Page 94 of A River of Crows

Ridge opened his mouth, letting the soggy shirt collar fall out. “It’s nice how Vince comes home every night.”

Tears filled Libby’s eyes. This poor kid had never known a normal family. “It sure is,” she said, turning away so he couldn’t see her cry.

Libby waited till Ridge was in bed and the dishes were washed before calling Caroline. “How are you?” she asked, trying to keep a pleasant tone, even as Ridge’s words gnawed at her. He was a child, and children lied. Caroline was her best friend. She could trust her.

“I’m great.” Caroline’s voice was light and bubbly. “How’s our boy?”

“He’s good.” Libby dried the final bowl. “Already asleep. We had a busy night.”

“No problem. Tell him to call whenever he’s free. So, listen, I talked to the D.A. today. We’ve got this, Libby. Ridge did everything right. We hit a home run.”

The excitement in Caroline’s voice disgusted Libby. Made her feel like she’d just accidentally dipped her sleeve into dirty dishwater. It shouldn’t have. This was her plan, too. She wanted Jay to go to jail. He shouldn’t be free to hurt Ridge or Caroline. But to be this excited about the destruction of a family didn’t feel right.

“Anna’s still the media’s sweetheart,” Caroline said. “She’s so pathetic. People eat it up, though. I heard her church set up a fund for the kids’ college. Must be nice. Maybe I should take one of those interview offers for my side of the story.”

“Don’t,” Libby said. “People would pick apart every word you say. Something might slip. And the more out there you are, the more they will follow you. They’ll keep looking for you after you leave.”

“I know. It would just be nice if I got something out of this. Something for the kids’ futures, I mean. Has anyone set up a college fund for Sloan? Of course not.”

“How is she?” Libby asked.

“She’s good.”

“Good? Really? Vince and I have worried about Sloan. I thought it would be difficult for her.”

“Um, yeah, it’s been a bit rocky. She wanted to visit her dad, but I put an end to that. She hasn’t asked again and spends most of her time with the Dawsons.”

The sleeve in dirty dishwater feeling was back. Hate Jay, that was fine, but Caroline’s complete lack of compassion for her own daughter was astonishing. “She needs someone to talk to. She needs you, Caroline.”

“Sloan won’t talk to me.” Caroline’s voice suddenly had an edge. “She’s a teenager.”

“Have you gotten her an appointment with a counselor?”

Caroline groaned. “What’s the point of doing that here? We’ll be gone in a few months. I’ll find them one in New York.”

“Scars from abuse run deep, Caroline. She needs to talk to a professional, and soon. It would probably even help the case against Jay,” Libby added. If Caroline wouldn’t do it for her daughter, she might for her own vengeance.

“Did Ridge tell you that?” Caroline’s voice had lost its animation.

“Yeah. Why didn’t you? You told me Jay was abusing Ridge.”

“Well, he was,” Caroline said.

“But you didn’t feel the need to tell me he was hurting Sloan too? And that she told her teacher? My god, Caroline, that’s huge. She could have been a witness for you. Judges believe teachers. We didn’t have to do any of this.”

“She didn’t believe her. Jay has her fooled like everyone else.”

“Are you serious?” Libby paced as far as the cord would allow, silently convincing herself they had done the right thing. What kind of teacher would just dismiss claims like that from a child? “You still should have told.”

“You’re right, sorry,” Caroline said with no emotion. “I had a lot on my mind back then.”

Libby heard movement from Ridge’s room down the hallway. “I need to get off the phone. Vince doesn’t think we should talk much till the trial is over. He’s worried they bugged your house.”

Caroline sighed into the phone. “How do you live with such a paranoid conspiracist? No one has bugged anything. The police haven’t been to my house since Jay was arrested. If they’d bugged it, we would have all been arrested months ago.”

Libby knew that. But they were putting their entire lives on the line for Caroline and the kids. And did Caroline even realize that the paranoid conspiracist was currently reading her son another chapter of Hatchet before bed? Libby felt her blood pressure rising. She affixed her pleasant voice and told Caroline it was good talking to her. But she couldn’t help slamming down the phone when she finished.

“What was that about?” Vince stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall.