Chapter 2
Sophie spent the night with Adam’s older sister, Laura.
Adam stayed until she fell asleep.
She insisted on keeping the framed photograph beside the bed.
The police allowed it only after documenting it thoroughly and arranging for it to be collected the next morning for forensic preservation.
Sophie asked:
“Will Mommy be mad if they take it?”
Adam sat beside her.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
He had no good answer.
Julia had been dead for three years.
Sometimes Adam still found himself thinking she might call.
“No,” he repeated. “Mommy wanted us to know something.”
That answer Sophie accepted.
Downstairs, Adam’s attorney, Melissa Grant, arrived just after midnight.
She read the preliminary police report.
“Claire may face serious charges.”
“I know.”
“Unlawful restraint. Child endangerment issues. Potential attempted custodial interference depending on the facts and her legal status.”
“She’s Sophie’s stepmother. She has no custody order.”
“I know.”
Adam looked at her.
“What about me?”
Melissa did not pretend not to understand.
“You slapped Claire after Sophie was already behind you.”
“Yes.”
“Police have the hallway camera.”
“Yes.”
“You disarmed her first?”
“Yes.”
“That part may be viewed separately from the slap.”
Adam nodded.
He was angry enough to want the law to ignore that distinction.
He also knew exactly what kind of lesson that would teach Sophie.
“I’ll give a full statement.”
“Good.”
Melissa looked at the photograph evidence receipt.
“Now tell me about Julia’s crash.”
Adam hated the word crash.
It made a life-ending event sound like damaged sheet metal.
“March 14, three years ago. County Route 18. Heavy rain.”
“Anyone else involved?”
“No collision.”
“Mechanical examination?”
“Yes.”
“What did they find?”
“Nothing conclusive.”
“Who serviced the car before the accident?”
Adam stopped.
He had not thought about that question in years.
Then he remembered.
Julia complained about the brake pedal two days before she died.
Adam had been traveling for work.
She took the car to Northgate Auto.
He remembered the invoice because the insurer later requested it.
Melissa asked:
“Who worked there?”
Adam looked toward the kitchen, even though Ryan was miles away in police custody.
“Ryan.”
“You knew that?”
“Not then.”
“When did you meet him?”
“When Claire introduced us. About eighteen months after Julia died.”
Melissa stared at him.
“Claire never mentioned her brother worked at the shop that serviced your late wife’s car?”
May you like
“No.”
That was the first clue that the past and the marriage had crossed before Adam realized it.
