“And—”
“The full details of the autopsy are in.”
I suck in my breath and hold it, steeling myself for what I’m about to hear.
“And Abby...” Tina’s voice sounds more spooked than I’ve ever heard it. “Abby was pregnant.”
46
Saturday, April 21, 2018
IT’S SATURDAY AFTERNOON,nearly four o’clock, and I’m driving over to Callie’s. The sky is cloudless and the heat is unrelenting. It’s pizza-oven hot inside my SUV, and sweat pools on my chest. I blot it with the top of the cotton camisole I’m wearing and blast the AC.
Last night I stayed on the phone with Tina for another ten minutes while she told me all she’d heard: At the time of her death, Abby was approximately two months pregnant. Presumably Brad’s. And Jill is falling to pieces, of course.
“She needs us,” Tina explained, so we’re gathering again at Callie’s house this afternoon.
Graham isn’t too happy about it, especially after our interrupted date last night, but in the end, I convinced him that I needed to make an appearance.
“I know this sounds awful, but you’re not even really that close to them, are you?” he asked, nursing a third old-fashioned, the alcohol seeming to numb his usual sensitivity.
“Does that matter? I mean, Jill’s whole world is crashing down!”
And, of course, I want to comfort Jill in any way I can, but also, Ihaveto find out the latest. I need to know everything and I need to know it now.
“I’m being a dick; I’m sorry.” Graham folded his hands between his legs.
I scooted closer to him, rubbed his back. “Thanks for understanding, honey.”
—
TINA ALSO TOLDme that Jill had no idea Abby was pregnant, and that according to Brad, he didn’t know, either. I find it difficult to believe that Abby would’ve kept this from Brad. Surely that’s the real reason he was trying to dump her. And, most likely, the reason he killed her. I no longer wonder if Brad did it; I’m certain he did. And I’m positive Margot helped him. After Graham slid into a bourbon slumber last night, I panicked and almost called Flynn. I sat at the kitchen table with my cell parked in one hand and the detective’s business card in the other. I flicked the edge of it with my thumbnail, so much so that I tore it, but in the end, I couldn’t force myself to make the call.
—
MARGOT, CALLIE, ANDTina are all gathered on the sectionals in the living room, clutching tall glasses of iced tea. Like last time, Rosa greets me at the door and shows me in. She strolls to the kitchen and returns with a glass of iced tea for me. It’s sweetened with sugar and it’s exactly what I need after the blast of afternoon heat.
Margot lifts her chin to me when I walk in and Callie gives me a deadpan “Hello.”
“This is tasty, Rosa, but please, I need something stronger,” Margot pleads. Rosa disappears and returns with a chilled bottle of Ketel One vodka, plants it in the center of the glass coffee table.
Margot twists the lid. “I know I’m bad, but this shit is stressful,” she says, pouring a layer of vodka on top of her tea. “Any other takers?”
Callie, as usual, copies Margot precisely and tops off her own glass and Tina follows suit.
I decline. “Mommy duty for the rest of the evening, I’m afraid,” I say. But really, I’m in no mood to get soused while being here. I can feel Margot’s disapproval beam at me from across the room, but I won’t look in her direction.
“Where is she?” Margot asks, twisting a thin silver watch around her wrist.
“She just texted me,” Callie says. “She’s heading over now.”
Naked sunlight beams into the back garden and bounces off the water feature. The effect is blinding and makes me squint. I feel uneasy being here. I feel off center, as if the whole world is about to tilt into an uncomfortable direction.
Jill opens the front door and stands in the entryway for a moment, fanning herself. She’s dressed in a black wrap sundress, and giant, rounded sunglasses cover her face. Margot crosses the room, envelops her in a hug.
“Here, have a sip.” Margot passes Jill her tea, once they’re seated.
Jill takes a long, slow sip. She sets down the drink and removes her glasses. Her eyes are as swollen as used tea bags, and she pats the lids with her ring finger.
