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“I was the one who bailed on her.” Emma takes a deep breath, steeling herself. “I know you’ve had a long day and I hate having to drop this on you, but something a bit distressing happened this afternoon. A Manhattan homicide cop paid me a surprise visit here at the house. Asking about Derrick’s murder.”
He raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Have they arrested someone?”
“No, but they’ve decided to reopen the case.”
“Wow. Because...?”
“According to this Detective Webster, there’s no specificreason besides a break in their workload that’s allowing them to expend resources on it.”
“Huh. But no new leads?”
“There don’t seem to be. At first, it sounded like she was going to give me an update, but all she did was ask questions—about whether Derrick had any issues with anyone, why I thought he parked downtown that night, that sort of thing.”
He leans across the table and lays a comforting hand on one of hers. “I’m so sorry, Em. This can’t be easy for you.”
“It’s fine,” she says, hoping he can’t see how unnerved she really is.
“As hard as it was when Diana died, I was fortunate in that I wasn’t hounded by endless questions.”
She’s not surprised Tom mentions Diana. That’s been a point of connection between them in Tom’s eyes, the fact that they both lost spouses. But though he knows the circumstances are very different, he doesn’t knowhowdifferent.
“I just don’t want it to affect your life. As far as I know, people at Halliday and our neighbors here aren’t even aware of that aspect of my past.”
“Well, if you’re worried for my sake, don’t be. I couldn’t care less what people think.”
She knows it’s the truth, and yet she can’t help but push a bit. “You say that now, but what if we end up on an episode ofDateline Investigates?”
“Not very likely. And even if this detective really goes to town, most of her digging is bound to be in New York and Madison, not here in little old Wepo anyway.”
“Well, Addison knows about it now since she was actually here when the detective came.”
He makes a face. “Was that awkward for you?”
“Kind of. She was great though. And we’re going to talk tomorrow.”
“Sweetheart, I can tell from those gorgeous hazel eyes of yours that this is eating at you, but you can’t let it. There’s no reason to worry.”
When she doesn’t respond, he cocks an eyebrow. “What? Was there something else about the interview?”
“Not anything significant.” She’s decided not to share any more of Webster’s questions with him because saying them out loud will only add to her stress. “But in hindsight I wish that I’d told her to come back when my lawyer could join us.”
“Yeah, I hear you. But to play devil’s advocate, it might have looked like you had something to hide. Though you probably want to loop him in as soon as possible.”
“Yes, I’m going to give him a call first thing Monday morning.”
Tom rises from the table to grab a fresh bottle of sparkling water from the fridge, and when he slides back onto the banquette and looks at Emma, his eyes read more gray than blue in the candlelight.
“Where’d you go?” he asks.
“I’m thinking about how much I missed you while you were away.”
“Come on, talk to me.”
“Okay, I’m still freaking out a little, but I promise to put it behind me.”
He grasps her hand again.
“You’ll get through this, Emma. You don’t have any reason to be concerned.”
“I know, it’s just... well, innocent people get accused of crimes all the time.”
“The police had to take a look at you back then—you were Derrick’s wife—but it doesn’t sound like they ever gave any credence to you as a suspect.”
“Right.” She offers a wan smile, but inside Emma feels her earlier gloom enveloping her again, seeping through every cell in her body. She loves her new life, loves Tom passionately, and suddenly, it all feels threatened.
Willshe get through it? she wonders. Or is this the moment when her lies from the past finally come calling?
