Page 41 of Do Not Disturb
Well, I guess that means it’s time for a visit.
I step through the iron gates to get into the cemetery. The snow is mostly untouched in here. It’s thick and flawlessly white. My legs sink almost to my knees as I walk over to our parents’ gravestones.
They’re all the way in the back. Maxine Turner Mackey and Samuel Mackey. Beloved wife and husband, parents to Quinn and Claudia.
Sometimes I imagine what our lives would’ve been like if they hadn’t died. I would have completed college. Maybe I would be a lawyer right now, like I wanted. I would have made smarter choices in my life if I knew I had my parents backing me up. I doubt I would have married Rob.
Maybe Quinn would have made better choices too.
Well, there’s no point in debating what would’ve happened. They’re dead, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.
Chapter Twenty-One
When I get back home, Rob is waiting for me in the kitchen. He’s eating a bowl of cereal and he glares at me as I stomp the snow off my boots in the foyer, silently daring him to come yell at me. He doesn’t.
“Where were you?” he asks as I walk into the living room in my bare feet.
“Just driving around, looking for Quinn.”
He grunts. “You think you could find her better than the police?”
That’s the problem with Rob. He never believes in me. A few years ago, I talked to him about the possibility of going back to college, or at least taking a few classes.You’re way too old for that, Claudia.I hate to admit it, but his words got to me. I never ended up doing it.
“Maybe,” I say.
“Well, did you?”
I roll my eyes. “No, I didn’t.”
He frowns. “You be careful, Claudia. You know, if you help her, you’ll be aiding and abetting a criminal.”
“Quinn isn’t a criminal.”
“She killed her husband. I would say that makes her a criminal.”
“Watch it.”
Our eyes meet across the table. I see a muscle twitch in Rob’s jaw. Finally, he drops his eyes.
“If you’re going to take my truck,” he mutters, “at least let me know first.”
“I wasn’t gone long.”
“Yeah, but I got a job to do, Claudia.”
I snort. “What? Unclogging someone’s toilet?”
He stands up so quickly, he nearly knocks his chair down. “Guess that’s not as important as giving somebody a back rub, huh?”
I open my mouth to reply, but Rob has already brushed past me. He grabs his coat and his car keys, then he’s out the door. The entire house shakes on its foundation when he slams the door shut.
I don’t expect to go out again today anyway. I got rid of the phone. Presumably, the phone is currently making its way to Vermont. Nowhere near us. By the time the police track it down, Quinn will have had time to get even farther away from here.
And when she calls me to tell me where she is—and I’m sure she will—I’m going to be ready.
I hada couple of massage clients scheduled in the afternoon, but everyone canceled because of the snow. It means I end up sitting around the house, worrying about what’s happening with my sister. I also do a bit of laundry. Rob never, ever does laundry. He would keep buying underwear for months to avoid doing a load.
I call the police station and leave a message for Scott, but I don’t get a call back until nearly five o’clock in the afternoon, while I’m sitting on my sofa, watching television to take my mind off of everything.
