Page 26 of The Instruments of Darkness

“That’s circumstantial evidence,” I said. “It would take more than a blanket to convince me of your wife’s guilt.”

And, by implication, to convince me of my own wife’s guilt in a similar situation.

“They’ll find more.”

He spoke with absolute conviction.

“We’ll see,” I said. It was time to leave. “Thank you for your candor. If I have any further questions, I’ll be in touch.”

“Save them,” said Clark. “You won’t be welcome here again.”

“I understand. I hope your son is found safe and well, for everyone’s sake.”

I was walking away when he spoke again. Donna Clark was by his side, one arm curled protectively around him as he got to his feet.

“Do you really understand?” he said. “I thought you might, which was why I decided to speak with you, but now I’m not so sure. I know all about you, Parker. You buried your child and hunted down her killer, yet you want to deny justice to me and my son. It’s one law for you and another for everyone else. You’re nothing but a hypocrite, trading on pain and misery, carrying your history like a cross for all to see. You’re the one who ought to be ashamed. Go crawl back under your rock, you fuck.”

He stormed away, but Donna continued to stare after me, and her hostility was almost triumphant. The dog advanced, barking to send me about my business.

And somewhere, a lie was hiding.

CHAPTER XV

I called Moxie on my way back to Portland. He told me that Colleen had spent as good a night as could be expected at Cumberland County Jail, and her initial court appearance was scheduled for that afternoon. Moxie would sit down with Erin Becker before the hearing in the hope of hammering out a bail agreement acceptable not only to both sides but also to the judge. Becker might have been nursing a grievance over Colleen’s surrender, but if she tried to indulge it before an unsympathetic bench, she’d do herself more harm than good. Moxie was up for some horse-trading.

“Did you speak to the husband?”

I told him how it had gone.

“I’m surprised you got even that much out of him,” said Moxie. “Impression?”

“He’s already decided that his wife is guilty, but you knew that. If he was ever really in love with her, he might have started falling out of it before their son was born. But something about the Mara Teller affair doesn’t ring true.”

“You think he cheated on his wife before?”

“He denies it. I’m inclined to accept his word because the accusation stung. Based on minimal acquaintance, he has a thin skin combined with an elevated opinion of himself. He doesn’t like to be thought ill of, but the world may not view him as highly as he views himself, and he’s smart enough to recognize it.”

“Does he still have feelings for the Teller woman?”

“He claims it was strictly a fling, and he wasn’t overly troubled by the fact that he could no longer contact her, or said he couldn’t.”

“So what’s he hiding?”

“Possibly some personal or business details they shared. He was a little vague on what he and Teller might have spoken about when they weren’t knocking boots.”

“Ever had an affair?” said Moxie.

“No.”

“Well I have. When you have an affair, mostly you talk about the affair. Bitching about a husband or wife casts a pall over proceedings. The best affairs are about sex. It’s the other stuff that causes all the problems.”

“Should I be taking notes?”

“Who knew you were such a tenderfoot?”

“I like to think I’m still pure on the inside. Returning to Stephen Clark, it was strange that he rejected out of hand any possibility of Teller’s involvement in whatever happened to his son. It was as though he’d bet everything on his wife’s guilt and couldn’t countenance losing.”

“But to what end?” said Moxie.