She was fucking delusional, and I’d had enough. I got up from the booth, rifling around in my bag and grabbing my wallet. I found my emergency twenty and tossed it on the counter.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Leaving.”
“Rose.” Her voice was steely. “We need to talk about this. I am your mother.”
“Yeah, well, you’re a shitty mother,” I said firmly, watching the insult stick. “And apparently a shitty wife. No wonder your daughter is missing.The only reason she was in this godforsaken town was because she couldn’t stand living with you.”
It was a low blow and I knew it. I watched her face recoil.
I grabbed my keys from the table and turned so I didn’t have to look my mother in the eye.
The house was quiet when I got back. I’d been added to an emergency family group chat in which my mother had told everyone she and Steve would be at the hotel for the rest of the evening. Suzannah had written back that she was going to pick up the kids from her parents’. My dad, meanwhile, was sitting on the couch in the living room, staring blankly at the closed curtains.
“Dad?” I called out hesitantly. He was sitting so completely still that if I didn’t see that his eyes were open, I would have thought he was sleeping.
His gaze drifted slowly to mine. “Hey, Rosie.”
I dropped my bag on the kitchen counter, watching him. I didn’t know what Detective Newbury had asked him at the station, but from the look on his face, I could guess he had been grilled, presumably about the very same thingsMom, Tommy, and I had been. I couldn’t imagine what that felt like. The feeling of being accused of something so horrible as hurting your own daughter.
But Pullman was right. It was exactly the same thing I had done to Gary Hopely. I put the thought away as I went to walk into the living room and almost bumped straight into my brother.
“Jesus, Tommy,” I said, clutching at my chest as he appeared suddenly from the hallway.
“Sorry.” He held up his hands defensively. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I didn’t know you were here.” I held up my phone. “I saw Suzannah’s message in the grim family chat and assumed you were with her.”
Tommy shrugged. “Well, I’m not.”
“Why aren’t you with Suzannah?” I pressed, leaning against the fridge. “Not that I’m unhappy to see you.”
Tommy sighed and nodded toward our father in the other room.
“You weren’t home yet, and I didn’t want to leave Dad alone.” Tommy dropped his voice. “I don’t know about you, but they said some pretty nasty things to us back at the station. Dad didn’t take it well.”
I pursed my lips. “I got the same.”
“Never thought we’d be the ones taking care of them like this,” Tommy said wistfully.
“The cycle of life comes for us all,” I said, reaching into the fridge and pulling out three bottles of beer, which now felt like our routine. I opened them and handed one to Tommy. He took it and followed me into the living room.
Our dad barely looked at me as I sat down beside him on the stiff couch and pressed one into his hands.
“Thanks,” Dad said softly, looking down at the beer. I took a hearty sip from my open bottle as I tried to figure out what to say. How did you even begin to have this conversation? Tommy lingered beside us, leaning against the wall, taking small sips.
“I know you didn’t hurt Hazel,” I said, avoiding looking at our dad directly. I didn’t want to see the look on his face. “I don’t care what those inept fucking detectives said.”
My father sighed loudly, his shoulders sagging.
“They told you that too, huh?” he finally said.
“I don’t believe it, Dad.” I stressed. “Not even for a second.”
The corner of his mouth twitched into the smallest smile, and he patted my knee comfortingly. It lasted for only a second before the dread seemed to return to him.
“They asked me if I killed her, Rosie,” he said, his bottom lip trembling as he turned to look at me. “Right after they asked if I’d also killed Alex.”
