bread, please.”
Nina wondered if the tension had to do with the disagreement she and Simon recently had about Thanksgiving. Simon did not want to go to Nebraska, saying that his continued difficulties with Maggie would make the trip too uncomfortable and would ruin the holiday for everyone. To assuage Nina’s guilt at leaving him behind, Simon assured her that there were plenty of teachers with whom he could celebrate the day.
Hugh Dolan’s words flashed like a neon sign illuminating lingering doubts: Has he isolated you from your friends and family? Nina dismissed the notion. Simon was happy she was going home for the holidays; he said so himself. He was the one staying behind, for his reasons. Even so, none of this felt right to Nina. Family meant everything to her. The thought of this divide between her daughter and Simon and its impact on other parts of her life was incredibly upsetting.
“Maggie, honey, you look tired, are you feeling all right?”
Nina was concerned about the dark circles ringing her daughter’s eyes, her wan complexion, and worried she might be coming down with something. God, please don’t be the flu.
“You do look a bit … stressed, Maggie,” Simon said, delivering an odd pause. “That must have been a difficult homework assignment you and Ben were working on.”
To Nina’s ears, Simon’s tone sounded a bit off, almost mocking, as if he were suggesting Maggie and Ben had been engaged in some other kind of activity, maybe the sort a boy and girl with raging hormones might test out. But Nina knew better. Ben was Maggie’s friend, nothing more.
She knew that Maggie had gone to Ben’s that afternoon to study for something, but hadn’t pressed for details, because once again, her mind had been on her caseload. Guilt about the holiday, worry about Maggie, it all ate away at her appetite, but Nina took a bite of pasta to be supportive of Simon’s efforts in the kitchen.
She was about to ask Maggie if the lab report grade had been adjusted as Simon had promised, when the doorbell rang. Daisy barked wildly. Nina looked puzzled—popover visits from Susanna had ended when she’d moved in with Simon.
“I’ll get it,” Connor said, up from the table in a flash, with Daisy close on his heels. Nina heard him open the door, heard Daisy’s excited barking, and then heard a familiar voice from her past. The man assured Daisy he wasn’t a threat, and soon enough the barking stopped. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been bringing Daisy home to her. A moment later, Connor came back into the kitchen with Detective Eric Wheeler following.
Wheeler still wore a military-short haircut, but looked like he’d put on some weight. He was here alone, and Nina didn’t know if his previous partner, Detective Murphy, had been reassigned or had moved on.
“Sorry to interrupt dinner,” Wheeler said to Nina, “but I was wondering if I could get a moment of your time. In private.”
Nina was up from her seat the instant she laid eyes on him. She knew he had come with news about Glen. There could be no other reason for the unannounced visit.
“Of course,” Nina said, her gaze shifting over to Simon, who looked as tense as she felt. “Simon should join us. We can go to my office. Kids, stay here a moment.”
Nina’s voice quavered slightly. Maggie and Connor exchanged worried looks, while Nina, Simon, and Detective Wheeler departed the kitchen for the office, where the framed pictures were still on the floor.
“What’s going on?” Nina asked nervously.
“No easy way to say this, so I’m just going to come out and say it,” Wheeler began.
Nina took hold of Simon’s hand. His bones, she thought. They finally found his bones.
“The DNA analysis of hair fibers from the assault of Dr. Sydney Wilcox came back from forensics this afternoon.”
Why is he telling this to me? Nina wondered. Why is any of this my business? I’m just a client. Why not tell Dr. Wilcox’s family?
Wheeler said, “The samples came back a hundred percent match for Glen Garrity.”
CHAPTER 48
They gathered in the living room like it was another family meeting. There’d been too much going on to make those meetings a weekly occurrence as Nina had intended, but now there was more, much more, to add to the agenda. Simon and Nina sat on the love seat. Maggie and Connor were on the sofa. Detective Wheeler sat on a chair Connor had brought in from the kitchen.
Connor was red-eyed from crying. Only fifteen minutes earlier, he had learned the bone-jarring news about his dad, but nobody could believe it was true. But it was true, Nina told herself. Hair and fiber samples taken from the crime scene matched Glen’s DNA with 100 percent certainty. Even bits of his skin had been scraped from underneath the victim’s fingernails, left there as she’d fought for her life. It was a fact: Glen had broken into Dr. Wilcox’s home and assaulted her viciously, mercilessly.