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“You weren’t in Nantucket as you previously claimed.”
The senator shook his head, and his lawyer pointed to the mic. “No. We’d closed up the house in Lenox for the summer as usual. The staff were due to come back from vacation just before Labor Day, to clean, make beds, etcetera. I came back to the house alone that day.”
“But it wasn’tjustthat day, was it?” Dan interjected. “You and Cheryl were there at other times over the summer.”
Senator Cain stared at him. “How did you know that? There was never anyone around.”
“Aiden Reynolds was building your pool house, remember? He saw you in the gardens.”
The senator sighed. “Of course. I’d forgotten they were there.” He clasped his hands on the table. “Those last three summers, Cheryl and I got into a routine. One day a week, I’d drive back to the house under the pretext of having some work to do. There was no one around—all the staff were on vacation too. We’d spend most of those days in bed.”
“And the day she died?” Gary inquired.
Senator Cain took a drink from the glass of water. “We’d agreed to meet on Friday evening. I was going to stay until Sunday morning, then drive back to Nantucket. It would be the last time before Della and I came back to the house. But when I got there….” He regarded Gary with a pained expression. “She wasn’t where I expected to find her.”
Friday August 28, 1992
SENATOR CAINclosed the front door behind him. It never ceased to amuse him that despite him knowing for certain there were no staff in the house, he always closed the door quietly so as not to be detected. Cheryl’s car wasn’t out front, but then again it never was. She usually left it at the cottage where Pete and his wife lived and walked over to the house. The chances of anyone seeing it were slim, but the senator wasn’t about to risk it.
He climbed the stairs, his heartbeat racing at the thought of seeing her again. It had only been a week since their last meeting, butLord, he’d missed her. Granted, his days had been full of time spent on the beach with the children, his evenings full of dinners outdoors, the smell of the sea carried on the breeze, the heat of the day gradually receding.
He longed to hear her voice, to lie in bed with her, talking about her painting, her job. Everything about her fascinated him. One day a week was all they got, and he knew once September arrived, their meetings would have to be severely curtailed.
That only made him more determined to wring every ounce of joy possible out of those precious minutes they got to share.
When he reached the second floor, he headed for the guest room they always used.
I’m such a hypocrite. I talk about the importance of family, the sanctity of marriage, but I’m happy to commit adultery.However, his moral compass wouldn’t allow him to make love to Cheryl in the bedroom he shared with Della. That felt like a step too far.
He heard her voice, but it didn’t come from the guest room—Cheryl was in his office, and from the sound of it she was making a phone call. Intrigued, he walked into the room, and his heart stuttered when he saw the left-hand door.
It was pulled all the way across.
Oh dear Lord.
He crossed the floor, reaching out to draw it back, and then he caught her words.
“I’ve found it. It’s been in plain sight all the time. I’m looking at it right now.”
His heart hammering, Senator Cain pushed the door back, and there she was, staring at him, mouth open, her phone in her hand.
He didn’t hesitate. He snatched the phone from her, ended the call, then dropped it to the floor with a clatter.
Cheryl looked at him as if he’d grown another head. “What… what areyoudoing withthis?”
Her horrified expression cut him to the bone.
He said the first thing that came into his head.
“Copy it for me? Then… then I’ll give it back. I-I only have it on loan.”
For a moment there, he could have sworn she wavered.
Not for long.
“I won’t do it. But you’re right about one thing—youaregoing to give it back.” She swallowed. “Will, I thought I knew you.”
“You do.No oneknows me the way you do.”
