And it was.
But then the Job got in the way again.
Chapter 103
“I’LL BE OUT THERE TOMORROW. That’s the best I can do. I’ll book a flight to L.A. right now.”
I couldn’t believe the words were coming out of my mouth, even as they did.
I had been on the phone with Fred Van Allsburg for less than a couple of minutes, and my response was pretty much automatic, almost as if I’d been programmed to answer in a certain way. What was this, The Manchurian Candidate? What part was I playing? Good guy? Bad guy? Somewhere in between?
I was definitely eager to meet with Mary Wagner again, drawn by curiosity, almost as much as by obligation. The LAPD hadn’t been able to get her to talk to them, apparently not for days. So they wanted me to come back to California to consult. And I needed to do it—something still bothered me about the murder case, even if Mary was as guilty as she appeared to be.
Of course, I wanted the trip to be as short as possible. In fact, I left everything packed except my toothbrush when I got to the hotel in L.A. It probably helped me feel as though the trip was more temporary.
Anyway, my interview with Mary Wagner was scheduled for ten o’clock the following morning. I thought about calling Jamilla, but decided against it, and right then I knew that it was completely over between us. A sad thought, but a true one, and I was sure that we both knew it. Whose fault was it? I didn’t know. Was it useful or important to try to place blame? Probably not, thought Dr. Cross.
I spent the night going over the past week’s reports and transcripts, which Van Allsburg had messengered over to me. According to everything I read, the three children—Brendan, Ashley, and Adam—seemed to be the only thing on Mary’s mind.
It made my direction pretty clear. If the children were all that Mary could think about, that’s where we’d begin tomorrow morning.
Chapter 104
AT 8:45 IN THE MORNING, I found myself in a different but identical-looking room to the one where I had last interviewed Mary Wagner.
The guard escorted her in exactly on time—almost to the second. I could see right away that several days of interrogation had taken a toll.
She wouldn’t look at me, and sat stoically while the officer cuffed her to the table.
He then took a position inside the room, next to the door. Not my first choice, but I didn’t argue it. Maybe if there was a second interview, I’d try to loosen things up.
“Good morning, Mary.”
“Hello.”
Her voice was neutral, a minimal show of following the rules. Still no eye contact though. I wondered if she had served time before. And if she had, for what?
“Let me tell you why I’m here,” I said. “Mary, are you listening to me?”
No response from her. She clenched and unclenched her teeth, staring at a single point on the wall. I sensed that she was listening but trying not to show it.
“You already know that there’s a significant amount of evidence against you. And I think you also know that there are still some doubts about your children.”
She finally looked up, and her eyes burned into my skull. “Then there’s nothing to talk about.”
“Actually, there is.”
I pulled out my pen and laid a blank piece of paper on the table. “I thought you might like to write a letter to Brendan, Ashley, and Adam.”
Chapter 105
MARY CHANGED IN A BEAT, just the way I’d seen her do before. She looked up at me again, her eyes and mouth noticeably softer. A familiar vulnerability showed across her features. When she was like this, it was hard not to feel something for Mary Wagner, no matter what she had done.
“I’m not allowed to remove your handcuffs,” I said, “but you can tell me what you’d like to say. I’ll write it for you, word for word.”
“Is this a trick?” she asked, and she was practically pleading for it not to be. “This is some kind of trick, isn’t it?”
I had to choose my words carefully.