Page 10 of Jury Woman, Part 4 of 6

Warren dropped his hands. "So what? It was one class. Josh is a good kid."

"He was a good kid. That's the point. Those boys are known stoners, Warren."

"Says who? Lily? She'd say anything to get her brother in trouble."

Under the table, I pressed my thumbnail into the pad of my finger, hard enough to hurt. It was a trick I'd learned long ago, when I had to smile at people I wanted to strangle.

"I'm not trying to start a fight," I said evenly. "But if you don't start paying closer attention to the kids, something bad is going to happen."

"Oh, that's rich." His face flushed. "Lecturing me about supervision from a luxury hotel."

"I'm not on vacation, Warren."

"And I'm running this entire circus by myself!" He shoved the mug aside, and coffee sloshed onto the table. He didn't notice… and it would definitely leave a water mark on the wood. I tried to focus on his obvious distress. "Sales are down eighteen percent," he said. "Eighteen percent! Corporate's acting like it's my fault nobody wants to finance a hundred-thousand-dollar car right now. Damn interest rates are all over the place. Meanwhile, I've got a regional manager asking if I've lost my edge."

"I'm sorry about work, but—"

"My boss is unhappy… Heidi's unhappy… even the housekeeper I hired is unhappy. She said Lily was rude to her and Josh left a sandwich in his closet. I'm losing my mind here."

Something hot coiled beneath my breastbone. "Warren, listen to yourself. Every single thing you just said is about you."

"Excuse me?"

"Your job. Your girlfriend. Your housekeeper. When was the last time you actually sat down with Josh? Not yelled through his door. Sat with him."

He leaned into the camera, his eyes were bloodshot—and bulging. "You're the one who left, Isabel, and now you want to grade my parenting?"

"I didn't leave. I got a summons. You're the one who walked out on this family and left me to deal with the fallout."

"And this was your retaliation?" he asked.

I clenched my hands into fists.

His jaw worked.

We were at an impasse… had been for years.

When he finally spoke, his voice had gone flat and cold, which was always worse than the shouting. "I've got enough people telling me what I'm doing wrong. You were always the one person who supported me, and then that changed, too. I can't please you, Isabel. I haven't been able to for a long time."

"Warren—"

He reached for the trackpad, and the screen went blank.

I sat back, my pulse drumming in my ears. Behind me, Deputy Wells shifted his weight but said nothing. I was glad. Warren had just announced that our marriage had ended because of me, because I'd been too hard to please.

Which was completely, utterly, and absolutely untrue.

Wasn't it?

October 11, Sunday

THREE FACES crowded the screen, squeezed together on the living room couch with Elaine in the middle. My sister had her reading glasses pushed up into her hair.

"Hi, everybody," I said. "How is everyone?"

"Good, actually." Lily was actually smiling. Her hair was freshly curled, and she kept tucking one side behind her ear and letting it fall again. "Scott asked me to homecoming."

"Sweetheart, that's wonderful!"