All the Dark Places(15)
“Has Dr. Bradley been in since December?”
“We’ve been closed for the holidays until today, but he was here last week doing paperwork. He brought that fern in.” She walks over to the window, looks at the plant like she can’t figure out what to do with it. “Molly told him he ought to have a few plants in the office.”
“Uh huh.”
I hunt around a little more while Dr. Westmore looks on, but I don’t see anything else of note. I take one more turn around the room, pause in front of a framed picture of the Bradleys taken in front of the Louvre. “He and the Mrs. were happy?”
“Over the moon. He adored Molly.”
“What’s Dr. Bradley got going on in his home office?”
“I have no idea. Why?”
“His wife said he’s writing a book. You know anything about that?”
“Jay has talked to me about it.”
“About what?”
“Abnormal psychology and the criminal mind, as a matter of fact.”
“Interesting. Any reason why?”
She draws a deep breath, clutches her arms across her chest, and walks to the window, her back to me. “Jay was a complicated man.”
“He have any dealings with people for his book who might have violent tendencies?”
“None that he mentioned.”
“What piqued his interest in that subject, do you think?”
She turns toward me. “Classwork, I guess. We learned about some very unusual aspects of the human psyche. He was fascinated with antisocial behavior.”
“Why not go into that branch of work then? Lots of opportunities in the prison system for a psychologist.”
“It fascinated him and scared him at the same time, I think. And he liked family therapy.”
I keep my gaze on her, waiting.
“Detective, I told you Jay had a lonely childhood. It was just his father and grandfather. Both men were absorbed in their careers. Jay was kind of an afterthought. He’d listen to them talking in the kitchen late at night. He told me they spent a lot of time smoking, drinking, discussing their work.”
“What type of work did they do?”
She smiles grimly. “They were detectives with the Boston Police Department.”
“Huh.” I’m immediately searching my memory for any cops named Bradley, but I draw a blank. Bob might know. “So, as a kid, he probably overheard some cop stories?”
“Yes. And his grandfather had some pretty gruesome tales to tell.”
“How’s that?”
“He worked on the Boston Strangler case.”
CHAPTER 11
Molly
KIM AND JOSH LIVE IN A NEW SUBDIVISION ABOUT TEN MINUTES FROM me and Jay. Kim works at Graybridge Elementary School, teaching fourth grade. Lucky for me, she’s still on winter break. I park Corrine’s BMW in the driveway and make my way to the front door.
Kim wraps me in her arms. “Come on in,” she whispers against my shoulder.
The house, while fairly new and smelling faintly of paint, always looks lived in. Evidence of Willow is everywhere. Tiny ice skates sit dangerously at the bottom of the stairs. Toys and picture books are piled on the foyer table. We walk down the hall to the kitchen, where dishes are stacked in the sink and art supplies lie scattered on the counter. But it’s a comfortable place, welcoming. We sit with mugs of tea and an open box of ginger snaps between us.
“It’s so quiet,” I say.
“Josh took Willow to the mall,” Kim says, her dark eyes glancing out the French doors that open onto the deck. “She knows something’s wrong, but we don’t know quite how to explain to her what happened.”
“I can imagine.” If Jay and I actually had children, how could I help them through something like this? I shiver and change the subject. “Josh didn’t go to work?”
Kim shakes her head. “He said he wouldn’t be able to concentrate anyway, so Cal told him to stay home.”
Cal got Josh a job a couple of years ago at the medical research lab he runs downtown. Josh had just left the hospital where he had been working. He’s one of those guys who never seems to stay in one place too long, always looking for something new and different. That’s what Jay said.
“Cal went in?” I ask.
“Laken said he told her work would help him keep his mind off things.”
“What’s Laken doing today?”
“At the spa. She needed to square things away there. She was just driving herself crazy at home anyway. You know how she is.”
I do. Laken needs to be busy all the time. Even when we’ve taken vacations together, she doesn’t know the meaning of “Let’s just chill a while.” Funny, her business is all about relaxation.
“When do you go back to school?”
“Wednesday.” Kim sighs and covers my hand with hers. “Have you heard anything from the police today?”
“No. I guess I should call them.” I almost don’t want to. The cops are just another reminder that Jay is really gone. It’s tempting to pretend, to hide at Corrine’s and make believe that Jay is away at a conference or something. If only. But reality doesn’t work that way. It slaps you square in the face, and you accept it or descend into la-la land.