Chapter 63
COOPER
When I get home, I’m tempted to go right for the garage. But first, I need to check on the girls.
To my surprise, they’re sitting together on the sofa, talking quietly. It’s nice to see them leaning on each other in a difficult time. I’m glad they have each other, because there could be a day when that’s all they have.
That day could come sooner than expected.
Both of them jump to their feet when they see me. Lexi’s eyes are still swollen like she’s been crying intermittently the whole time I’ve been gone.
“Did you talk to Mom?” Lexi asks.
I shake my head. Not for lack of trying. I have been texting and calling Debbie nonstop. She’s not answering.
“Not yet,” I say. “I just… I need to check something in the garage.”
“What?” Izzy asks.
I can’t tell her. I can’t even begin to let my two daughters know what I suspect. “I’ll be right back,” is my answer.
The garage is empty, because Debbie has her car and I’m parked in the driveway.
I have a worktable in the garage, although I don’t use it that much because I’m not exactly handy.
I do try to fix things around the house to save money on our repair bills, but it’s not my greatest skill.
Everyone has things they’re good at. I’m good with numbers, and Debbie is good at everything else.
I crouch down below my worktable. Debbie bought a six-pack yesterday for reasons I still don’t understand, and the only one still left in the pack is on the floor. For a moment, I’m tempted to grab that beer and crack it open. I have never needed a drink more in my entire life.
But no. I can’t. I have to stay clearheaded.
There is a toolbox down there too, and I lift it off the object it’s on top of, which is covered in a blanket. I pull off the blanket to reveal a small gun safe.
Like I said, Debbie adamantly did not want to buy a gun.
She pointed out that you’re more likely to shoot a member of your family than a burglar, and I pointed out that I’m not naive and that I would take precautions.
In the end, she couldn’t stop me. The gun is in my name, and she just had to deal with it.
One of the precautions I took was keeping the gun in our garage, inside a gun safe. So far, I have only taken it out to go to the firing range. There hasn’t been a burglary in a while, so I considered getting rid of it, just to ease Debbie’s anxiety. But I enjoy firing it on the occasional weekend.
The gun safe is small enough that I can pick it up off the floor and lay it on the worktable.
It opens with a four-digit combination that I chose because I knew I’d remember it—our wedding anniversary—and my hands are shaking so badly that I’m having trouble punching it in.
I finally hear the click that means the safe is unlocked. I pull it open and…
It’s empty. Just as I feared.
I stare down at the empty gun safe, realizing that my worst nightmares are true. I wasn’t sure what was going on until this minute, but I know now.
Ken Bryant and I had an argument, and I quit in a fit of anger.
There is a lot of money missing from the company, and all signs point to it being an inside job.
Ken has been murdered. He was shot in the head.
The murder weapon is almost certainly my gun, registered in my name.
The gun is now missing, but I suspect that it will eventually resurface, covered in my fingerprints. Not to mention all the fingerprints I surely left behind at Ken’s house.
Holy shit. Debbie is framing me for the murder of my boss.
“Dad?”
I look up, quickly closing the lid of the gun safe. Izzy is standing at the doorway of the garage, a troubled expression on her pale face. She steps into the garage hesitantly.
If I go to prison for murder, how often will I see my daughter? Not very much. It’s not like Debbie will bring her to see me.
“Hey, Iz,” I say around a lump forming in my throat.
“Dad,” she says. “What’s going on? I’m really worried about Mom.”
“Yeah.” I don’t know what to say to reassure her, but I know that’s what I need to do. That’s my job as her dad. I’m supposed to make her feel safe. “She’s going to be okay.”
“Where is she?”
I can only shake my head. “I’m sorry, honey. I’m trying my best to find her.”
“I know,” she says quietly.
The two of us just stand there for a moment in the garage. I’m trying to think of the right thing to say, but my mind is blank. I’m so bad at this. If Debbie were here, she’d know the right thing to say.
“Izzy?”
“Yeah, Dad?”
I try to smile, but I know it’s crooked. “I don’t want you to worry, Iz. I love you very much.”
She frowns, because that isn’t something I say very often. I do love her very much, but I just don’t think to say it. But I need to say it right now.
In case it’s my last chance.
Her face crumples slightly. “Mom is going to be okay, right?”
She is so worried about Debbie. I feel like I’ve been a good father—or at least done the best I could—but she’s been their whole world.
I don’t want to lose her. If it comes down to me or Debbie…
well, they should have her. Even if she’s a little off right now, their lives would be destroyed without her.
“Mom is going to be fine.” I grab my phone from my pocket and look at the screen one last time. “I have to run out again. I need to… I might know where to find your mother.” I shove my phone back in my pocket. “Will you and Lexi be able to get some food in the house?”
Izzy nods slowly. “Yeah. Mom went to the grocery store yesterday. There’s lots of food.”
Of course she did. Debbie always makes sure our household functions like a well-oiled machine.
“I’ll be back soon,” I promise her.
I hope I don’t have to break that promise.