Page 77 of State of Grace (First Family 2)

After the adjoining door closed behind him, Sam said, “Do you mind if we sit?” she asked, pointing to the bed Lucas had been on.

“No. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” He sat across from them. “Have you got anything that might explain this? Because I’m telling you, I can’t think of anything. I’ve gone over everything in my mind, every conversation, every day for weeks, trying to think of something that would’ve led to Pam being murdered. I can’t think of a single thing.”

Sam glanced at Freddie, giving him the floor without warning. She loved doing that to him and would certainly hear about it when they were back outside. But hey, her job was to train him, and that’s what she was doing.

“Mr. Tappen,” Freddie said haltingly, “we’ve encountered some information that may or may not be relevant to your wife’s case.”

“What information?”

“I’m sorry to have to tell you, sir, that we’ve discovered your wife was having an affair.”

For a long, long moment, he stared at Freddie, his expression unchanged. And then he began to laugh. He laughed so hard that he couldn’t breathe.

Freddie looked to Sam for guidance she didn’t have. She shrugged.

“You find that funny, sir?” Freddie asked.

“Pam was not having an affair.” Tappen wiped away tears of laughter. “That’s preposterous.”

“The other party has confirmed that she was, in fact, having an affair with him.”

“What other party?”

“Mark Ouellette.”

His expression went immediately thunderous. “There’s no way she’d have an affair with that douchebag.”

Freddie said nothing, letting his silence speak for him.

Nicely done, Sam thought. Give him a minute to let it set in.

“Pam didn’t like him. None of us like him. He’s a jackass.”

Still, Freddie said nothing.

“There’s no way she was sleeping with him,” Tappen said, his tone losing some of its edge.

“Mr. Ouellette has confirmed a year-long relationship.”

Tappen shook his head in what seemed to be complete disbelief. “Pam thought he was a windbag. She said it all the time. ‘How can Josie stand to be married to him?’ she would ask. ‘All he talks about is himself, his quarterback-star son and how he’s going all the way to the NFL, when we know the closest many of these kids will ever get to the NFL is attending a game on a future Sunday.’ I wish I could tell you how many times she said those and other things. My boys don’t like him either, and they can’t stand his son.”

“I’m not sure what reason Mr. Ouellette would have to lie about such a thing, as it made him a person of interest in a homicide investigation,” Sam said. “Not to mention we had no choice but to interview his wife and present her with the same information we’re giving you. Needless to say, his marriage is now in serious jeopardy.”

“There’s just no way,” Tappen said again.

“We’re forced to operate on the assumption that Mr. Ouellette was telling us the truth, as there would be no reason for him to detonate a nuclear bomb in his life if it wasn’t true.”

“People are going to hear about this and wonder what kind of life we had together. I’m going to have to wonder about that, because I thought I knew.”

“We’re sorry to have to bring you this news at what’s an already difficult time for you.”

“What am I supposed to tell my kids?”

“I’d suggest you go with the truth, and do it before it gets out as part of the case,” Sam said.

“How can I tell them such a thing about their mother? They won’t believe it, especially since I don’t believe it.”

“We need to ask you who Pam would’ve told about the affair.”

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