You Deserve to Know

Chapter 5

5

NOW

Gwen sits curled up, her knees pulled to her chest, across from a man in a maroon dress shirt and black tie. His thick black hair is pulled off his face, reminiscent of an old-time crooner, the kind her grandparents listened to on their record player.

According to the card he gave her, he’s Detective Jay Salazar from the Montgomery County Police Department. And she guesses that he’s dressed in a tie and jacket because he’s been tasked with breaking the bad news to her.

Anton’s body was found in an alley in downtown Bethesda. He’d been hit by a car.

“Let me ask you…” he starts, but Gwen holds up a finger to pause him while Aimee walks through the living room like the Pied Piper, followed by all five kids.

Aimee stops at the door. “I’m going to take everyone over to Lisa’s, and then I’ll be right back.”

Gwen nods, waving goodbye to George and Rafi, who are jostling each other and seem oblivious to this strange man in a suit in their living room. They haven’t noticed that Anton was not here when they woke up. But she will have to tell them what’s happened at some point. The thought seizes her, and she starts to tremble. This will crush her sweet boys. How could it not? Their lives will forever be divided into two—before their father died, and after. The enormity of it all looms in her imagination. Gwen chokes back a small sob.

“Can I get you something?” the detective asks. “Water? Tissue?”

Shaken from her thoughts, Gwen looks up at the man in front of her. His dark eyes are fixed on her, as if he can see straight into her thoughts. Discomfited, she looks away, her gaze settling on the chevron pattern of the rug under the coffee table. “No, no thank you. I just don’t want them to hear any of this. I want to tell them later. I want them to have one last morning of a normal childhood, before everything changes.”

“Of course, I think that’s smart. You’re lucky to have such good neighbors.”

“Lucky,” Gwen repeats. She feels anything but lucky right now.

“Poor choice of words. I’m sorry, Mrs. Khoury.”

Gwen hugs her knees tighter. Mrs. Khoury. She wills herself to stay focused, but she can feel her mind pulling into itself, going into protective mode. A trick she learned as a child when her parents would rage at each other, or at her. A kind of dissociation that allowed her to endure what was happening without letting any of it in. It did get in, though. And years of therapy have taught her that the coping skills of childhood can sabotage you as an adult. She blinks twice and tries to focus on the detective’s black tie, made of some kind of fabric that catches the light streaming through the living room window. “What were you saying? I’m sorry, where was Anton found?”

“In an alley next to a bar on Wisconsin Avenue. Villain the pay was abysmal. She hoped to one day make partner, maybe even open her own shop, but marriage and motherhood derailed those plans. She continued working, doing PR in Boston, but when they moved to D.C. she had to take what she could get, part-time work, freelance. She had finally scored an entry-level position at a boutique PR firm in Georgetown, mostly writing press releases for nonfiction authors and public speakers. It had been a major step down for her.

“So, money was not an issue?”

Gwen chews the inside of her mouth, remembering all those fights about Anton’s spending. It’s how she discovered he was cheating three years ago—an unknown charge on the credit card bill during a weekend when she was out of town with the kids, visiting her parents in Virginia. When she looked into it, it turned out to be for a couple’s massage at a spa at a luxury hotel in Boston. Taking control of the finances was one of the conditions Gwen insisted on if he wanted her to stay. “No, money was not an issue.”

“Did he like to gamble?”

“Gamble?” The word comes out shrill. “Of course not. Why would you even ask that?”

The detective’s eyebrow shoots up. “These are standard questions. No offense intended.”

Aimee lets herself in the front door, looking sheepish. Gwen speaks to her, past the detective. “The boys all set?”

“They’re all at Lisa’s,” Aimee says. “It’s no problem.”

The detective stands. “Again, Mrs. Khoury, I am very sorry for your loss.” He writes something on a piece of paper. “If you call this number, you can arrange a time to view your husband’s body and collect his things. I’ll be in touch.”

He walks to the door and Aimee opens it for him. Once he is gone, Aimee shuts it and rushes over. Gwen stands and lets Aimee embrace her. “Oh my God, Gwen, this is so awful.”

Gwen pulls back. “I’m in shock.”

“What happened?”

“He was hit by a car, last night, in the alley next to Villain & Saint. They think it was intentional.”

“You mean murder? Who would want to kill Anton?”

Gwen’s mind goes blank. She can’t do this. Not right now. “I’m sorry, Aimee. I’ve got to go. I have to call people.” She holds up the piece of paper the detective gave her like some kind of morbid hall pass.

“That’s fine. I should probably make an appearance at work, anyway,” Aimee says and then pauses. “Unless you want me to cancel and stay with you?”

“No. Don’t. I appreciate it, but I have so much to do.”

“Just text me if you change your mind and want company. Lisa will watch the kids and when I come back, I’ll handle dinner.”

Together they walk toward the front door. Aimee stops and frowns. “I think I stepped on something.” She bends down and pulls something from her shoe.

“Don’t worry about it,” Gwen says. But it’s too late. Aimee straightens up, holding a ceramic shard. Gwen was so sure she had cleaned everything up last night.

“Is that blood?” Aimee asks, holding the shard up to the light.

Gwen lets out a halfhearted laugh. “I broke a coffee cup in the sink the other day. I must have cut myself. Here, give it to me, I’ll throw it away.” She holds out her hand and watches Aimee drop the jagged piece into her palm.

“Thank you for everything.” She embraces Aimee before her friend can speak, and then just as quickly opens the front door.

As she watches Aimee leave, she curses herself for that stupid lie. If she broke the cup in the sink, how did the shard get on the living room floor? She just prays Aimee didn’t notice. The last thing she needs is for her friend to start prying.