She tried not to let it bother her as she bustled around the kitchen, cleaning the counters and loading the dishwasher.
She tried not to let it bother her as she bustled around the kitchen, cleaning the counters and loading the dishwasher.
I should get back to the office, he finally said. Ive still got work to do tonight.
Lynette tried to mask her disappointment as she shrugged. Thats too bad. Evangeline will be here to pick up the baby soon. I was hoping we could all have dinner together tonight. Its been a while since youve seen her, hasnt it?
Don glanced at his watch. How much longer before she gets here?
She had an errand to run first, but she should be here any time now.
I guess I can stick around for a little while. He folded his arms and leaned a shoulder against the door frame. Listen, Lynette, when she gets here, I dont think we should mention any of this to her. Shes got enough on her plate these days as it is.
Mention what? Evangeline asked. Shed let herself in the front door and had come up behind Don without either of them seeing her.
It was likely no one else would have noticed her pinched mouth or the feverish gleam in her blue eyes, but Lynette knew her daughter too well.
Something had happened to badly upset her, but Lynette had learned a long time ago that Evangeline didnt like to talk about her work. Not the bad cases, anyway. Nor did she talk much about her personal problems, even when Johnny had died. She kept so much bottled up inside her.
Maybe thats my fault.
Lynette had never been one to talk about her feelings, either. Maybe if shed been a little more open with Don, their marriage wouldnt be on the brink of disaster.
Her first instinct still was to wrap her arms around her daughter, hold her close, protect her as best she could from the ugliness out there in the world. Shield her from any more pain that might be headed her way.
God knows, shes suffered enough.
Lynette had always been protective of both her children, but especially Evangeline, in large part because of her gender and size. But she neednt have played favorites because Evangeline was stronger than Vaughn, stronger than all of them. Her daughter had grown into a remarkable young woman.
Maybe in trying to shelter Evangeline, shed really been trying to protect herself, Lynette thought.
Maybe it was high time she faced some hard truths about her own life.
What were you two talking about? Evangeline asked as she came into the kitchen.
Lynette took a deep breath and spoke before Don had a chance to. Your dad is moving out.
She couldnt believe shed actually said it, and now that she had, she couldnt bear to witness the look on Evangelines face.
So Lynette turned instead to her husband. She could tell he was shocked that shed beat him to the punch, but the relief shed expected to find in his eyes was slow to form.
Instead, the emotion that flickered across his face looked a little like panic.
Well, Lynette thought. Well.
Evangeline sat at the kitchen table, bouncing J.D. on her knee. Her father had left before dinner, mumbling something about getting back to the office, and now she and her mother sat across from one another, avoiding each others eyes.
J.D. crammed a blue plastic rattle in his mouth, then offered it to Evangeline. Hmm, slobbers, she said, and he gave her a toothless grin as she pretended to lick the toy.
Her mother had given him a bath earlier, and now he smelled of baby powder and the apple sauce hed had for dinner. The red-and-white-striped sleeper he wore looked so soft and adorable, Evangeline just wanted to cuddle him, but at the moment, J.D. had other ideas. He was wide-awake and raring to go. Flinging the rattle to the floor, he squealed in delight when it landed with a loud clack against the tile. Then he started to fuss until the toy was retrieved so that he could do it all over again.
Dinner was great, Mom, Evangeline finally said. Let me put J.D. in his high chair and Ill do the dishes real quick.
Her mother gave an absent wave. Dont bother with the dishes. Itll give me something to do after you and the baby leave. She looked tearless and stoic, but Evangeline knew it was just a facade.
Are you sure youre okay?
Im fine. This has been building for a while now. Your father She trailed off as her gaze darted away. After all these years, you think you know someone, she murmured.
Evangeline thought about Nathans revelation earlier. Of all the things shed imagined him telling her about the night Johnny died, another woman had never once crossed her mind.
Its not how it sounds, hed rushed to assure her. He was just visiting a friend.
Is that what he told you?
Nathan glanced away without answering.
Who is she?
I dont know her name. I dont think Johnny ever mentioned it.
Youre lying.
He sighed and scrubbed a trembling hand down his face. She was a material witness on one of his cases, okay? Thats how they met. She was having a hard time getting by, like a lot of people are these days. He felt sorry for her and tried to give her a hand now and then until she got back on her feet.
They were just friends. Johnny swore thats all it was.
Then why did he never tell me about her?
Maybe he was afraid youd get the wrong idea.
No kidding, Evangeline thought now as she gazed down at her son.
But shed never given Johnny a reason for worrying shed jump to the wrong conclusion. She wasnt clingy and emotional, nor had she ever been the jealous type. She was not the kind of wife who harbored unwarranted distrust for any woman who came into contact with her husband. Evangeline had no problem with Johnny having female friends.
After all, she had Mitchell.
So there was no reason for him to keep things from her, even a friendship with a female witness.
Evangeline had always believed their relationship was open and honest and mutually trusting. There was nothing they couldnt tell one another.
Apparently, shed been wrong.
Not only had Johnny kept that friendship from her, hed never mentioned Lena Saunders, either.
Now Evangeline couldnt help wondering what else she might discover about her dead husband. Something Meredith Courtland said about her own marriage came back to her.
I guess thats why they say the wife is the last to know.
Maybe the cracks had been there in their marriage all along, but also like Meredith Courtland, Evangeline had chosen not to see them.
Impulsively, she reached across the table and took her mothers hand. Im sorry youre having to go through this. But all marriages have problems. Maybe Dad will come to his senses and itll all blow over.
Maybe he will, Lynette said with a wan smile.
Can I ask you something, Mom?
What is it?
What was Dads problem with Johnny?
Lynette looked up in surprise. What do you mean?
It was so obvious he didnt like him, and I never understood why.
Lynette looked up in surprise. What do you mean?
It was so obvious he didnt like him, and I never understood why.
Fathers are always protective of their daughters. Its only natural.
Are you sure thats all it was. Dad didnthe didnt suspect something about Johnny?
Like what, honey?
At her mothers tender tone, Evangeline felt an unexpected flood of tears. She lifted J.D. to her chest and rested her cheek against the top of his head. He tolerated the affection for a moment before he pulled away.
What if Johnny really had been involved with another woman? What if everything she thought about him, about their life together, was nothing but a lie?
What if he had never really loved her?
Whats wrong, Evangeline?
She squeezed her eyes closed. I still miss him, Mama. Sometimes I dont think I can bear it, I miss him so bad.
I know, honey.
At least with Dad, youve still got a chance to make things right. But with JohnnyI just keep thinking about all the things I wished Id said to him before it was too late. I lie in bed at night and all the arguments we ever had go round and round in my head. I remember every petty little thing I ever said to him, the way I used to nag at him for leaving his clothes on the bathroom floor or dishes in the sink. And I wish I could take it all back. I wisheven nowI wish She wiped a hand across her wet cheek. I just want him back. I dont care what he didI just want him back.
Later that night, Evangeline awakened to the strangest feeling. Shed been so certain when she opened her eyes that shed find Johnny standing over her, she was actually startled when no one was there. Something lingered, though. She thought at first it was his cologne, but it was really just a memory.
Even so, she got up out of bed and checked in the bathroom. Then she padded down the hallway to the babys room. She checked every inch of the house before crawling back into bed and huddling under the covers.
Johnny was gone. He wasnt coming back. Ever.
She rolled to his side of the bed and buried her face in his pillow. But the linens had been laundered too many times and his scent had long ago faded.
And Evangeline knew that no matter how hard she tried, eventually some of her memories would slip away, too.
Fifteen
Hours after Nathan Mallet left Mount Olive, he drove to a bar a few blocks from the cemetery and parked on the street so that anyone tailing him would be sure to spot his car.
Taking his time, he locked the door, pocketed the key, then went inside and found a table at the back where he could watch the whole room, including the front door.
When the bored waitress came over to take his order, he discreetly showed her his badgeafter all, she wouldnt know that hed walked off the job months agoand asked if there was a back way out of the place.
She pointed to the restroom area. Go through that door, past the mens room and its at the end of the hall. Nervously, she glanced around the empty bar. Is there going to be trouble?
Nothing for you to worry about, he told her. I just need to get someone off my tail.
She didnt look at all reassured. Mallet saw her talking to the bartender a few minutes later, and they both kept glancing in his direction. He just hoped they didnt decide to call the cops, at least not before he could get out of there.