I don’t know what I expected when I went to visit my father. I wasn’t expecting a lonely old man, that’s for sure. I have no idea if Marvin Holick really wanted to kill that woman or if he was telling the truth and it was all just a horrible accident. I want to believe he isn’t a murderer. I want to believe that more than anything.
But I know one thing: if he is a sociopath, he’s the best actor in the history of the world.
Chapter Fifty-Five
ERIKA
I’ve stopped answering my phone entirely. I don’t know where people got my number, but I’ve been getting death threats all day. They keep getting worse and worse. People are calling me up, telling me that they’re going to kill me, my daughter, and especially my son. If I don’t answer, they leave messages. It’s awful.
To some extent though, I know how they feel. They blame me for what Liam did. I blame myself. It feels like there’s something I could’ve done. Maybe when Dr. Hebert didn’t work out, I could’ve found somebody else. Somebody better. Somebody who could have fixed him.
Or I could’ve done what Jessica Martinson suggested. I could have had him locked up and then walked away.
But that wouldn’t have solved the problem. You can’t lock somebody up for their thoughts. I could have sent him away to school, but when he turned eighteen, therewas nothing I could’ve done.
At half-past six, my phone rings, and I flinch automatically. I’m lying on the bed, watching the clock until Jason gets home—he was supposed to be home ten minutes ago. I had been unwilling to move from my safe cocoon on the bed until I heard him come in downstairs. But then I glance at the screen and see Jason’s name.
“Erika?” He sounds tired on the other line. “Hey. Listen…”
“Please don’t tell me you’re running late…”
“I’m really sorry.” He lets out a long sigh. “I’ve been putting out fires all day—everybody knows about Liam. I’ve had two investors back out today.”
My stomach sinks. I didn’t think this could get any worse, but here it is. We can’t afford to lose Jason’s income. We’ve got a huge mortgage and now Liam’s legal bills.
I grip the phone tighter. “How long till you can come home?”
“I’ve got a dinner meeting now, then I need to sit down with my staff to discuss the situation. I’m not going to be able to head home for at least two hours.”
“Twohours?” I’m going to burst into tears. I was barely holding it together, knowing Jason would be home soon. Two hours till he gets on the road means at least three till he’s home. And that’s if traffic has died down bythen.
“I’m really sorry, Erika,” he says again.
I don’t want to be alone right now. I’m scared somebody else will throw a rock through our window. Or set the whole place on fire. Now that the sun has gone down, I feel especially uneasy.
“If you want,” he finally says, “I’ll cancel the meetings. If you really need me…”
I’m tempted to say yes. I do need him. But we also can’t afford to lose his income. I’ve got to suck it up. After all, it’s just three hours. What could happen in three hours? “It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure.”
He lets out a breath. “Okay, thanks, Erika. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
I swallow hard. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Three hours. He’ll be home in three hours. It’s not that long.
I try to take my mind off of it by watching television. Anything but the news. I stream a movie on Netflix just so there’s no chance of hearing any news reports. The only news report I want to hear is that Olivia Mercer was found and somehow my son had nothing to do with it. Fat chance.
It’s around eight-thirty when I hear the knock on my bedroom door.
“Come in!” I call out.
The door swings open and Liam is standing there at the entrance. He’s wearing the same T-shirt and jeans he had on yesterday— I wonder if he slept in them. He looks up at me, and his eyes are red-rimmed. It’s something I’ve never seen before.
