Chapter 10 Liam
Sean called at ten-forty, right as I was pouring my second scotch of the night.
"She's headed home," Sean said. "Wine bar on Fifth."
"Is she going home alone, or..." I couldn't bear to finish the sentence.
There was a brief pause. "She drove off in her own car. But the guy is following right behind her."
I told myself I wasn't the kind of man who needed a play-by-play of his wife's extracurricular activities. I told myself that every night this week, right before I called Sean anyway.
I'm not jealous. That's what I kept telling myself, swirling the scotch around the glass, watching the light catch gold through it.
I was only looking out for Roxy. A man didn't stop protecting his wife just because she was about to stop being one.
Northridge wasn't safe for someone who spent three years unaccounted for and insisted on living as a single woman.
That's what I told myself.
"Stay on her," I said. "Let's see what happens."
"Copy."
I should've hung up then. I almost did. But something in Sean's voice had an edge to it, a hesitation I recognized from a decade of working alongside the guy. It was the sound of him deciding whether something was worth mentioning.
"What is it?" I said.
"Probably nothing."
"C'mon, Sean."
He exhaled. "I've seen her before. Before tonight, I mean. About a year ago."
My grip tightened around the glass. "Tell me where."
"Atlantic City. I was up there for Niall, doing one last collections run.
I didn't think much of it until I saw her tonight and put it together.
" He paused briefly to exhale. "There was a man asking about her.
Some guy, real polite about it, showing Roxy's photo around to a couple of the floor staff.
Said he was looking for a woman who supposedly worked at the Silver Anchor before it folded. Offered money for information."
The scotch went sour in my mouth. "What guy?"
"Didn't get a name. Wasn't Murphy business, so I didn't pay it much mind at the time. Just some private contractor type. Sharp suit, clean haircut. I just remember the photo. It stuck out in my mind because I thought she was—” He paused and cleared his throat. “Kinda nice-looking. Didn’t know she was your wife at the time.”
I set the glass down slowly. "When was this, exactly?"
"I think it was during the summer. So maybe fourteen months."
Fourteen months. Roxy left the casino right around the time it went under.
She'd mentioned it herself, that night at Taverna Grazia, tossed off like a joke about bad luck.
The casino went bust, and I was suddenly out of a job.
I'd nodded along like it was nothing. Like it was just one more chapter in the story of my wife running from one life into another, never staying anywhere long enough to be found.
But I had no idea which casino she'd been talking about. If she was working at the Silver Anchor....
I stood up and walked to the window, looking out over the river, the lights of the marina strung up like something festive and wholesome. Whatever this was, it predated me finding her at the Blue Ox. It predated the wager, the therapy, the ring I'd moved back onto my left hand hoping she'd notice.
She'd walked back into my life already being hunted. And she didn't even know it.
"You still there?" Sean asked.
"Yeah."
"Want me to dig? I can be quiet about it. See if I can find out who the suit was."
I thought about my father, sitting proud in his grand house on the north side of town, who would want to know the second anything touched the family that smelled like a threat.
He's going to want to know about this, I thought. Then, I thought about how Roxy would look at me if she found out I'd known even a fraction of this and sat on it.
Both were bad options. I picked the one I could live with.
"Be very quiet," I said. "Nobody else hears about it yet. Not until I know what 's actually going on."
"You got it, boss."
I hung up and stood there a long time, watching my own reflection ghost over the glass, superimposed on the river beyond it. Somewhere out there, my wife was driving home alone. Or so I hoped.
Ten minutes later, I got another call from Sean.
My throat tight, I brought the phone to my ear and answered. “Well?”
“Looks like Romeo followed Roxy all the way home, and she’s inviting him upstairs,” Sean said.
My blood pressure surged. My skin grew blisteringly hot.
“Oh yeah?” I said, a bit louder than necessary. “Send me the address. I’m on my way.”