Page 12 of It's One of Us

She risks a glance. Lindsey is staring out the window, shoulders tense.

“Did you know?”

“Know?”

The tone... “Lindsey. Tell me.”

“No. Of course not. It’s nothing. Really. I was just thinking about Chapel Hill. You know, everything that happened with Park while y’all were broken up. Hey, you just drove past Fido’s.”

“Dang it.”

Chapel Hill. She hasn’t thought about that for years. Not really. A chapter of Park’s life she wasn’t directly involved in until after the fact, but a chapter closed, nonetheless.

Of course. That’s how the police put him together with Beverly’s killer. His DNA was in the system.

She takes the next left, circles the block, then enters the parking lot. She makes no move to get out of the car, and Lindsey, taking the hint, takes a pull on her mug and twists in her seat to face Olivia.

“There’s more. Talk.”

“I lost the baby this morning.”

Lindsey doesn’t touch her, knows even the gentlest caress would be unwelcome, but she closes her eyes briefly and blows out a heavy breath. “Shit. That sucks. I’m sorry.”

This is comforting to Olivia, who is so used to people falling all over themselves with obsequious platitudes when they find out about the fertility issues that sometimes, a simple declarative statement makes it all better. At least Lindsey isn’t going to follow up with “It will be okay. You can just adopt.” Or some other horrifying brush-off. Olivia had nearly punched the no-longer-a-friend who said it first, but was shocked to hear it echoed again and again—from friends to doctors to parents to strangers.

No one understands what it is like. No one can possibly understand unless they’ve been through it themselves. Olivia has been put on this earth to fulfill one essential biological duty—procreate—and she isn’t going to be able to do that, isn’t ever going to get past the first few months of the quickening, and it’s all her own damn fault.

Lindsey, though, has an inkling of what’s behind Olivia’s self-flagellation. They haven’t talked about it, not out loud, but Olivia knows Lindsey gets it without having to lay it out. Lindsey is the only one who knows. A mistake made in haste as a child has cost Olivia her entire future.

It’s all my fault.

Park has a child.

“Liv? You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. Drifted off there. Anyway. I need to get to work.”

Lindsey takes the hint. “I’m sure this is just some sort of lab screwup. Hang in there. If you want to talk later, call me.”

“When is Perry showing up?” She’s surprised by the bitter curiosity in her tone, but Lindsey doesn’t seem to notice.

“He’s going to send me his itinerary. I’m picking him up from the airport. Want to—”

“No.”

“You didn’t even know what I was going to ask.”

“If it involves Perry, the answer is always going to be no.”

6

THE HUSBAND

Park hears Olivia running water upstairs, hears the door click closed, hears the Jeep’s engine turn over. He is hurt that she’s running but doesn’t blame her. Not really.

Detective Osley raises a brow, and Park shrugs. “Let her go. She needs time to process. This must have been a terrible shock. What else can I answer for you?”

“Obviously, Mr. Bender, your time in Chapel Hill, the case of your dead girlfriend, it’s of interest to us.”