“Yes.”
“What did I get, Mom?”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll do better next time.”
Ryan didn’t reply.
Sabrina whispered, “… Speaking as the captain of the track team, I can assure you that Kathleen will be sorely missed by every…”
Jake turned to Ryan, who looked crestfallen. “Don’t sweat it, buddy.”
Ryan didn’t say anything to him, either.
Jake turned back around, pained. He didn’t want to think about what would happen to Ryan if he and Pam divorced. His son was already depressed and guilt-ridden. It wouldn’t help that he’d ping-pong back and forth between their houses. Jake would become a weekend father, if that. Everything had gone to shit because of his decision on Pike Road. In trying to be a good father, he’d been a terrible father. In trying to save his son, he’d destroyed him. He’d driven his wife away. He’d lost everything.
Story of my life.
Sabrina said, “… there are so many cool stories about Kathleen, like that she sang the loudest on the bus, and that everyone on the guys team wanted to take her out, but there is one main story I know that will tell the audience about her…”
Jake felt his chest tighten as they reached the lighted brickCONCORD CHASE HIGH SCHOOLsign and turned into the entrance, where another cop directed them to keep moving toward the back, behind the school.
“Damn.” Pam sighed. “They’re sending us to the lot by the tennis courts. It’ll be a long walk.” She shifted up to the rearview mirror, slowing the car. “Ryan, Sabrina? You guys want to get out here, since we’re running late?”
“No,” Ryan answered, after a moment.
“But honey, you won’t get a seat.”
“The team will save me one.”
Sabrina said, “I’ll stay. I’m good.”
“Okay.” Pam fed the car some gas, and they approached the entrance doors on the right, then they stopped again in the line of traffic. A thick crowd thronged under the lighted canopy that covered the entrance doors, and at the perimeter, a TV news crew filmed a pretty anchorwoman raising a bubble microphone to a tall, well-dressed man with dark hair, talking in the bright white klieglights.
Pam snorted. “I can’t believe TV people are here. They’re vultures. Have they no shame? Does the world really need another man-on-the-street interview?”
Jake felt his heart sink, on Ryan’s behalf. He could see for himself that Kathleen’s death shocked the entire school community, and he had underestimated how difficult this would be for Ryan. His son lived in this world and he’d have to deal with it, every day, all day at school. Jake glanced back to check on him again, but Ryan was looking pointedly away from the TV cameras.
Sabrina leaned forward. “Mrs. Buckman, the guy they’re interviewing is Kathleen’s dad. I saw his picture online, asking if the community could help him find who killed Kathleen.”
“Poor man,” Pam said quietly, and Jake realized that the only thing they shared tonight was guilt. He eyed Kathleen’s father talking in the klieglights and realized he was just another father like him. Jake had taken that man’s child, in trade for his own.
Pam drove along the road, which continued between the school on the right and the main parking lot on the left. She seemed distracted by something in the parking lot, and Jake craned his neck to see. It was Dr. Dave, getting out of a white Prius and chirping it locked. A woman in a black down coat stood with him, presumably his wife.
Jake gritted his teeth. She had a pretty face and a sweet smile, and her short brown hair ruffled in the wind. He wondered if she knew that she had been cheated on, or if she was as naïve as he had been. The couple left the parking lot and crossed the road with the crowd, right in front of their headlights.
Jake itched to get out and beat Dr. Dave to a pulp, but Dr. Dave walked straight ahead, acting as if he didn’t recognize Pam’s car. Jake looked over to see Pam’s reaction, but she stared straight ahead, too. Just then he noticed a car in the parking lot, sitting a few rows back, to the right—it was a black BMW sedan, with an HKE license plate.
My God.“Pam, hold on, be right back,” Jake blurted out, reaching for the door handle.
“No, Jake, please don’t.” Pam turned to him in alarm.
“It’s not what you think.” Jake flung open the door. “I see a client I need to talk to. See you inside.”
“Wait a sec, there’s a space,” Pam said, but Jake was out the door, hitting the ground running.
Chapter Forty-two
Jake hurried through the parking lot, going against the crowd heading toward the school entrance. One of the mothers looked over at him curiously, so he slowed his pace as he made a beeline for the BMW. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He hadn’t thought about the possibility he’d see the BMW here, but he’d been focused on Ryan and Pam.
