Page 71 of The Note

When she returned, her gaze appeared unfocused. Her voice was distant as she returned May’s phone. “You got a call while I was talking. From your mom.”

“Okay, but did you talk to the PI?” May asked.

“Yeah. It took some pushing, but you guys were right. My dad got worried that I was leaving town so much. Jimmy followed me all the way to Rhode Island.”

“Oh my god,” Lauren said. “Did he follow Dave to East Hampton?”

“No, he said this was two months ago. But there are PIs in Providence. And Jimmy’s legit. He’s not some mobbed-up hit man. But this changes everything. It proves my father knew about Dave.”

40

Carter was watching the video of May Hanover on the subway platform for the umpteenth time. He could not believe the person unleashing that ear-splitting scream in her N95—Asian DA Karen—was the same woman he’d been dealing with the past few days. The woman he’d been talking to was confident, one step ahead of everyone around her. What he called a TCB-er, taking care of business. He thought of the quintessential Karen as a person looking to assert their power over other people. That’s not what he saw in this video. He saw a person who wanted control over her own fears.

The sounds of the subway were interrupted by his ringtone. He had the name in his phone now. Incoming call from May Hanover. He snatched his phone off his desk.

“Decker.” His earbuds switched over to his cell.

She didn’t bother identifying herself. “I’m about to go through the Holland Tunnel so the call might cut off.”

“That’s a lot of miles today,” he said. “You and your friends aren’t on another road trip, are you? Bad things seem to happen around you guys.”

“No trips. I’m dropping off Kelsey’s brother and picking up her luggage. I saw you follow William Ellis out of the courtroom today. Did you talk to him?”

“Nope. More like he talked to me. Told me I was abusing my power, had it all wrong, along those lines. He even told me he’d have my badge when this was over. Do people really think that if you get a cop fired, you get to keep their badge?” He heard the blast of a car horn in the background.

“Look, I’m going out on a limb here. I don’t want to wait and see if you charge her and then save all my evidence for trial, which is what I would do if I didn’t trust you. But I told Kelsey I think you’ll actually listen and try to do what’s right.”

“And I will.”

He had asked a city ADA he knew about her. He said she’d been one of the best lawyers in the office—book smart but also an animal in court.Everyone thought she’d be a lifer until she suddenly announced she had accepted a job as a professor. Based on the engagement ring that had recently appeared on her finger, there was speculation she might be looking for a more mommy-friendly job.

She laid out the facts clearly and succinctly. By the time she was finished telling him about William Ellis’s private detective and mafia connections, he knew he needed to call the Boston detective in charge of the Luke Freedman case to find out more about Kelsey’s father.

“Do you believe me yet? Kelsey didn’t do this.”

“You know I’m not going to answer that, but thanks for the info. Drive safe.”

41

Nate’s apartment was on the third floor of a walk-up. It was small, but it was also clean and modern and thoughtfully decorated. When she’d been single, she noticed that most men had apartments that felt sterile, filled with cookie-cutter furniture they had circled in a chain store catalogue. Nate had managed to amass a nice collection of funky vintage pieces, filling the walls with framed prints that reflected his interests. A display of playbills from off-Broadway shows he’d appeared in. A sunglass-wearing, martini-wielding Vince Vaughan from the filmSwingers. MiltonGlaser’s iconic Dylan poster. On a knee-high mid-century media cabinet, a crowded mix of framed photographs on either side of the flat-screen television made it clear that the apartment belonged to someone who wanted to live among his favorite memories.

“Wow,” May said, taking it all in. “This place is … spectacular. I was proud of myself for finally committing to a couple of throw pillows to zhuzh up our place. I’m not the world’s best decorator.”

“I figure just because it has to be cheap, it doesn’t have to be boring. An actor friend told me it’s all about finding things that mean something to you.”

“That’s really nice. Do you remember when we rentedSwingerswhen I stayed at your house before camp one summer? That was like after tenth grade?”

“Ninth for me, but yeah. And my mom was so annoyed. I kept running around saying everything wasso money.The more she said,stop saying ‘money,’the more I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.”

“Hey, do you mind if I use your powder room? The car ride, you know.”

“I am a man and do not have a powder room, but yes.” He gestured toward a door past a small hallway lined by two closets.

As she stepped into Nate’s bathroom, a familiarsmell tugged at her memory and she felt like she was in college again. That smell. She used to live in it. When she was done, she picked up his shampoo bottle from the edge of the weathered tub, screwed off the top, and breathed it in. That had always been Nate.

She set it exactly back in its place, recalling the time she had bought some for Josh.Not for me. That’s a whole lot of scent.He still hadn’t called her, and she was terrified he would come home to find Kelsey and Lauren in their apartment. She had no choice but to break the news by text.

I was hoping you’d have a chance to call so we could talk, but the court hearing started to go south this morning. Kelsey may need to stay with us tonight. She’s there now with Lauren while I’m picking up some things for her.Not completely honest. Kelsey would definitely be staying with them, and it wouldn’t only be for the night. And no mention that she was picking up Kelsey’s things from Nate’s apartment. But it was enough to prevent him from being completely blindsided. She reread it twice before hitting send.

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