“Thanks for coming,” Quinn said.
Astrid turned the radio down. “I’m guessing I was the last person you called and the first to answer?”
“I ... yes. I tried Dad. He didn’t pick up.”
“He went to bed about an hour ago. Probably didn’t hear the phone ring.”
“And Mom?”
“It’s ladies’ night at Town Hall. Bingo. She’s way into it. She took her phone, but it’s probably buried in her purse somewhere under a thousand other things she doesn’t ever need but can’t leave home without. Hey, you all right?”
“I’m in one piece, which is more than I can say for Dad’s car.”
“What happened?”
Quinn filled her in on the details.
“You know why this happened, right?”
“I’m not positive, no.”
“I don’t think you were sideswiped on accident, Quinn. I think someone tried to run you off the road. On purpose.”
“Why would they? I have no idea who’s behind Evie’s death. I thought I had it right, and I had it wrong. Roman didn’t kill Evie. I mean, I never thought he did. Roy didn’t either.”
“I think you think you have it wrong, when really, you have it right and you just don’t know it yet. You should be more careful.”
It was surreal, receiving advice from a sister who’d never had a cautious moment in her life.
“You think someone was trying to scare me?” Quinn asked.
“Or hurt you.”
“Why do I detect a judgmental tone in your voice?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
A scary thought in itself. “And?”
“What about Marcus?”
“What about him?” Quinn asked.
“You ever think Evie’s death was personal, like some kind of jealous rage? Marcus hated Evie. What if he—”
“He didn’t. We were just getting back from our vacation.”
“Yeah, see, that doesn’t make me think he’s innocent. That makes me think he was smart enough to get himself a perfect alibi.”
“He couldn’t have done it,” Quinn restated. “There’s no possible way.”
Astrid stayed silent for a moment, then said, “I talked to him once, at your wedding reception. He said something interesting to me. He said he detested Evie. He used that word too. Detested. I told him it was too bad. She’d never be out of your life. He laughed, said I should never say never, said he knew how to get rid of her if he had to.”
“I’m sure his comment was harmless. It was his way of making himself feel inferior. Like I said, he was with me at the time of her murder.”
“He could have hired someone.”
Astrid’s assumption was ludicrous. “Can we change the subject, please?”
“Just think about it, okay?”
“Okay, fine.”
Quinn would say anything to stop the current topic from blossoming any further.
“I ... umm ... haven’t seen you around much the last couple days,” Astrid said. “Didn’t know whether you were going out of your way to avoid me, or if you decided never to speak to me again, or what. I’m still planning on leaving, I just haven’t decided when.”
“What happened between us, Astrid, isn’t something I can just move on from. What you did ... it changed everything. My decisions. My life. I made the worst mistake because of you.”
“Nothing I can say will ever change the past. Even if I have regrets, and believe me, I do.”
Quinn still wasn’t so sure. “In your note you left me, when you said I should come clean, tell the truth, I assume you were talking about Isaiah.”
“If you’re going to make things right with Bo, he may as well know all of it. He probably thinks you married Marcus for love, and we both know you didn’t.”
“How would it make things different now?” Quinn asked. “It’s in the past.”
“It would help him understand why you did what you did.”
“After all the effort you went through to keep us apart, why help me now?”
“Call it selfish if you want, and maybe it is, but maybe my guilt has finally driven me to do something right for a change. Maybe it’s time I finally take some responsibility for my actions.”