Rice had struck a nerve, that much was obvious. Julia sat in her recliner, squeezing her hands together. Her mind probably going a mile a minute, trying to decide what to say next.
“I think I’m confused about where this is all going,” Julia said. “Why wouldn’t we think he had run away?”
Her question hung in the air.
Rice could say nothing, and his silence would compel her to say everything. She would talk against herself, trying to explain away whatever she thought he knew, and in doing so she would reveal everything to him.
“I feel like I’m missing something,” she said.
It was already starting. The whole bit folded out in front of him now. He could see it, clear as he could see her. She was utterly terrified, and she would go wherever he might take her. It was all over, if he wanted.
He hummed quietly before he spoke. “Did you miss it then?”
Her voice was hoarse. “Miss what?”
Rice sighed. Enough.
“I know what happened,” he said. “I’ve always wondered if you knew, too.”