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8
EMMA STEPS BACK FROM THE WINDOW AND PINS HERSELFagainst the wall, not wanting Kyle to see her.Can I pretend no one’s home?she wonders. But then she realizes the likely reason for the visit. He’s obviously been contacted by Webster, too, and wants to talk to her about it. And if that’s the case, she absolutely has to hear him out.
“Hello, Emma,” he says when she opens the door. He’s dressed in crisp chinos and a blue-and-white-striped dress shirt, and a navy sweater draped around his neck. Kyle, she’s always noted to herself, is the kind of guy who likes you to know he went to boarding school, either by dropping that fact into conversation five minutes after he’s met someone or telegraphing it through a preppy look that went out of style a couple of decades ago.
“Hi, Kyle.”
“You’ve gone blonder,” he says, his tone making it sound closer to a vague taunt than a compliment.
“Right. What can I do for you?”
“I wanted to chat for a minute. Would you mind if I came in?”
Shewouldmind. Not only does she dislike Kyle now more than ever, but his presence never fails to conjure up Derrick. She has to make nice, though, and more importantly, she needs to be looped in about Webster.
“Um, okay. But unfortunately, it can’t be for long, I’m afraid. We have plans.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got places to be myself.”
Of course he does. When she was married to Derrick, she was aware that Kyle and Jackie had a very active social life, centered largely around other members of their Bronxville country club, some of whom were also clients of his hedge fund. She’d known, too, that Kyle had come close to floundering when he first launched the firm in his twenties, but he eventually pulled things together and the business seemed to thrive after that.
She and Derrick had rarely socialized with him and Jackie, but Kyle always managed to fill them in on their life with braggy asides about everything from their friends to the landscaper to the current speed of his tennis serve. And his business triumphs, too.
This is actually the second time he’s showed up here at the house uninvited and without warning. The first was nine months ago, right after she and Tom moved in, with a box of some paperwork he claimed she might need but definitely didn’t. He’d met Tom that day, which Emma knew was the real motivation behind his visit. Kyle clearly wanted to get a good look at her new husband, her new home, and the brand-new world she’d forged for herself.
Today, he follows her into the living room, where she pauses smack in the center to indicate that she won’t be offering him a seat. With hands stuffed inside his pants pockets, Kyle swings his gaze around the space and nods appreciatively, though there’s the trace of a snarl on his lips.
“Wow, you’ve really gone to town since I was last here,” he says. “Very impressive.”
Go along. Keep making nice, Emma warns herself.
“Thank you, Kyle.”
“Of course, if anyone knows what the hot trends in decor are, it’s you, Emma.... Where’s Tom?”
“Running an errand.”
“I’m glad you’re here, though, because I took a chance coming on a summer weekend. I thought you mentioned Tom had a beach house somewhere.”
The existence of Tom’s Block Island house isn’t anything she would have ever volunteered to Kyle, but he’d managed to worm it out of her on his previous visit.
“So what’s up?” she says, steadying herself.
“You can’t guess why I’m here?”
“I assume it has to do with the case being reopened?”
“Bingo. Did Webster call or show up in person?”
“She came by the house yesterday. I take it she spoke to you as well?”
“Yup. So what did you think?”
“Uh, she seems smart, capable. Willing to roll up her sleeves.”
“I don’t mean her personally. How did you like what she said about the investigation?”
Emma shifts from one foot to the other, hating his presence in a space that belongs to her and Tom. “Well, I’m certainly glad they’re taking another look, but from what she indicated, it’s a routine thing. There’s no new evidence, unfortunately.”
