Chapter 5 - What David Really Did
I did not confront Nathan on the phone.
David had taught me one useful thing during nine years of marriage.
When someone says something they should not know, do not correct them.
Let them keep talking.
"Why not?" I asked.
Nathan went quiet.
"Because men like Romano lie for a living."
"You know he spoke to me?"
"Everyone in the hospital knows."
Another lie.
The trauma suite had been locked.
I said, "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
I brought Logan.
I also brought Alessandro's black phone inside my coat.
Nathan opened his townhouse door wearing jeans and a navy sweater.
Normal.
Warm.
Safe.
Everything I suddenly did not trust.
He hugged Logan.
Then looked at me too long.
"You look awful."
"Thanks."
"You know what I mean."
He checked Logan's pupils and listened to his heart.
I watched his hands.
Steady.
Familiar.
A framed college photo sat on the bookshelf.
Nathan in graduation robes.
Silver eagle tie clip at his collar.
I picked it up.
"David gave me that," he said.
I looked at him.
"When?"
"Graduation."
"You went to Georgetown. David went to Towson."
Nathan's eyes changed.
Barely.
"After graduation."
"That's not what you said."
"Catherine."
I set the photo down.
Logan asked for juice.
Nathan went to the kitchen.
I moved fast.
Desk drawer.
Locked.
Second drawer.
Unlocked.
Inside was a brown envelope.
Photographs.
Me leaving Johns Hopkins.
Me at preschool.
Me at David's grave.
Me carrying groceries.
The newest one was timestamped 12:41 a.m.
That night.
Before Alessandro woke.
I heard the refrigerator close.
I shoved the photos back.
Too late.
Nathan stood in the doorway.
His face had emptied.
"You shouldn't have opened that."
"You've been watching me."
"Protecting you."
"From who?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try."
Logan walked in holding juice.
"Mommy found your pictures."
Nathan closed his eyes.
For one second, he looked exhausted.
Then he locked the front door.
I grabbed Logan.
Nathan crossed to a cabinet.
He removed a black medical case.
My heart hammered.
"Move away from the door," he said.
"No."
"Catherine."
"What's in the case?"
He opened it.
Syringes.
Sedatives.
A small recording device.
"You don't understand what David asked me to do."
My fingers tightened around Logan.
"What did my husband ask you to do?"
Nathan looked at me.
"Keep you alive."
He picked up one syringe.
"Even if you hated me for it."
May you like
CUT.
