Page 51 of Assassin

That was progress.

The next step was feeding him. Poe went to the refrigerator, and grabbed eggs, cheese, butter, and bread.

“I hope scrambled eggs are acceptable.”

Gamble shrugged.

Truth be told, he didn’t care.

Well, Poe did. He was going to calorie load those eggs, and make sure the man got enough food into him.

“Here are the rules for being in my home,” he began, while he was scrambling eggs.

Gamble looked over.

“We don’t lie here. If you are upset, you just say it. If you are angry, you just say it. Lies don’t help recovery. Truth does.”

Oh, well, here went the truth.

“I hate my fucking wife to the depths of my soul, so much so that I wish I could have been the one who killed her. How’s that for honesty?”

And that sat there.

Only, Poe didn’t get upset. That was a common response. He knew that if the man’s wife just took her life, it would be different, but she stole the man’s child away.

That made this more challenging.

“I think, Gamble, that in this situation, that is fully expected,” Poe said, beating the eggs with some heavy cream. “What would you say to her before you took her life?” he asked, shrinky-dinking him.

Gamble was shocked.

Honestly, no one had ever asked him that. It caught him off guard.

“I’d ask why she hated me so much. I’d ask why she’d bring our child into the world just to steal her away. If she wanted to die, that was her right. To kill our baby…”

Poe kept cooking.

“Maybe she assumed you’d take your life too. Maybe, she assumed you would follow, and that was her plan.”

Gamble stared at him.

“Reverse psychology so I don’t kill myself, Doctor?” he asked. “Really?”

Poe put the spoon down.

“I’m being serious. There are only two possible reasons. You’re lost in the rage so you’re not seeing them. Either she killed herself and the child so you three could be together, and she loved you too much to let you hurt your child…”

Gamble stared at him.

“Or?” he asked. “Because I don’t believe it was that option. She would have shot me. She could have just taken my life too. She was stone cold and empty.”

Poe gave him the other reason.

Either way, the man had to come to grips with it.

“She was selfish,” he said. “Your wife could have easily taken her own life. Taking your child from you was nothing but an act of selfishness. She did it because to her, you were doing okay, and that hurt her. How dare you feel happy and joy when she felt empty. This was her way of getting even with you.”

Gamble stared at him.

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