Page 72 of The Note

She found Nate standing in front of his kitchen sink, slamming back a glass tumbler filled with ice water. Her throat immediately felt parched. She accepted gratefully as he extended an identical glass in her direction. Between the round-trip drive and court, she realized the only hydrationshe’d had all day was her morning cup of coffee and the few nervous sips of water she’d taken during the arraignment.

“With everything that’s been going on, I haven’t had a chance to tell you how sorry I was to hear about your mother’s condition.”

He put his free hand in his pocket and looked away from her gaze. “Yeah, it’s … not good. I’ve thought about moving back to Boston to see her more, but she usually doesn’t know who I am.” He suddenly rested his glass on the counter. “Hey, I just remembered. I need to run down to the laundry room to get Kelsey’s clothes.”

She remembered now how quickly he could pivot from a dark subject. “You did her laundry?” she asked.

“Yeah, this morning. Threw it into the dryer before you picked me up. Hope it’s not too wrinkled. Figured after a night in the slammer, a suitcase of clean clothes might be appreciated.”

May smiled. “Clean laundry’s a treat even without the jail part. My mom made me start doing my own laundry when I hit middle school, and it’s always been my least favorite chore. That, and unloading the dishwasher.”

Nate’s eyes met hers over the top of his glass. “I remember that,” he said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. “Okay, be right back.”

As May continued to sip her water, appreciatinghow very, very cold it was, her eyes roamed over the collection of photographs by the TV. A few showed him onstage, either performing or posing with a full cast. Some were with friends she didn’t recognize—at a baseball game, a bar, a Halloween party in a cop costume she recognized from one of Kelsey’s old Facebook posts. Several were with Kelsey and their parents—back when they had been an intact family of four.

She found herself pausing longest on the photographs from the era when she had been with Nate. It was her first serious relationship, and she had allowed it to become such a source of stress. Looking at these pictures, she realized they were just kids. If they had stayed together, would she have stopped overthinking it? Would he have grown up enough for her to trust him to be reliable? Would that stupid night when she tried to videotape them have become a ridiculous memory they would have laughed about for decades?

As May stared at a photograph of the Ellises—Kelsey beaming in her high school graduation regalia, the brick and ivy of Choate behind them—she studied William Ellis’s face. All those hours she had spent fixated on Luke’s murder, and it never dawned on her that he could be guilty while Kelsey was innocent.

She was about to return her glass to the kitchen when she looked at the photograph again. Shehad been so focused on Kelsey’s father that she didn’t notice it before. Now that she had, the conversation she’d overheard between Kelsey and her brother on the patio came back to her.You keep saying that, Kelsey, but it’s not true. It’s never been true. How do I convince you of that?

But it’s unnatural. It’s not only a question of biology.

She had assumed they were talking about Kelsey’s plans to implant the embryos that had been fertilized by Luke.

But in this graduation photograph, Nate’s hand was wrapped around his sister’s waist, the touch of his fingertips at the side of her rib cage gentle yet possessive. The excitement in Kelsey’s expression took on a new meaning that made May’s stomach lurch.

Was it possible?

She pulled her cell phone from her blazer pocket, scrolled to one of William Ellis’s many unanswered calls from that morning, and hit enter.

“May,” he said dryly. “So apparently now you have time to return my calls. Despite the delay, I do appreciate what you did for Kelsey today, even though I didnotappreciate being reprimanded by that judge. We do need to get her a more experienced defense team, but you’re of course welcome to stay on.”

“I need to know why you and Jeanie got divorced.”

“Well, I certainly can’t imagine why you’d need that information.”

“It’s for Kelsey’s case. It’s important.”

“It’s ancient history. Water under the bridge. All the trite idioms. It can’t possibly matter.”

“And I promise you that it does. Did it have something to do with Nate?”

When he finally began talking, May could see it all so clearly. She even remembered—or at least thought it was possible that she remembered—what Marnie had been telling her that night before she drowned.

At the sound of keys in the door, she hung up abruptly, managing to slip her phone into her back pocket before Nate walked inside. His arms were filled with laundry that he rushed into his bedroom. Entangled with clothes she recognized from Kelsey’s vacation wardrobe was a bundle of dark navy polyester.

“Let me just get this back into her suitcase, and you can be on your way.”

“Can I help you fold?” she asked as her phone began to ring.

He stood at the threshold of the room. “Don’t you need to get that?”

She pulled out her phone and rejected the call from Kelsey’s father. “Spam. Seriously, let me help you. I’m a packing pro.”

“No, I’m good. It’s a sty in here. Just give me two minutes to get Kelsey’s things together.” Heclosed the door, but she kept picturing that bundle of laundry.

Kelsey wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that thick blue polyester. It looked like some kind of a uniform.

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