Chương 12
Arthur’s stomach turned.
“I never said that.”
“I know that now.”
“You believed her?”
“She was your wife.”
Arthur looked at the wedding ring still sitting in his pocket.
“She said you two had agreed Leo needed boundaries.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“I didn’t know.”
Arthur sat on the bottom stair.
“Did Elena know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did anybody?”
“Arthur.”
“What?”
“You’re trying to make a map of something that happened because all of us saw pieces and treated them separately.”
He stared at the marble floor.
Ruth continued.
“I’m not saying that to excuse it.”
He said nothing.
“I should have pushed harder.”
“Yes.”
“So should you.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
That ended the argument because there was nowhere else for it to go.
Ruth said, “I’ll be there early.”
“Thank you.”
After the call, Arthur remained on the stair.
The technician packed his tools.
One officer passed through the foyer carrying a sealed paper bag.
Arthur watched him leave.
The house smelled faintly of cleaning solution and the lilies Victoria had ordered for the entry table.
Arthur suddenly hated the flowers.
He stood and carried the vase into the kitchen.
He nearly threw it into the sink.
Instead he set it down.
The lilies had done nothing.
That thought made him feel ridiculous and almost sane.
At eleven forty-three, Elena called.
Arthur stared at her name.
Collins had told him not to discuss the message.
He answered anyway.
“Is Leo okay?”
“Yes.”
“Asleep?”
“Yes.”
Elena exhaled.
“Good.”
Arthur waited.
She did not speak.
Finally he said, “Are you home?”
“Yes.”
“Camila there?”
“Yes.”
Another silence.
Elena said, “Police came here.”
Arthur stood.
“What?”
“They asked questions.”
“About what?”
She hesitated.
“About me.”
Arthur gripped the kitchen counter.
“What questions?”
“Whether I ever got messages from Leo.”
His chest tightened.
He remembered Collins’s warning.
“What did you tell them?”
“The truth.”
Arthur said nothing.
Elena’s voice became strained.
“Mr. Mercer.”
“Arthur.”
“What?”
“Call me Arthur.”
She was silent for a second.
“Arthur.”
He closed his eyes.
“Did you get one?”
“Yes.”
The answer struck him harder than he expected.
“When?”
“Eleven days ago.”
He pressed his knuckles against the counter.
“What did it say?”
“That he wanted you.”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“And?”
“That he was sorry.”
Arthur stared at the dark window above the sink.
“Sorry for what?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Elena’s breathing changed.
“I tried.”
Arthur turned.
“What?”
“I called you.”
He remembered nothing.
“When?”
“That night.”
“I didn’t get a call.”
“I called your office first.”
Arthur felt a cold line move through his chest.
“Who answered?”
“Victoria.”
He closed his eyes.
“What did she say?”
“She said you were in a meeting.”
“I wasn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that night I was at dinner with Daniel.”
Elena was silent.
Arthur could hear Camila moving somewhere behind her.
“Then I called your cell,” Elena said.
Arthur looked at the dark screen in his hand.
“There’s no missed call.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I checked the next morning.”
Arthur went still.
“What do you mean?”
“Victoria came into the kitchen while I was making coffee.”
Elena’s voice became quieter.
“She asked why I had called you.”
Arthur stopped breathing.
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened?”
“She told me Leo had sent the message because he had been disciplined.”
“For what?”
“She said he lied.”
“About what?”
“She wouldn’t say.”
Arthur’s grip tightened.
“And you believed her.”
“No.”
“Then why didn’t you call me again?”
Elena did not answer immediately.
Arthur heard his own pulse.
“Elena.”
“She said if I interfered again, I’d be fired.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“That’s why.”
There was shame in her voice.
Not self-pity.
Something flatter.
“I went home and told Camila I might lose my job.”
Arthur leaned against the counter.
“She told me to quit.”
A small humorless laugh escaped Elena.
“She said we’d figure out the rent somehow.”
Arthur swallowed.
“And you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Leo was still there.”
Arthur said nothing.
Elena continued.
“I thought if I left, there would be nobody in the house watching.”
The anger drained out of him so quickly it left exhaustion behind.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“You should have come to my office.”
“I know.”
“You should have—”
He stopped.
Elena waited.
Arthur looked toward the stairs.
“I should have made it possible for you to tell me.”
Neither of them spoke.
Then Elena said, “That doesn’t erase my part.”
“No.”
“And yours doesn’t erase mine.”
“No.”
The words were not forgiveness.
They were closer to something useful.
Arthur rubbed one hand over his face.
“Are you coming tomorrow?”
“If you still want me there.”
He almost answered immediately.
Instead he thought of what Dana had said about assumptions.
“What do you want?”
Elena was silent.
“I want to see Leo.”
“Then come.”
Arthur looked at the clock.
“Get some sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I’m going to.”
Elena laughed softly.
“You’re a bad liar.”
Arthur looked toward the guest room upstairs.
“Apparently I’m learning that about myself.”
They ended the call.
At twelve sixteen, Arthur received a message from Daniel.
Emergency order filed.
Hearing expected in the morning.
At twelve twenty-eight, another message arrived.
Victoria had been released.
Arthur stood in the dark kitchen reading the words twice.
Then the front gate alarm chimed.
Arthur’s body reacted before his thoughts did.
He killed the kitchen lights, crossed the foyer, and looked toward the front windows without stepping close enough to silhouette himself against the glass.
The gate alarm chimed again.
His phone was already in his hand.
He called the police.
“This is Arthur Mercer.”
He kept his voice low.
“My wife was released tonight, and someone is at my front gate.”
The dispatcher asked whether he could see who it was.
“No.”
“Is the gate closed?”
“Yes.”
“Do not approach it.”
Arthur looked upstairs.
“I have a child in the house.”
May you like
“We’re sending officers.”
The gate camera notification appeared on his screen.
