Page 11 of Her Last Promise

Rachel decided to change tactics."Mrs.Porter, I'll be direct with you.We're investigating a murder, and your husband's name has come up in connection with the case."

The color drained from Madeline's face.For a moment, her carefully maintained facade cracked, revealing something raw and frightened underneath.She swayed slightly, one hand reaching out to steady herself against the door frame.

"A murder?"The word came out as barely more than a whisper."That's impossible.Gregory couldn't—" She stopped, drew a deep breath, and seemed to come to a decision.She stood straight, going for a look of defiance that, instead, came off as sheer confusion.“Fine…” she hissed.

“What is it, Mrs.Porter?”Novak asked.

"Gregory has been in rehab for the past two weeks.Following a suicide attempt."She still tried to look as if she was mad and in charge, but the pain and shame in her eyes was too plain to see.The admission hung in the air between them, heavy as the approaching storm clouds.Rachel exchanged a quick glance with Novak before turning back to Madeline.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Rachel said softly."Would you mind telling us what led to this?"

Madeline laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that seemed to surprise even her.She looked back to the door as if she may have changed her mind about allowing them in but seemed to decide against it."What led to it?Everything.Nothing."She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, as if trying to hold something in."Do you know what it's like to watch someone you love destroy themselves piece by piece?"

She didn't wait for an answer."Gregory was brilliant.One of the best anesthesiologists in the state.We had everything—the practice, the house in the Hamptons, private schools for the kids.”She frowned and lightly stamped her foot on the porch.“That’s why we stayed in this house.It’s nice enough, sure, but Gregory always preferred to spend his money elsewhere.We had a good life, afun and excitinglife.Then came the mistakes.Small ones at first, barely noticeable.He'd forget to document a dosage on his forms at work, show up late for procedures, snap at the nurses."

“Was he drinking then, as well?”Rachel asked.

“Yes, but not in a…not excessively.The heavy drinking started after he lost his license.Just a glass of wine with dinner, then a bottle, then whatever he could get his hands on.When that wasn't enough, he…he got stupid.Almost overnight, it’s as if he decided to just throw everything away.Getting drunk off his ass wasn’t good enough anymore… he turned to cocaine."She spat the word like poison."Said it helped him focus, and that it would him figure out how to get his license back.Instead, it took everything we had left."

Rachel thought of the neighborhood around them, the aging houses and tired dreams.How many similar stories played out behind those windows?

"A little more than two weeks ago, I found him in his study."Madeline's voice had gone flat, emotionless."He'd taken a mixture of alcohol and pills.If I'd been ten minutes later..."She shook her head."The next morning, he admitted that he’d tried to kill himself.So I gave him no choice…I drove him to Riverside Recovery Center.He's been there ever since."

"We'll need to verify his presence there," Novak said, his tone professional but gentle."For the timeframe of our investigation."

Something flickered across Madeline's face—annoyance, perhaps, or fear.But she nodded."Riverside is about fifteen minutes north of the city, just off Highway 23.They can confirm he hasn't left the grounds since his admission.If there’s a murder or some other sort of sordid activity you’re trying to pin on him, that should be more than enough to prove his innocence."

The true, unblemished anger was back in her voice now and when she reached back for the doorknob, Rachel knew the conversation was over.

"Thank you, Mrs.Porter," Rachel said."We appreciate your candor."

Madeline's mask of polite distance slipped back into place."If that's all?"

They thanked her and turned to leave.As they reached the car, the porch light clicked on, casting their shadows long across the driveway.Rachel glanced back to see Madeline still standing in the doorway, a lonely figure framed by warm light, watching them with unreadable eyes.

The car doors shut with hollow thuds.Rachel sat for a moment as Novak slid behind the steering wheel, processing what they'd learned.

"Well," Novak said as he started the engine."That gives Porter a pretty solid alibi, assuming it checks out."

Rachel nodded slowly."Maybe too solid."

"You think she's lying?"

"I think she's terrified," Rachel replied, starting the engine."The question is: of what?"

“Well, her husbanddidtry to kill himself after they essentially lost everything she thought of as good in her life.Maybe she’s wondering what else might be coming.Maybe she thinks hemighthave done some other awful thing."

They backed out of the driveway and pulled away from the curb, the Porter house growing smaller in the rearview mirror.The neighborhood felt different as they drove away, its quiet streets and modest homes holding secrets that seemed darker than they had just an hour before.And as Rachel now understood that she would absolutely miss dinner with her family, she also felt the tug of this case, growing larger ahead of her and demanding her full attention.

It felt too much like the past, reminding her of promises she’d broken time and time again.But this was yet another thought she had to tuck away for later consideration.Right now, they had a killer to find.

CHAPTER EIGHT

When Rachel ended the call to the rehab facility, she slipped her phone into her jacket pocket and looked straight ahead.They’d just barely managed to miss the rush hour traffic along the interstate, which was a blessing in this part of the city.Through the windshield, little specks of cold, winter rain had started to fall, blurring the world beyond.

"They know we're on the way and are going to make sure Porter is ready to receive visitors when we get there," she told Novak."They did mention that because of the sensitive nature of our visit, one of his therapists will have to be present."

She watched her partner's profile as he concentrated on the road.After months of working together, she was finally starting to read his subtle expressions – the slight tightening around his eyes that suggested he shared her frustration with their progress on the case.What had felt like it might be a quick one-and-done sort of case when it was assigned to them just seven hours ago now looked like it was going to be a maze of sorts.

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