“And?”
“I don’t know. I thought I needed more. I thought I needed my mind stimulated.”
“Joe doesn’t do that for you?”
Meg closed her eyes. She hated talking about it. She shook her head. “No. He’s so good and so kind. He just doesn’t understand what I do, or how I think. I spent a lot of time at Gen’s and one thing led to another one night when Thad was attending a function with me. We were drunk.”
“Did you know Gen hired a private detective?”
“No.”
“So I wonder if she figured out about you and Thad?”
“You’d have to ask the private detective. Obviously, she didn’t tell me.”
“How did she tell Thad that she knew he was cheating?”
“You’ll have to ask Thad. I don’t want to get something wrong—I wasn’t there.”
“Surely she told you how it went?”
“She said he was detached, and matter-of-fact. He didn’t want divorce to ruin his reputation, so he asked her if they could keep it hush-hush.”
“He thought that a divorce would ruin his reputation? This isn’t 1970,” Hawk pointed out.
“I know. He just worked really hard for his practice and didn’t want anything to ruin it.”
“And Gen was okay with that? It seems like she’d be too pissed to care.”
“She was, at first,” Meg conceded. “But I think, and don’t quote me on this, but I think he was giving her a one-time payment to compensate her for her cooperation.”
“He was paying her to divorce him quietly,” Hawk said, his eyebrow lifted.
“Yeah.”
“You told me before that you didn’t know if Gen would be getting remuneration from Thad.”
Meg sighed. “I didn’t want you to find out about my involvement with him.”
“Has he made the payment?”
“The last I heard, he was to pay it when the divorce was final. She was dragging her feet with signing the papers, and he thought it might make her sign them faster.”
“So, theoretically, if she disappeared, he wouldn’t have to pay her,” Hawk pointed out.
Meg didn’t say anything. It was something that had crossed her mind, but she hadn’t wanted to entertain the suspicion.
“How much is the payment?”
“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Thad.”
“Oh, I will.”
When the plane landed, Meg gathered her carry-on and wandered down the LaGuardia corridor. She felt Hawk watching her, but she didn’t turn around. She’d never felt so subhuman as she did right now. All she wanted to do was disappear into her hotel room, away from judgment.
Hawk hailed a cab, and called Thad Thibault. He told him to meet him at the station in thirty minutes.
Thad was exactly on time.
When he sat down at Hawk’s desk, Thad was perfectly put together, his shirt pressed, his shoes polished, his belt lined up with the seam of his fly.
“So, I spoke with Gen’s private investigator,” Hawk began. Thad waited, unflinching. “I know about your affair with Meghan.”
“It wasn’t an affair. It was one night.”
“I’d like for you to tell me about it.”
“That night? That hardly seems gentlemanly.”
Hawk stared at him coldly.
Thad sighed. “What’s there to tell? I made a mistake. It caused the end of my marriage, so I’ve paid for it.”
“Not yet you haven’t,” Hawk answered. “Because the way I understand it, your marriage ended because Gen thought you were having an ongoing affair. And if your night with Meg was only a night, do you care to explain?” As he spoke, he pulled some of the photos from Gen’s wall and put them in front of Thad. The ones of him and the other woman, the woman who wasn’t Meg or Gen.
Thad sighed again.
“That’s my sister, Jody. I’m her caretaker. I never told Gen about it because the circumstances around it are painful.”
“So you’d rather have your wife think you were unfaithful than simply tell her about your sister? That hardly makes sense.”
“And tell her how I killed my parents and ruined my only sister’s life?”
“I think any rational person would understand.”
“It’s not just a matter of her understanding. Talking about it makes me relive it. I have PTSD from the whole thing. I can’t bear to think about it.”
Hawk stared at him, not entirely convinced.
“I also knew that if she poked into it far, she’d discover what happened between Meg and me. I didn’t want that for Meg.”
“So you’re an honorable cheat?” Hawk raised an eyebrow, and Thad narrowed his eyes.
“You don’t know me.”
“I know that you arranged for a one-time payment to Gen if she divorced you quietly. I know that she disappeared before the divorce became final. And I know that you don’t pay her until then.”
Thad’s eyes shifted just a bit.
“How much is that payment supposed to be?” Hawk asked.
Thad’s jaw clenched, and he exhaled.
“A million dollars.”
Hawk whistled, low and long. “That’s quite a bit of money just to keep her quiet about the divorce.”
“I wanted to make sure she was taken care of,” Thad said defensively. “I fucked up. She shouldn’t have to pay for it.”
“So you regret what you did?”
“I regret hurting my wife in that way.”
“Have you hurt her in any other way?” Hawk was casual. Thad glared again.
“Of course not. Do I need an attorney?”
“That’s up to you,” Hawk said. “I mean, you’re an attorney,” he pointed out.
“Just ask your questions,” Thad snapped.
“How did Gen confront you?”
“She was waiting for me one night when I got home from work. She said she knew I was having an affair, that she didn’t have proof, but she knew. I almost denied it, but that seemed like it would cause her more pain, all things considered. So I told her she was right.”
“But you wouldn’t tell her who it was,” Hawk replied.
“Of course not,” Thad answered. “There was no need to crush her like that.”
“I can’t believe the two of you really thought it wouldn’t eventually come out,” Hawk told him. “This kind of thing doesn’t usually stay buried.”
“You don’t know Gen,” Thad answered. “She’s got her head in the clouds most of the time. Real life things don’t attract her attention.”
“So it must’ve been easy for you to fool her,” Hawk said.
Thad stood up. “If you don’t have any other questions, I’m done here.”
Hawk stood up, as well. “One more question. Do you know where Gen’s laptop is?”
Thad’s head snapped up. “No. I do not.”
Hawk stared, then answered. “Okay. Needless to say, I’m going to need you to stay in the city for now.”
Thad nodded curtly and walked out. He tried to call Meg, and she didn’t pick up. He swore under his breath, and realized then that their phone calls might be monitored now. He slid his phone back in his pocket.
When he arrived back at the Aristotle, he went straight to Meg’s room.
When she answered, her eyes were red and the bed was rumpled.
“It’s going to be okay,” he told her. He stepped inside without waiting for an invitation.
She didn’t respond. Instead, she went to the desk and opened the drawer. Then she pulled out Gen’s ring.
“Who put this on my doorstep the other night?” she asked, twisting the ring in the light. “Someone did. Was it you?”
“Why would I do that? How would I have gotten it? I wasn’t in New York then, rem
ember. You’re not using sense. You told me Gen threw it off the balcony.”
“Maybe you were here,” she suggested, and her eyes were a bit wild. “Maybe you were following me, and you saw her throw the ring, and you found it. Or maybe you did something to my sister, but still wanted this ring back so you could sell it. It IS expensive, after all.”
“Have you been drinking?” Thad demanded. “That’s crazy. Even if I was watching your balcony from the street, I couldn’t have seen her throw something. It’s too high up. You’re spiraling, Meg. Take some deep breaths.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m Gen,” she snapped. “I’m not. And nothing feels right about you now. Not a thing.”
“I know what this is about,” Thad said suddenly. “It’s about the payment. Hawkins got you worked up about it. I know it looks bad, but it’s coincidence, Meggie.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“I love you,” he told her. “You know that.”
“Stop. We were caught up in a situation, and that was all.”
“You know that’s not true. I love you. You love me.”
“No, I don’t,” she said, and her voice was ever so cold now. “I thought I loved you once. Like a brother, and then that night...it was more, but I made a mistake. No matter what the situation was, we were wrong. I could never be with you now. Not ever.”
She tossed the ring at him, the diamond catching the sunlight in the air. Thad caught it neatly.
“Neither Gen nor I want anything to do with you,” she said. “Ever again.”
“When did this ring turn up on your doorstep?” he asked quietly.
“The other night. With this note.” She handed him the scrawled letters on the paper.
She turned her back, and Thad walked away. She heard the door click behind him as he left.
He stepped into the elevator, thinking about the dark handwriting. When he reached the landing, he pulled out his phone and dialed Jody’s number.
There was no answer.
43
Gen, Then
Gen had fallen asleep before Thad arrived home.
When he came to bed, he curled up behind her. “You okay?” he whispered, lightly rubbing her shoulder.
She pulled away from him even in her sleep.
“Okay, then,” he muttered. He rolled over, and when he woke up the next morning, Gen was gone. That was unusual, too. She rarely left the house before him.
He called Meg. “Gen went out before I got up. She’s acting odd.”
“You don’t think she...” Meg’s voice trailed off, and Thad shook his head.
“No. I don’t think so. Has she texted you this morning?”
“No,” Meg answered. “But I’ll let you know if she does.”
They hung up, and Thad got ready for work.
By the time mid-morning rolled around, Thad had forgotten all about his concerns, wrapped up in preparation for a case.
* * *
Across town, Gen sat on a quaint wooden bridge in a public park, her feet swinging merrily beneath her. She thought people might be looking at her oddly, but she didn’t care. It was almost time to execute her plan, and she was nervous, excited, terrified and ready.
All of the emotion from finding out about her husband’s philandering and her sister’s participation had pushed her over the edge. She just needed a good morning—one good morning—before she pulled this whole thing off.
She walked for most of the morning, marveling at how good the air smelled. It smelled like rain and freshness. She chatted with strangers and bought street hot dogs, which were the best dogs she’d ever had. She walked past Thad’s building, half expecting to find Meg standing outside.
She wasn’t.
Gen almost went in.
She didn’t.
She sat at the bench in front, where she’d once seen him and Meg, and she wrote in her journal.
She wrote about the pens, and the air, and the colors, and how for the first time this month, anger wasn’t consuming her.
The vastness is survivable now, she wrote. I’ll live. I thought I wouldn’t, but I will.
She recorded everything she knew until this point. She scribbled pictures, and doodles, and important words. She thought she’d create a mind map, and write down everything she knew about the whole affair. So she did.
She drew arrows and made a flow chart.
She wrote Meg’s name over, and over, and over.
She spent a couple of hours on Michigan Avenue, buying a magnificent outfit, slender winter-white slacks, a winter-white cashmere turtleneck and butter-soft calfskin ankle boots. She walked into a salon and had her hair blown out. She bought a luscious new perfume.
When Thad walked in the door that night, she was waiting.
And she looked amazing.
His eyes flickered over her when he came in, and he saw her. He truly saw her. That made her happy. This way, he’d know in this moment what he was going to lose.
“You look nice,” he said hesitantly.
She saw him wondering... Have I forgotten something? Were we supposed to be somewhere?
“We need to talk,” she said, motioning at the couch for him to sit. Thad’s eyes narrowed.
“That never ends well,” he answered, and he perched on the edge of the sofa. “What’s up?”
His fingers drummed a beat on the leather next to him, and for a moment, Gen enjoyed his anxiety. Welcome to my world, she thought.
“I know you’ve been fucking someone else,” she said calmly.
She walked to get the wine bottle she’d opened a few minutes earlier and poured a glass. She glanced at Thad, her eyebrow lifted. Do you want some?
He hesitantly reached out for the glass she handed him.
“Why would you think that?”
“The fact that you’re answering me in such a way just proves to me that I’m right,” she told him. “Who is the whore?”
He flinched and tossed back half the glass of wine, then set it on the coffee table.
“You don’t understand,” he said slowly. “It’s not like that.”
“Then tell me what it’s like,” she hissed, and now her fury showed, like a set of fangs.
“I don’t think that would be productive,” he said simply. “You’re right. I’ve been involved with someone else. I hate that I’ve hurt you. I’m sorry.”
To be honest, Gen hadn’t been expecting that.
She hadn’t expected him to just admit it, like he was admitting to leaving the door unlocked or the toilet seat up. Although, it did irk her that he wouldn’t tell her it was Meg. Was he protecting her, or protecting Meg?
“Aren’t you going to beg me to forgive you, beg me to stay?” She took a drink of wine. “I’ve never had an unfaithful husband before, but I hear that’s what happens.”
“Don’t get nasty,” he cautioned her.
“You don’t get to tell me how to be,” she snapped. “Not now, and not ever again.”
“This is why I’m not begging you to stay,” he answered. “You won’t want me again. You won’t be able to forgive me. And honestly, it just wouldn’t be right. I don’t think we’re right for each other anymore. We’re different than we used to be.”
She wanted to scream, And my sister is right for you? But she didn’t.
Instead, she calmly crossed and uncrossed her legs.
She drained the rest of the wine.
“Tell me who it is,” she demanded.
“No.”
“Tell me.”
“No,” he answered. “Damn it, Gen. Let it go. It doesn’t matter. It isn’t about her anyway. It’s about us. You and me.”
“What about us?” she shrieked, her serenity slipping away. “What about till death do us part, Thad? What about through sickness and he
alth, so long as we both shall live?”
“It just got to be too much,” he said limply. “You were always in your own worlds. Never in mine.”
“You mean my career made you fall out of love with me?”
He stared at her. “I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
“You will not,” she retorted. “You will go to a hotel.” She didn’t care that she had a fully equipped apartment down the street that she could retreat to. He cheated—he could leave.
“Genevieve,” he said slowly. “I don’t want people to know. Please, I’ll sleep in the guest room until we figure out what to do.”
“You don’t want people to know?” She practically cackled now. “Why ever not? Who the hell cares, Thad? Who cares aside from you and me? For fuck’s sake!”
He flinched at her words and drew in a long breath. “Gen, you know how long it took me to build my career. In my world, this could damage me. I want to be able to take care of you, even after all of this. If it damages my career, it will damage your alimony.”
“My alimony?” Gen asked, her eyes wide. “What makes you think I want that? I don’t. I have a career of my own that I’ve worked hard to build. I don’t need your support.”
“You do have a career,” he said carefully. “But you’ve struggled to put out this last book. You’ve been blocked for ages. I just want to help.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You cheated on me. You don’t get to act like you care!” she raged. She felt unhinged, and that was okay. Anyone would be in her position, right? “You’re insane. I’m late on this book. It happens. I’m a goddamned artist.”
“You are,” he agreed, and it annoyed her because he was so clearly trying to calm her down.
“Shut. Up,” she told him. “I can’t even stand the sound of your voice right now.”
Thad surveyed the situation as an attorney would and saw that he would have to do something to change things, and he’d have to act fast.
“I’ll pay you to cooperate,” he said quickly. “You can have whatever you want. Just please. Can we keep this private?”
Gen wanted to set fire to the goddamned building.
The Last to See Her Page 20