The Perfect Couple(86)

“I would have gone to great lengths to keep that news quiet,” Tag admits. “If I were even certain the baby was mine. Merritt was seeing other men. There’s an Irish bloke named Robbie who bartends at the Breslin in New York City. It might have been Robbie’s baby.”

“But she told you it was yours,” the Chief says. “Doesn’t matter if it was Robbie’s. She was threatening you. She was threatening to expose your affair. I’m sure that must have been scary for you, especially this weekend, when you were surrounded by family and friends. Your son’s getting married; seems pretty unfair for her to choose this time to air your dirty laundry.”

Tag hears the phony sympathy in the Chief’s voice, even as his words ring true: It was unfair.

“I told Merritt that after the wedding I would write her a check. I wanted her to terminate the pregnancy.” He holds up his hands. “That’s bad, I know. But it’s a far cry from killing her.”

The Chief stares at him.

“Do you really think I’d be daft enough to drown a woman I was sleeping with, a woman who claimed to be pregnant with my child, and leave her to wash up in front of my house on the morning of my son’s wedding? I wasn’t that desperate. I was worried, definitely, but I wasn’t desperate and I didn’t kill anyone.”

“You did take Ms. Monaco out for a ride on your kayak, though, correct? The kayak we found on the beach? Your wife and your daughter-in-law both said you’re the only person who uses the kayaks.”

“Yes,” Tag says. “Yes, I did.”

“Even though it was the middle of the night,” the Chief says. “Did that not seem like a desperate measure to you? Reckless, at the very least?”

“She said she needed to talk to me,” Tag says. “Away from everyone, away from the house.”

“And what happened while you were out on this kayak ride?”

“I was paddling for an island beach out by Abrams Point but it was dark and I was having a difficult time finding it,” Tag says. “And when we were out in open water, in the middle of nowhere, the kayak tilted to the right and I heard a splash. Merritt had jumped off.” Tag leans forward. “You have to understand, Merritt was unhinged. She was hormonal, emotional, mentally unstable. She admitted that the only reason she wanted to keep the baby was that it gave her leverage over me. Then she leaped off the boat like a crazy person. I had to paddle back around and haul her up by the wrist.”

“By the wrist?” the Chief says.

“Yes,” Tag says. “And as soon as she was back up in the kayak, I paddled like hell for home. She got out on the beach and headed off. I thought she was going to bed.”

“You didn’t tie the kayak up,” the Chief says. “You left it overturned on the beach. Which I understand is out of character for you.”

“It was unusual,” Tag says. “But I worried that if I hung around to tie up the kayak, she would reappear, there would be more drama, she would raise her voice, people would hear us.” Tag drops his head into his hands. “I just wanted her to leave me alone.”

“Exactly,” the Chief says. “You just wanted her to leave you alone.” He puts his hands on the desk and leans forward. “The medical examiner found a heavy-duty sedative in Ms. Monaco’s system. So let me tell you what I think. I think you were pouring the girl shots and you slipped her a mickey. Then you invited her out for a kayak and you accidentally on purpose capsized and she never made it back to the boat. Or maybe you did as you say, and you pulled her up by the wrist. Maybe you let her pass out on the kayak and then you dumped her off closer to shore so that it looked like she went for a swim and drowned.”

“No,” Tag says. “That is not what happened. I didn’t drug her and I didn’t dump her anywhere.”

“But you do admit you were the one pouring the shots,” the Chief says. “Right?”

“Right, but—”

“Did she have anything else to drink?” the Chief asks.

“Water,” Tag says. “Water! Featherleigh went to the kitchen at some point…” Now Tag can’t recall if it was before or after Thomas went upstairs. Before, he thinks. Thomas can vouch for him. But no… no, it was after. Definitely after. “And Featherleigh brought out a glass of ice water.”

“Really,” the Chief says. He makes a note on his pad.

“Yes, really,” Tag says. This suddenly seems like the detail that will save him. He had been wary when Merritt asked for the water because it seemed to indicate she was concerned about her health—or the health of the baby—and then Tag realized that he hadn’t actually witnessed Merritt doing either of the shots he’d poured. He wondered if she’d thrown them over her shoulder. Featherleigh had been only too happy to fetch water for her new best friend, and while she was gone, Merritt told Tag she needed to talk to him alone. “Featherleigh brought Merritt a glass of water. Merritt drank the whole thing.”

“She drank the whole thing?” the Chief says. “Nobody else had any?”

“Correct,” Tag says. He relaxes back into the chair. Maybe Featherleigh slipped Merritt a mickey, or maybe they popped pills earlier in the night. Featherleigh is a wild card. Tag would have categorized her as harmless but it’s not beyond her to have accidentally wreaked this kind of havoc.