Page 81 of Nash Falls

They reached the station and Nash opened the car door to get out.

Before he did, Shock reached over and put a big hand on his shoulder.

“You’re not alone, Walter. Remember that, all right? Sure, you got the FBI. And you got your family. But now you gotme, too.”

“Thank you. That really… means a lot.”

Shock watched him all the way into the station before driving off.

CHAPTER

40

AFTER WORK NASH CAME INTOthe kitchen from the garage to find Judith in sweatpants and a rumpled T-shirt sitting on a barstool with a cocktail in front of her.

“Judith, you okay?”

She glanced up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair messy, and her face absent of her usual makeup. “I’m fine, Walter. Per-fect-ly fine.”

“How did your day go?” he asked tentatively, wondering what was going on with her.

“It was great. I worked out, I had lunch. I had a drink. I took a walk. I worked out. I… no, that was yesterday. Or the day before. I… I forget.” She giggled.

He drew closer and was struck by the smell of alcohol wafting off her. “And Maggie?”

She shrugged. “I haven’t seen or heardherall day.”

“Nothing? She hasn’t eaten or shown herself?”

“I thought I just said that, Walter,” Judith said, now slurring her words. “I’m sure she’s in her room working on that thing for you.”

He slid the remains of her glass away and said, “You might want to hold off and maybe get some food and coffee into you.”

She jerked the drink back. “Or I might not.”

Concerned about Maggie, he left the kitchen and hurried up the stairs.

He knocked on his daughter’s door. “Maggie? It’s Dad. Are you all right? Your mother said you haven’t been out of your room all day. Maggie?” He knocked again and then started to panic. He hadseen her car in the garage. Granted, she could have taken an Uber or gone for a walk. “Maggie? I’m… I’m coming in.”

He tried the door but it was locked.

“What’s going on up there?”

Nash edged to the top of the stairs and saw Judith down below looking up at him. Her drink was in one hand.

“She’s not answering, and her door is locked.”

“She might be soaking in the tub.”

“She could still hear me.”

He went back and pounded on the door again. “Maggie, open the door.”

He waited, praying with all his might that he would hear her footsteps coming to the door. And that it would open and his daughter would be there smiling at him. He had always been a worst-case-scenario sort of parent, always thinking about potential disasters if anyone was late or wouldn’t answer their phone. He felt sick to his stomach when he heard no one approaching the door.

He stepped away from the door and then rushed forward, slamming himself against the thick wood. The only thing damaged was his bony shoulder.

He heard Judith coming up the stairs. “Walter, what the hell are you doing?”