Page 44 of In the Bones
“What about the fact that Nicole works for Helle? Did Woody mention that at all? It’s a strange setup, isn’t it? Nicole over there mopping her husband’s business partner’s floors?”
“He didn’t evenmentionHelle,” said Mac. “Despite the guy being a person of interest in the homicide.”
“But Nicole knows they’re in business together?”
“That’s what Woody said when I asked.” Mac remembered that.Of course she fucking knows, Woody had said.
“So why would Nicole take that job?” asked Shana.
That was one of the questions Mac had yet to resolve. The house, which had drawn so many people into its orbit, was central to her concern. Mikko Helle, Angelica Patten, Molly Kranz, Woody, Nicole … all had given in to the magnetic pull of Helle’s riverfront home.
Woody had said that Nicole knew about the investment. But did Woody know Nicole was working for Mikko? The night Mac had gone to their place for burgers, Nicole had waited until Woody was gone to talk about her new client. There had been a tautness to her delivery when she described the strange noises. She’d never mentioned Mikko’s name.
“I don’t know why she did it,” Mac said now, “but I think it’s possible Nicole was hiding that fact from Woody. I need to talk to her.” Why hadn’t her sister returned her calls? Why wasn’t she at the debate? Her absence was worrisome.
Shana must have heard the distress in Mac’s voice, because her eyebrows had pulled toward her nose. “Let’s not panic yet. We haven’t questioned Woody. I’d like to talk to Nicole again too, find out exactly what she knows about his relationship with the girl. You OK?”
The office was cold, the ceiling vent blowing icy air even though it was too early in the season for A/C. Mac felt as though she was standing on a high bluff, her toes inching toward the edge. She hadn’t realized she was shaking until Shana stilled her trembling fingers with a firm grip on her dangling hand.
She said, “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this. But Mac,” Shana added gently, “I have to ask. You know Woody … do you think he’s capable of this? Is there any possibility at all that he’s responsible for Angelica Patten’s murder?”
Mac knew her voice would break if she tried to speak, so instead, she got up from her chair and went to the office window.
Family was a curious thing. Some were bonded by blood, others by friendship, still others by profound, unyielding love. For a quarter of a century, a little less than half her life, Machad treated Woody like a brother. There was little she’d withheld from him, little she’d failed to offer, and she’d come to know him well, this de facto sibling who’d sidled into her world. Now, Mac couldn’t stop imagining what would become of Blair and Alana when they saw their father’s photo on 7 News Watertown. Could she really have been so far off base? The idea that she and her sister had been harboring a man whose judgment was so catastrophically skewed was unthinkable.
“He’s family,” she told Shana. “But …”The one-night stand.The counterfeit goods. Mac shook her head. “I really don’t know.”
“We’ll figure this out,” said Shana. “It’ll all be OK.”
Mac wanted to believe it, but her vision was fogging again, the BCI office that once was her own a smudgy beige blur.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Nicole
The debate had been over for hours by the time Nicole realized she’d missed it. The worst part was that she didn’t even have a good excuse. While her sister had been in Watertown battling Bruce Milton, Nicole was standing in her dimly lit garage, staring at the towers of boxes through a film of tears. It was hard to imagine that things could get worse, but maybe that was naïve.
Things could always get worse if you let them.
The silence of the garage felt duplicitous, the safety of the cluttered space false. Beyond the walls was a killer, a neighbor accusing Woody of a crime, a world that was conspiring against them all. And then there was the intruder. Was it crazy of Nicole to wish she was that girl, the one from the ceiling? Two days, and the police still hadn’t found her. Nicole didn’t know exactly what she was running from, but Jenny Smith had refused to stand still and accept her fate, and Nicole envied her that power. The courage to make that choice.
From the corner of the room, somewhere behind the boxes, came a sound. It was light, something nearly weightless scraping against the wall or floor. The last thing Nicole needed was an infestation of mice, so she waited. Listened. The sound didn’t return, but the hairs on her arms had lifted, the memory of finding the phrogger bright and close.Save yourself, she thought, a reflex, but this time she couldn’t find the strength to move.
Woody would be home soon. The girls too. She should start planning dinner. Call Maureen to apologize. She knew there were several missed calls on her phone, but she hadn’t even bothered to check them.
In the middle of the garage, barricaded by boxes, Nicole waited in the dark for what was coming next.
It came in the form of a call that sent a current down Nicole’s leg. She drew her phone from her back pocket, and—hands shaking—swiped at the screen.
“It’s me,” said Maureen in a tone dark as death. “We need to talk.”
THIRTY-NINE
Tim
Tim didn’t like to judge, but Stacy Peel’s house was seriously lacking curb appeal. It was the shape, for one thing, the upper floor jutting out over dirty basement windows like an overbite. The siding and roof were the same shade of cheap chocolate milk. The patchy front yard, too. There was a trailer in her driveway, though, which meant that Stacy owned a boat. Maybe she was the type to spend her money on experiences. That, and raising her kid.
“Thanks for meeting with me again,” Tim said as she showed him inside. “I won’t take up too much of your time.” All Tim needed was to know whether Shana had been right. At the barracks, she’d said it was a friend of Nicole’s who told her that Woody had been with another woman. Stacy seemed like the logical place to start.
