On the drive home, there’s next to no conversation. Blake, I’m sure, would like to debrief me, but knows it’s best to stay mum in front of Bonnie. Though she’s a loyal employee, the Keaton family needs to circle the wagons in a crisis of this magnitude.
Finally, we’re rolling up the gravel driveway. The front door of the house turns out to be locked and we wait a minuteuntil Gabe swings it open, looking weary. He’s been waiting with Henry for our return, he tells us, and now he’s going to follow his father, Nick, Hannah, and Jake to the station. Bonnie takes off for the kitchen, and Blake and I linger with Gabe in the foyer off the main hall.
“So?” Gabe says, flicking his gaze back and forth between us. His face is ashen. Or does it simply look that way in the dim light of the foyer?
“I wouldn’t call them hostile or aggressive,” Blake tells him, “but it’s clear they won’t be treating us with kid gloves because Dad’s got a big house on Durham Road. And it’s obvious they have him in their sights.”
“As asuspect?” Gabe says.
“Of course. She was his younger, attractive female employee. They asked me if it was typical for her to come to the house, that sort of thing. What’s the latest with the lawyer, anyway?”
“He’s based in Princeton and is driving over to meet Dad at the station.”
“Good. I did my best to stress that someone must have gotten onto our land and crossed paths with Jillian in some horrible twist of fate. Or that it’s possible some pervert had been keeping an eye on the house for days and followed her down there.”
“And I told them to talk to Ash about something both your mom and Bonnie told me,” I interject. “That hunters have been coming onto the property lately.”
“Okay, that’s very important,” Blake says. “We need to highlight it for the lawyer.” He looks back at Gabe. “My bestadvice would be to keep your answers brief, and don’t volunteer information unless they ask.... Look, if you’ll excuse me, I want to check on Wendy.”
Gabe tells him that she’s in the den with her feet up. As Blake departs, Gabe puts a hand on my shoulder. It’s the first time he’s touched me in a couple of days, and it feels the slightest bit strange, like a small bird has lighted there.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, but it was pretty unsettling. They asked me if Jillian had expressed any concerns to me this week.”
Even in the dull light, I see his brow furrow. “Had she?”
I shake my head.
“Did you get the same feeling Blake did, that they have their eye on Dad?”
“If you ask me, the police seem to have their eye oneverybody. The main detective asked how well all of us in the family knew Jillian. Just so you’re aware, I told them that you knew her about as well as I did, which was hardly at all.”
“And that’s a hundred percent accurate. You didn’t say anything about the hug in the...”
“Of course not.”
“Good. Look, I know this has been a brutal day for you, Summer—especially finding Jillian that way. I feel awful you had to go through all that.”
“I can’t get the image out of my mind,” I say, choking up for the first time today. “No matter how hard I try.”
“I’m so sorry, I want to talk more, but I have to go. Amanda should be here in ten or fifteen minutes. You going to be fine dealing with her on your own?”
“Yup.” By now I have an advanced degree in Amanda-handling. “Is Henry in the kitchen?”
“No, playing chess against himself in the dining room. I already told him good-bye, that I’ll see him soon and we’ll make up the lost time later this summer.”
“Where does he think you’re going?”
“I explained we all have to talk to the police about Grandpa’s assistant being injured, that I’m going to the station now but you’re on your way back.... I better split. Lock the door behind me, okay?” He turns to go.
“Wait,” I say. My heart’s pounding as I reach out and touch the sleeve of his cotton sweater. When he turns back around, his expression has shifted from worried to alert, wary almost. “What were you and Marcus talking to Jillian about this morning?”
“Who told you that?” he asks quietly.
“Keira.”
He shakes his head. “It was nothing. Marcus saw me headed for a run and he followed me to the driveway to finish a conversation we started last night. Jillian was out there, putting on a pair of walking shoes from her car. She must have just finished with Dad and was planning to go down to the stream.... If I’d had any idea—”
