“I told you. I don’t want your money,” he says. “I want to see Van face justice. You can’t save him now. Your son is going to prison for murder.”
“No, he’s not.” She stops struggling and lets out a sob. “I am.”
Finn rocks back with surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It was an accident, I swear. The gun went off.”
“You killed Autumn,” Finn whispers. Numbness encases him. He’s shocked but at the same time he finally understands the big picture. It was Jo all along. How did he not see that?
“Please let me roll over,” Jo says, gasping. “I can’t breathe.”
He lifts his knee and allows her to turn over. Jo takes huge gulps of air, her chest rising and falling.
“Why? What did Autumn ever do to you?”
“I was drunk, I was upset. Van was seeing that… predator. He thought he was in love with her.” The tears stream down her face as she stares up blankly. “He told me that he wasn’t going to college. He was going to throw his life away.”
“So what?”
“That night Daniel and I were at a party in the neighborhood. Van was supposed to be at the Delaware shore with some friends. But when I checked on my phone, I saw he had turned off the Find My. I knew what that meant.” She turns her face to look at Finn, blinking at him through mascara-smeared eyes. “I went by the house. I saw her upstairs in her bedroom window, in that kimono. My kimono. She bought the same exact one I had. She was sick, demented.”
“You didn’t see Tori,” he says. “You saw Autumn.”
“I know that now. But I swear I thought it was her. I went home and got our gun. I was going to threaten her, scare her,tell Van to come home. Tell her to stay the hell away from my son. I was crying. I was drunk. I shouldn’t have taken the gun.”
“No. You shouldn’t have.”
“I rang the bell. She opened the door and saw the gun. I tried to push my way into the house. I was calling for Van. I was sure he was inside. She tried to push me out. The gun… It just went off… It was an accident, I swear.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I didn’t realize it wasn’t that woman. Not at first. It wasn’t until it was too late to do anything. I am sorry she was killed. I was only trying to protect my son.” She raises herself on her elbows. “Take her laptop. I have it in my suitcase. You can have it if you’ll just let me go.”
Behind him come the sounds of police sirens approaching. He has never been so happy to hear them.
“You don’t have to do this,” she says. “It’s not too late.”
“It is. It’s too late.” Finn begins to inch away from her, but she won’t stop pleading. The police cars have cut their sirens;they must be in the Metro parking lot, he thinks. But still Jo keeps begging him to let her go, offering him more and more elaborate deals. She’s already confessed to killing Autumn. By every conceivable measure, it is all over, but she won’t stop.This is who she is, Finn thinks, a woman who has willed her way forward into a life of her own making. She no longer recognizes the meaning ofno. It is simply an obstacle to work around. He turns to see an officer coming through the turnstile onto the platform.
“Don’t go,” Jo cries, as Finn stands up. She holds out one hand. “Don’t leave me. You have to help me. It was an accident.”
Finn brushes the dirt from his pants as he turns away. He’snot angry anymore. He’s revolted by this woman, this creature on the filthy cement who has the audacity to ask for his help. He wants to be away from her, as far away as possible.
The officer stops in front of him to confirm his identity and that of Jo. “We got a call from Montgomery County police to hold her.”
“From Detective Aziz?” Finn asks.
“That sounds right.”
Another officer shows up and Finn steps back a few feet to watch the whole scene. Jo killed Autumn because she thought she was Tori Price, a woman who had the temerity to sleep with her son. The loss of life is so meaningless he feels like he might crumple into a ball on the ground. He walks down the stairs to the parking lot, his legs shaking as the adrenaline dissipates. On the bottom step, he sinks down, too tired to stand.
A familiar Toyota pulls into the lot and he sees Paula get out, dragging Muffinhead by his leash. She walks over to him, the skittish goldendoodle taking shelter behind her.
Finn turns his head to watch the traffic rush toward the airport, jealous of the people who are leaving town, escaping. At this moment, it doesn’t feel like the pain of Autumn’s death will ever cease. If he can’t feel the relief now, when her killer is being arrested by the police, he despairs that he ever will.
Paula leans down and pats him. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”
But he doesn’t move. Not yet. Not until he sees the two officers escort a handcuffed Jo down the stairs. He’s never seen this version of Jo—it’s not just her rumpled hair or a dirt-streaked face that’s different, but her defeated posture.
