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Reality dawned with a thud.
"Wait a minute. You thought I was cheating on you?"
"What else was I supposed to think? I’ve been confused, I’ve been worried, and you’ve been shutting down on me like you’ve built a whole army of walls!”
"Oh, right. So, out of concern, you decided to creep around in the dark, looking in my window to see if you could catch me cheating?"
“I've been worried by how you've been acting. You've been keeping something from me, I have seen that. And I've been feeling really bad inside. I decided a note would be reasonable, to say that I want us to play open cards, that if there's anything going on in your life, I want to know what it is. But then I heard you talking on the phone, and I thought I'd better listen before I left the note.” He stared at her steadily, without a hint of apology in his eyes.
"But that's totally unfair. That's like—you don't trust me!" May said. She felt absolutely appalled by this. What hope was there for their relationship to go any further when Owen already thought she was cheating on him—and hadn't trusted her enough to ask outright. Instead, he'd sneaked around her house to listen to her on the phone. And scared the life out of her in the process.
May felt furious, and she couldn't help feeling betrayed as she glared at him.
"I do trust you," he said. "But from the way you were acting, I was just too worried about the worst-case scenario. I wanted to rule it out. Now you're mad at me, and I understand why, but you need to understand my side too."
"It’s clear you don’t trust me. And now, you've lost all my trust, so we’re square there," May said angrily. “You were creeping around my house. You’re lucky I didn't shoot!"
"May, if there are things going on in your life, why not tell me? What's the big secret? Why are you shutting me out?" he challenged her.
"I was talking to my sister. About Lauren's case," she said through gritted teeth, and saw his eyes widen in realization. "And now, I'd like to get some sleep. In private, so I hope you're done with your sleuthing!"
"I'm going home. Let’s talk about this tomorrow. Perhaps we both need to calm down and think about things. And look for ways to communicate better, if there are any to be found," he added pointedly.
With a sigh, he turned and walked away. A moment later, she heard his car start up.
Feeling as if this day had reached an all-time low point, May turned and stomped back inside.
She slammed the front door, shot the bolt, and turned the locks. She felt raw inside as if what had played out had been totally destructive. Owen had been in the wrong—well, mostly. But then he’d blamed her as if she’d caused it all! And she was still mad at him. She didn't know if she could forgive this easily or at all. Eavesdropping outside her window?
Fuming, May stomped back inside. What a debacle. The day had deteriorated into a series of nasty shocks, ending with this bombshell, and they were still no closer to solving the case.
And now, there was a rift between her and her partner, and every time she thought about what he'd done, she felt a surge of rage.
May had no idea what would happen when the morning came, and she had to confront him again.
***
Her alarm sounded at five forty-five, dragging her out of a restless series of nightmares. She'd been chasing a faceless person down a forest trail.
"Come back! I know you know about Lauren!" she'd yelled, but the person had run ever farther away, leaving behind them a trail of folded notes like breadcrumbs in the woods. And just as May saw a pale, evil face lurking behind the trees and realized she'd been lured into danger by the folded notes, the shrill sound of the alarm cut through her terrifying dream.
She sat up, wide eyed, heart pounding, forcing away the horrible vestiges of the dream world.
Today was all about reality. And the first thing she needed to do was head to the hospital. Hopefully, Chloe would be awake and ready for a short interview.
She could do this on her own, and she didn't need Owen to be with her, which would at least delay the moment until she needed to see him again. Whenever she thought about last night, May felt utterly furious.
The day was still dark, but it didn't look like rain—yet. She hoped the weather would give them a better chance today.
She got dressed, headed outside, and climbed into her pickup, wondering what would have happened if she hadn’t heard Owen outside last night. Would he have left a note as he’d promised? And if so, what would that note have said? Would she have wanted to read it, and would he have regretted writing it? Or would the note have made her feel better.
Would he have mentioned the cheating in the note? How could he think such a thing?
She couldn’t dwell on this anymore. She still felt too angry. And she didn't want anything distracting her from herquestioning. So, she put the thoughts aside and headed out on the short drive to the nearby Chestnut Hill hospital.
As she drove, she tried to calm down the flare of emotion she felt. She couldn't afford to get sidetracked now. This was all-important. The questioning ahead might provide them with a valuable lead.
She knew that Chloe would be feeling in pain, traumatized, and would definitely be in a fragile state of mind.
