Page 52 of In the Dead of Night

Knowing the scene was only going to get worse, Sara intervened. “We have your husband’s research notes. We also have an eight-millimeter film we believe was made by Blaine Stocker.”

“But what you really want is those claws of yours in my son, don’t you?” Eyes narrowing, her body gathering as if to pounce, she approached Sara. “Your mother was my closest friend. I loved her like a sister. I trusted her. She betrayed me by sleeping with my husband. It disgusts me that her daughter is doing the same with my son.”

“That’s enough.” Nick stepped between the two women, but his eyes were on his mother. “You need to put your bitterness aside and listen.”

She glared at her son. “Alex blinded Nicholas with her neediness. With her sexual charms. With that phony decency people saw when they looked at her.” Her gaze went to Sara and she shook her head. “And now her daughter is blinding you.”

“That’s not true,” Sara defended. “All we want is to expose the truth.”

“You want a hell of a lot more than that, you little slut.” She made a sound of disgust. “Evidently, my son is more than happy to give it to you.”

The words struck her with the same shock and violence as the slap Laurel had delivered two days before. Emotions tightened Sara’s throat until she thought she would choke. But she held back the tears. Bit back the anger. Deflected the pain.

Vaguely, she was aware of Nick standing a few feet away, shaking his head. Laurel reached the door, yanked it open. The sound of rain entered the bungalow, but Sara’s attention was focused on the woman staring at her as if she wanted to do bodily harm.

“He’ll never love you, Sara. He’ll let you use him. He’ll use you, too. But he’ll never love you the way he loved Nancy and the baby.”

The door slammed hard enough to rattle the windows. Even though Laurel had left, the tension remained. Sara’s mind reeled with all the hateful things that had been said. She could feel herself shaking, both inside and out. All the while Laurel’s parting words echoed inside her head like some terrible mantra.

He’ll never love you the way he loved Nancy and the baby.

Baby? What baby?

Sara didn’t want to look at Nick. She was afraid if she did the question would be plastered all over her face. Or that the dam would break and once it did she wouldn’t be able to stop it.

“I’m sorry about that,” he said after a moment.

She didn’t look at him. “She’s wrong about my mother.”

“She’s wrong about a lot of things.”

“Why does she hate me so much?” When her voice cracked, she turned away and strode to the sink, fighting tears. “Damn it.”

She jolted when he came up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “Because she’s bitter. Because you remind her of your mother.”

“My mother didn’t betray her.”

“I know.” Gently, he turned her to face him. When she wouldn’t look at him, he put his fingers beneath her chin and raised her face. “I’m not going to make excuses for my mother. But she lost a lot that night. I think maybe she lost more than she could bear.”

“All of us lost more than we could bear.”

“We’re going to get through this. We’re going to find the truth. And we’re going to make sure the person responsible pays.”

For the first time, Sara looked into his eyes. Within their depths she saw all the things she so desperately needed to see. Understanding. Compassion. The determination to find the truth no matter what obstacles were thrown in his path.

“Thank you for saying that.”

Dipping his head slightly, he gave her a small smile. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m not.” It was a silly thing to say; she was definitely crying. “Damn it.”

“You are.”

She choked out a sound that was part sob, part laugh and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “For twenty years I’ve been told my father was a murderer. I’ve been told my mother was unfaithful to him. There were times when I hated them for that. To find out now none of that is true…I have to find the truth.”

“I’ll help you. Laurel will eventually come to terms. Hopefully, when all of this comes out, she’ll be one step closer to healing.”

Stepping away from him, Sara went to the sink and filled a saucepan with water for tea. “The things your mother said. About Nancy…” She put the pan on the flame then turned to face him. “Did you have a child with your wife?”