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I could kiss her. She was spectacular and amazing, and exactly what I needed.
"Mom, honestly, how are you feeling?"
"Like I told you, clearer than I have ever been in my entire life."
"Have you heard from Dad?"
She shook her head. "No, and he wouldn't have any reason to contact me anyway. Not to mention, your brother said I shouldn't email anyone. So, I haven't. When I want to talk to my sister, I go into Old Town, grab one of those burner phones, and call her with that."
"Okay, as long as you're taking precautions."
"I am. I know exactly how dangerous your father can be."
"About that, Mom… I know that you are still sick, but is there anything you remember from that time? The night Brian Riley died?"
"I'm trying to remember, Atticus, I swear. But it's all so foggy."
"Do you remember seeing Dad that night?"
"There was a time when I thought I did, but once evidence showed that he was in the city, there was nothing I could do. The police questioned me. I had been out that night. I was supposed to go to this charity event. Some local thing for an animal shelter. My friend ran the place. But on the way I got a flat tire."
"Right, so your time was unaccounted for."
"Well, not exactly. A man stopped to help me change the tire."
"Someone stopped to help you?"
"Yeah. His son worked for the local towing company. He told me if anything else happened with the car, I should see him."
I took her hands. "Mom, do you have their card still?"
"I have no idea. Right after that, I got so sick. I wish I could remember his name.” She shook her head. “Anyway, after Brian was found dead, I was questioned by the police, and they already knew I was having an affair with him. I had no reason to kill him. I was late, but I did eventually make it to the shelter event. But the timeline of me being able to kill Brian, get changed, and still make it to the event didn't match up."
"So, if he hadn't stopped to help you, you would probably have been a suspect."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I would have been."
"You don't remember anything about him?"
"No. But maybe his son still runs the towing company on Montauk."
"That's worth a shot. So when the police questioned you, they told you what?"
"They said your father had a rock-solid alibi in the city. He'd been seen."
"Fuck."
“But it's not like he knew about us, Atticus. And trust me, he did not care about me enough to elicit that kind of reaction even if he did.”
“Dad is a narcissist,” I reminded her. “He cares about himself, so that would have been an ego hit to him.
"There was no way for him to know. We were very discreet."
"We'll see. Is there anything else you can remember?"
She shook her head. "I was told not to leave for a couple of weeks, so I stayed in Montauk. And then when I returned to the city, that's when I got sick and things went foggy for me. And every time I tried to slide out of that fog, I would get dragged back in. This is the clearest I’ve felt in years. I don't know what it is about this place, this island, but I do feel better."
I had to tell her. I had no choice. I didn't want to, but I couldn't let her think that it was just fresh island air and a change of scenery.
