Chương 6
This reply took almost a minute.
Yes.
Then Noah sent one more.
Please don’t tell Daniel I contacted you.
I showed Rachel.
“That is understandable.”
“Can you protect him?”
“I can protect communications where privilege applies, but I cannot promise he keeps his job.”
“He could be fired for refusing to destroy records?”
“He could be fired for any number of reasons, lawful or unlawful, and then lawyers can spend months arguing about which one it was.”
“That is a terrible answer.”
“It is an accurate answer.”
I looked at the plate where toast crumbs had gathered in a little half-moon.
“Call him.”
“Tonight.”
“Yes.”
I rubbed the ache in my cheek.
“Rachel?”
“I’m here.”
“Do we need to do something immediately?”
“We may.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning if there is credible risk of evidence destruction, we have options.”
“Court?”
“Potentially.”
That word pulled the room into focus.
The jukebox.
The smell of fryer oil.
The old man finally leaving the counter.
The bright green exit sign above the back door.
I had said “for court” in the foyer because I wanted Daniel to know he had crossed a line.
At the time, it had been anger.
Now the possibility felt heavy and procedural and real.
“What kind of court?” I asked.
“That depends on what we discover and what action we are taking.”
“Divorce?”
“That is one path.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
She heard the silence.
“You do not have to decide that tonight.”
“I think I already did.”
“Thinking is not filing.”
“No.”
“It is okay to let one night pass.”
I looked at my reflection again.
“I have let a lot of nights pass.”
Rachel did not answer.
That was one reason I trusted her.
She knew when silence was better than advice.
A few minutes later, she said she needed to make calls and asked me to text when I chose a place to stay.
I promised I would.
After we hung up, I sat in the booth until my coffee became cold enough to form a dull skin across the top.
At five twenty, Claire called again.
This time I answered.
“Emily?”
Her voice was hushed.
“Hi.”
“Oh my God.”
She exhaled so hard it crackled through the speaker.
“I thought you were going to block me.”
“I considered it.”
“That’s fair.”
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
I could hear a door close behind her.
“Are you still at the house?” I asked.
“No.”
“Where are you?”
“In my car.”
“Driving?”
“Parked.”
She sounded irritated by the question, which meant she was probably frightened.
“Daniel is losing it.”
I looked down at the table.
“How?”
“He started making calls after you left.”
“To whom?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he say?”
“No.”
She paused.
“Mom kept asking him whether you could cause trouble.”
The words landed quietly.
“What kind of trouble?”
“That’s what I asked.”
“And?”
“She told me to mind my business.”
“That sounds like Evelyn.”
“Emily, this isn’t funny.”
“I know.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Claire drew in a breath.
“I left because they were talking about you like you were some kind of enemy.”
“I imagine I am now.”
“You’re his wife.”
“He hit me.”
“I know.”
Her voice cracked slightly on the last word.
I stared at the bruising beginning to darken beneath my cheekbone.
“No one stopped him.”
“I froze.”
There was no defense in her tone.
Just fact.
“I’m sorry.”
I did not tell her it was okay.
It was not.
But I also did not know what I would have done if I had been standing where she stood.
Maybe that made me weak.
Maybe it made me honest.
“What happened after I left?” I asked.
“Mom wanted everyone to sit back down.”
“Of course she did.”
“Uncle Martin said he was leaving.”
That surprised me.
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“He didn’t say anything before.”
“He said something then.”
“What?”
Claire hesitated.
“He told Daniel that hitting you was disgusting.”
I closed my eyes.
The defense had arrived after the person being defended was gone.
Human beings had a talent for courage once the immediate danger became less awkward.
“Daniel said Martin didn’t know what had been happening in your marriage.”
“What has been happening in our marriage?”
“That’s exactly what Martin asked.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“What did Daniel say?”
“He said you’ve been controlling.”
The smile disappeared.
“Controlling what?”
“Money.”
My entire body went still.
“Claire.”
“I know.”
“No, listen carefully.”
“I am.”
“Did he say anything specific?”
“He said you use money to humiliate him.”
A cold sensation moved down my arms.
“Did Evelyn hear that?”
“She agreed with him.”
“Of course.”
“She said you always made Daniel feel inadequate because your family had more.”
I looked at Noah’s messages again.
A shape was beginning to form, though I could not yet tell whether it was real or simply the kind of pattern fear created from separate facts.
“Did they mention Brooks Development?”
Claire was quiet.
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
“I didn’t understand all of it.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“Mom said something about you having no right to interfere with the company.”
“I have never interfered with the company.”
“I know.”
“Did Daniel respond?”
“He told her to stop talking.”
My heartbeat picked up.
“Exactly what did he say?”
“Emily, I don’t remember exact words.”
“Close enough.”
“He said, ‘Mom, shut up about the company.’”
Claire lowered her voice.
“He never talks to her like that.”
I leaned back against the booth.
“No.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Then she got angry and told him she had sacrificed too much for him to speak to her that way.”
“What did he do?”
“He told everyone to leave.”
“And you left.”
“Eventually.”
“Why eventually?”
Claire went silent.
I could hear a turn signal clicking in the background even though she had said she was parked.
Maybe she had forgotten to turn it off.
“There was something else.”
“What?”
May you like
“I went upstairs to get my coat.”
“You left it upstairs?”
