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Chapter 46
WHEN HE RETURNEDfrom New Jersey, arriving back before dinner, Decker was as un-Decker-like as it was possible to be.
He assisted with all tasks, set the table, helped serve the food, talked to Jamison’s sisters and to Frank Mitchell’s grieving parents and siblings, offering condolences and truly listening.
Afterward,as the others went off to a nearby motel where they were staying, Jamison cornered him in the kitchen, where he was loading the dishwasher after clearing the table.
“Are you feeling okay?” she said, her look a worried one.
He placed the last pot in the dishwasher, dropped in a detergent pod, hit start, and closed the door before turning to her.
“I’m just trying tohelp out, Alex.”
“I know. That’s sort of what I meant. It’s just not…you know?”
“You mean it’s just not like me?”
She looked embarrassed but did not correct him.
“You must be rubbing off on me, Alex.”
“Is that a good thing?” she said quietly.
“Must be. People seem to like me better now than when I lived in Ohio.” He fell silent for afew moments. “I know I’m awkward in social situations. And I know I have something in my head that makes me unable to say what I want to say in certain situations. Like when people need, I guess, comfort. But just because I don’t say it, doesn’t mean I’m not thinking it.”
She rubbed his arm. “I know that, Amos. I really do.”
“But I am trying. It’s just…it’s just not as easyat it once was.”
She smiled. “I think you’ve come a long way. And it’s a two-way street. You’ve made me a better person. Certainly I’m a far better investigator. When we first teamed up I had no idea what I was doing.”
He nodded, leaned against the counter, and studied his feet. “I remember when Cassie and Molly died. Family came in, there was a lot to do. Everybody was crushedand…I couldn’t really do anything. I just sat there like a lump.”
“But that’s understandable. It was such a horrible loss for you.”
“Lots of people have horrible losses, every day. And they manage to keep going.”
“Well, what you did today was much appreciated. You really helped out a lot. Amber was very grateful.”
He didn’t respond to this, but simply rubbedthe top of his head.
“How does it feel?” she asked.
“Funny,” was all he would say.
“Any more memory glitches?”
“Not like before, no.”
She nodded, but still looked apprehensive. “What did you find out in Jersey?”
He told her about his conversation with Stanley Nottingham.
“A treasure?” she said. “Do you believe that?”
“I think Bradley Costa believed it. Why else would he come here?”
“But just based on some thirdhand gossip he would pick up and leave New York for this place? It doesn’t make sense.”
