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31
AFEW MINUTES LATER EMMA’S BACK ON THE ROAD, BARELYaware of her exit from the store. She’d muttered some kind of a response, like, “No, actually, no, thank you.”
Her heart’s beating so hard, she can feel it in her fingertips as she grips the steering wheel, but she wills herself to calm down and try to think clearly. Tom had a scarf that might have belonged to a dead woman and he’s taken strange, deceptive measures to get rid of it. Does that mean hekilledher?
No, it’s not possible, she thinks. What could the motive be? He seemed to like Taylor, to be satisfied with her work, even if she occasionally got on his nerves.
A horrible scenario worms its way into her mind: What if Taylor, in that tenacious style of hers—and as she’d suggested earlier—tried to extract details about the Stowe weekend from Tom, wanting to be helpful without telling him she was acting on Emma’s behalf? She might have said someone on staff heard him rave about a restaurant and was she tryingto track down where he ended up eating Saturday night, and inquired why he hadn’t been at the group event. He would have felt cornered, worried that she’d share the information with the wrong person.
He’d admitted to Emma he’d seen Taylor when he dropped by the office around five yesterday, but he could have also arranged to meet her later, claiming he had a crucial matter to discuss. She’d do whatever her boss asked, after all. As for the scarf? Maybe he’d touched it in the course of stabbing her and decided to take it with him, fearing he’d left traces of his DNA. He might have decided the safest strategy was to unload it at a Goodwill outside of town rather than dropping it in a dumpster or trying to burn it.
So what the hell does she do now? Go to the police and announce that her husband might have not only killed Taylor but Derrick, too? That he might be some kind of sociopath, wearing a dazzling mask of sanity?
No, she can’t. She still has no proof that Tom left Stowe that weekend and thus would have a reason to silence Taylor. In a day or two, she’ll have to find a way to speak with Justine about Tom’s whereabouts, even if there’s a danger of Justine relaying the conversation to him. For now, she has to tamp down her fear and stay in control, and at the moment that means driving home without ramming her car into the rear of another vehicle. She forces her mind back on the road.
When Emma finally pulls into the garage twenty-five minutes later, Tom’s car isn’t there. He’s probably at Dan’s, just later than he told her he’d be. She texts Brittany, telling hershe’s heading to work but to call if she needs anything before Tom picks her up.
Prior to entering the studio, Emma does her best to steel herself and wipe the distress from her face. She has to appear as normal as possible to her two colleagues and mentally prepare for the inevitable conversation with the police about her recent contact with Taylor, a call that might very well come today.
And that’s not all. She can’t forget about the paintings. Though Lilly emailed her Jacob Whaley’s contact info, her gut tells her to check in with Kyle first and alert him to what’s going on. Once that’s accomplished, she’ll ask Dunne to fill Webster in on the latest development.
Dario and Eric are both on calls when she enters, which gives her a chance to get her bearings. She waves hello and heads to the meeting room to make an espresso, and as she’s waiting for the cup to fill, Eric enters, shutting the door quietly behind him.
“I heard the news about the girl from Halliday,” he says, looking stricken. “How awful.”
Emma shakes her head. “I know, it’s devastating. Um, you met her a few times, right? When we presented there together?”
“Yup, and eerily enough I spoke to her just yesterday.”
She pivots back in Eric’s direction. “How come?”
“She called here looking for you at around noon or so. Dario was away from his desk, so I picked up your phone.”
Taylor must have tried her office line before calling her cell.
“Did she say what she wanted?” Emma asks, doing herbest to keep it light. Surely, she tells herself, Taylor wouldn’t have taken the time to spell out the reason to Eric.
“No, just that she had some information you were looking for.”
“Right, she did catch up with me later.... It’s all so sad.”
“Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do, will you?
“Thanks, Eric,” she says, touched by his concern. “I so appreciate that.”
After he returns to his workstation, Emma uses the privacy of the meeting room to call Kyle. She dreads talking to him, especially after she warned him never to contact her again, but it can’t be avoided. She’s a bit relieved when the call goes straight to voice mail.
“There’s something important I need to discuss with you,” she says. “Can you get back to me as soon as possible?”
She hasn’t even left the room before he returns her call.
“What’s up,” he says, more a demand than a question. It’s clear from his tone that she’s caught him off guard.
“Like I said, there’s something fairly urgent I need talk to you about.”
“Shoot.”
Has the irony of his word choice escaped him?
