Staring through the thick glass window, I could literally feel my blood pressure rise.
“He’s lying,” I said, glancing over at Chad. “Can’t you see it?”
Chad shrugged. “He seems to have a solid alibi for the night Nova went missing.”
“And Lily,” I snapped. “Don’t forget about Lily.”
“And Lily,” Chad added, apologetically.
Through the glass window, I watched Officer Cummings interview Martin Nesbitt. They’d been in there for hours now and the man’s composure hadn’t faltered once. On the night Nova disappeared he had been showing houses to a local couple. It seemed ludicrous, that people would be house-hunting at night. But the Krowski couple had backed up Martin’s alibi, much to my dismay.
“They’re covering for him,” I said, through gritted teeth.
“Possibly.”
Officer Cummings was asking questions about Rachel Coffey now. Once again, Martin played dumb.
“I need in there. This might be Cummings’ jurisdiction, but she disappeared from my town.”
Martin gave me a sideways look as I entered the room. The corner of his lips twitched, as though he were holding back a smile.
“Like I was saying…I have no idea who Rachel Coffey is. I’ll admit the picture you showed me looked a little familiar, but that’s probably because I’ve seen her around. I see a lot of people…everyone knows me in Granton. Maybe I saw her at the grocery store, once or twice? Maybe that’s it, I don’t know. If my wife made an appointment with her, it’s because of the miscarriage. She wanted to try again for another child, but I didn’t. Maybe she met with Rachel behind my back, while I was at work, in order to get advice on conceiving another baby. Why in the world would I kill some woman I don’t know, or had only seen in passing? It makes no sense. And while we’re at it: why would I kill my wife? She left me, and that’s what I asked her to do. Why would I ask her to leave, then chase her down and hurt her? Frankly, this whole thing baffles me. Especially the part about the little girl.”
From my back pocket, I extracted the photograph I’d removed from the frame at the Nesbitt residence. I set it down on the table and pushed it toward him, then took a seat next to Officer Cummings.
Martin stared at the photo for several seconds, then looked back up. His eyes slid back and forth between Cummings and me.
“I don’t get it. What am I supposed to be looking at here?”
“Right there.” I tapped a finger on the doll, then the toys scattered on the floor in the background.
Martin glanced back down at the photo. His face revealed very little, but there was a tic in his right cheek. I could recognize a fellow jaw-clencher when I saw one…
“What’s the matter, Martin? Am I making you mad?” I slammed my hands down on the table in front of him. He jumped back slightly, and I felt a tiny glimmer of satisfaction. Like my father and Ezra Clark, he wasn’t used to women standing up to him.
Martin smiled and crossed his arms over his chest, recovering quickly.
“Not angry at all, ma’am. Officer Cummings and I were getting along just fine before you got here. These toys…I told you already, I have a niece. These must be hers. Why else would they be there…?”
“I thought you said it had been a long time since you saw your niece. This picture looks pretty recent. And what happened to your wife’s cheek?”
Martin looked down at the photo again. “I have no idea what you mean.” Again, his right cheek twitched.
“Your wife wrote a message to us in her own blood. She was afraid of you…afraid for herself and her daughter.”
I could feel Cummings staring me down, a silent warning to cool it. Now I was the one flexing my jaw.
“How convenient that she would write that. Don’t you understand? My wife was mentally ill. She obviously isn’t above telling lies; after all, she did lie to the police about us having a child together. It’s insane!”
“You’re lying. And everyone in this room knows it…”
“I’ll talk to you, and you only,” Martin said, shifting his eyes back on Officer Cummings.
“Why? Because you don’t like women standing up to you?” I jumped up from my seat, ready to hop across the desk and force him to tell me where Nova and Lily were…
“Only you or I want a lawyer,” Martin said, through clenched teeth. He wouldn’t even look at me now.
“I’m going,” I said to Officer Cummings. “Going to get busy finding out where Nova and Lily are.”
Outside the interrogation room, Chad was waiting. He was staring down at his shoes.
I placed my right cheek to the see-through glass, letting the cool relief rush over my angry, aching face.