Brian Freeman - Goodbye to the Dead (Jonathan Stride Book 7)

‘Howard,’ Gale said when he finally came on the line. ‘The man of the hour. You heard the news?’

‘Of course!’

‘Well, you definitely played a role in making this happen. Janine and I are very grateful.’

‘Do you know what time she’ll be released?’ Howard asked.

‘I do, but I’m not giving out that information to anyone. I’m trying to keep the media at bay. You understand.’

‘Well, I’m not just anyone,’ Howard told him. ‘I want to be there. To pick her up.’

There was a long silence on the line, and when Gale spoke again, his ebullience had tempered into something cooler. ‘That’s very gracious of you, Howard, but it’s not necessary. I’m handling all the details.’

‘I want to see her,’ he insisted.

‘And you shall see her, of course. Very soon. I’ll talk to Janine, and I’m sure we can arrange a time for her to thank you in person.’

Howard’s fingers clenched around the phone. ‘To thank me in person?’

‘Exactly.’

‘I need to see her tomorrow. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?’

The politeness vanished from Gale’s voice, and he became a lawyer again. ‘I’ll pass along your wishes to Janine, but when and if you see her is entirely up to her. I know she’s grateful, as am I, for all the hard work you’ve put in on her behalf. But you shouldn’t presume a personal relationship that doesn’t exist.’

‘It does exist,’ Howard snapped.

‘Well, I’ll talk to Janine, and I’ll be back in touch. I promise.’ Then he added, somewhat more kindly: ‘Listen, Howard. Take my advice. People are different in prison than they are in the real world. The two have very little in common. You need to be aware of that.’

‘Just call me back!’

‘Of course. I will.’

Howard spun around in his chair and slammed down the phone. He was disgusted. After all Howard had done on her case, Janine’s lawyer had humiliated him again. As if he were nothing but a groupie. Well, Gale would find out the truth soon. He’d talk to Janine, and Janine would set him straight.

‘You bastard. You worthless bastard.’

Howard looked up and jumped. Carol was there.

‘I didn’t see you...’ he began, but his words drifted away. Sweat made a film on his skin. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘You’re leaving me,’ she said. ‘For her .’

She didn’t phrase it like a question. She didn’t beg him to change his mind.

He could barely look at his wife’s face, but when he did, he saw that her familiar eyes had turned dead. There were no tears. They’d been through tears many times, her crying at night, him pretending to comfort her. There wasn’t even any anger left. She didn’t yell at him. Or curse. They’d been through that, too. She simply stared at him with fish-blank eyes. Her arms hung at her sides. Every emotion, every feeling, had burned down to gray ash.

‘I can’t believe you did this to me,’ Carol murmured.

‘This was never about you. It was about me .’

‘Remember that when you see her tomorrow,’ his wife said.

‘So,’ Maggie said.

‘So,’ Serena replied.

The two of them sat at an upstairs table at Dunn Bros on London Road. The coffee shop was styled like a modern log cabin. Serena sipped a cup of black decaf from a ceramic mug. Maggie drank a caramel frappe and wiped the foam on her upper lip with her tongue. She had a blueberry scone, too.

Serena didn’t know how Maggie could eat the way she did and stay stick-skinny. If Serena made a daily stop for breakfast at McDonald’s or the Duluth Grill, she’d be ordering her jeans in plus sizes.

They’d already scouted several Duluth landmarks, hunting for Curt Dickes, the low-level con artist who’d fenced Janine’s black pearl ring. So far, they hadn’t located his Duluth ghost walk for gullible tourists. After they checked the empty parking lot at the Glensheen Estate — no sign of Curt — they stopped for coffee on the way back to downtown.

Maggie nibbled her scone and played with her Android phone. Serena flipped through apps on her iPhone. They had the upstairs level of the coffee shop to themselves. The relationship with Maggie made Serena feel like a teenager again, which was silly. She put down her phone and studied Jonny’s partner, who was her own age and whose love life had been a train wreck for as long as she’d known her. She didn’t think that Maggie had ever really been in love with Jonny. He was simply a crutch so she didn’t have to confront how bad she was at falling in love with anyone else.

‘Are you seeing anyone?’ Serena asked her, breaking the awkward silence.

‘Why do you care?’ Maggie replied, not putting down her phone.

‘I’m just curious.’

‘Well, you know me, Serena. A day without sex is like a day without sunshine.’

‘Funny.’

‘I’ve slept with most of the men in Duluth. I’m thinking of branching out to Cloquet.’

‘Fine. I’m sorry I asked.’

Maggie sighed and shoved her phone in her pocket. ‘All right, you win. I think my bitch switch is set to automatic these days. No, I’m not seeing anyone. And it’s not because of you-know-who. I’m taking a break from dating.’

‘Jonny thinks Troy Grange is interested in you,’ Serena said.

‘Yeah, Troy’s been dropping hints. He must be a masochist.’

‘He’s a nice guy.’

‘I know he is. I like his kids, too. He talked about the four of us driving down to the state fair this year.’

‘So?’ Serena asked.

‘So I told you. I’m taking a break. If I do anything, I’m going slow. Peck-on-the-cheek, knees-closed slow. For the time being, call me Sister Maggie.’

Serena had a hard time imagining Maggie as anyone’s idea of a nun.

‘What about you guys?’ Maggie asked, sipping her frappe. It was sensitive ground, her asking about the two of them. When Serena didn’t answer immediately, she added: ‘I mean, how is it with Cat living there? Instant family and all.’

‘It’s a struggle,’ Serena admitted. ‘I don’t think Jonny realized how difficult it was going to be. He had this idea that if we helped her, she’d turn herself around. It’s not that simple.’

‘No, it’s not,’ Maggie said.

‘I know you thought it was a mistake for us to take her in,’ Serena said.

‘Yeah, and I still do. Sorry.’

‘There are days when I agree with you,’ Serena acknowledged. ‘Even so, we love her, and she loves us. Unfortunately, that’s not always enough.’

Maggie said nothing more. They finished their drinks through another stretch of silence. Then Serena went on: ‘This case has brought back a lot of memories for Jonny. Memories of Cindy.’

‘I’ll bet.’

‘I don’t like competing with a ghost. Then again, I didn’t like competing with you, either.’

Maggie laughed, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. ‘You were never competing with me, Serena. I was never in the game. Even when Stride and I were together, there wasn’t a day that he wasn’t still in love with you.’

Serena didn’t hear bitterness in Maggie’s voice. Just honesty. Maggie grabbed the empty cups from the table and stood up.

‘Oh, and for what it’s worth,’ she went on, ‘you’re not competing with Cindy, either.’

‘I think I am.’

‘Only in your head. Not his. Did Stride love Cindy? Yeah, of course he did. Was it a nightmare to lose her? Yeah. But that doesn’t change how he feels about you. I saw it all winter when you weren’t here. Trust me, it was extremely annoying.’

Serena allowed herself a faint smile. ‘Sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault. Anyway, it’s not Cindy coming between you two. It’s the fact that Cindy died. That’s his problem.’