Thread of Truth, стр. 17
“Oh,” Bill said. “Yes. We got a call this morning.”
The silence was awkward for a moment.
“I was just explaining to your wife that I was hoping to ask Olivia a few questions if she's up for it,” I said.
“Questions? For what?”
“The Lockers have just asked if I could fill in a few holes in regards to Desmond's life,” I said. “That's all.”
“I'm not sure how Olivia can help with that,” he said. His folded arms and jutted chin were a classic defensive pose.
“I'm not sure anyone was closer to him,” I countered. “I promise. Nothing too invasive.” I turned back to Olivia. “If she's up for it.”
Olivia rubbed at her eyes and took a deep breath. “I'm fine. I can answer your questions.”
“Olivia, I don't think—” her father started.
“I'm fine,” she said, her voice a fraction louder.
Her father scowled and shook his head, but he didn’t argue with her.
I decided to press ahead. “I'm trying to figure out what was going on with him before the accident,” I said. “Just to get a sense of what he was like, if he was upset about anything, things like that.”
Sharon looked at me. “Why would that matter?”
“I'd like to get a sense of how he was feeling about everything,” I explained. “Might help us learn as to whether or not he made a mistake riding his bike. Was he distracted? Was he upset? Anything like that would help us fill in the picture.”
Sharon wrinkled her nose, but the baby stirred in her lap, and her attention reverted to him.
I wasn't making anything up, but maybe I was stretching the truth just a bit. Those things would help me get a sense of what Desmond was like when he was killed, but I was looking to get a handle on more than how he was feeling when he was run down. I wanted to know exactly what was going on in his life.
I looked at Olivia. “You said he was excited about the baby, right?”
“Yes,” she said. “He really was.”
“And things were good between the two of you? I know you told me you were a little less sure about having the baby and that he sort of brought you around to it.” I paused. “But were things good with you? As a couple?”
Olivia's eyes dipped. “We were fine. Yeah.”
“What does fine mean?”
Her upper lip tucked into her bottom lip for a moment. “I don't know. I mean, yeah, we were fine. We were going to have the baby. We were going to get married and move in together.” She glanced quickly at me. “It was fine.”
Her father cleared his throat, but didn't say anything.
Her mother was still focusing on the baby, fussing with the pale blue socks on his tiny feet.
“You guys were on the same page?” I asked. “About getting married and moving in together?”
Olivia shifted on the couch and she couldn't get her eyes to meet mine. “I mean, yeah. What else were we going to do? We were having a baby. So...yeah. That's what everyone wanted.”
“Who's everyone?”
“What?”
“You said that's what everyone wanted,” I said. “Who do you mean by that?”
“I don't know. Just everyone. It was fine.”
The more she said things were fine, the less convinced I was that it was true.
“Were you worried?” I asked.
“About what?”
“About everything,” I said. “Having the baby. Moving in together. Getting married. Life in general. I think it would be natural to be worried about those things.”
“I guess so,” she said, still looking down at the floor. “I don't know. Desmond said he was taking care of that stuff, so I wasn't really involved. I mean, not having the baby. That was me. But the other stuff was him.”
“Did you guys fight about it?” I asked.
She sighed. “I mean, it's not like we didn't fight. We weren't, like, some perfect couple or anything like that. But I got pregnant and...we needed to do what was best for the baby.” She glanced at the infant. “That was the best thing to do.”
“Was it the best thing for you?” I asked.
Bill cut in. “I'm not sure that's your concern.”
I didn't say anything, waiting for Olivia to respond.
“I needed to do what was best for the baby,” Olivia said. “That's what we decided.”
“You and Desmond?”
“Well...yeah,” she said, glancing quickly at her mother before looking away.
“Okay,” I said. “You said it's not that you and Desmond didn't fight. What did you fight about?”
She leaned back into the sofa. She looked considerably younger, like the weight of everything had shoved her right back into her middle school years. “I don't know. Just...stuff.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“I mean, for a while, things weren't great,” she said. “But I swear. They were better. They really were.”
“I believe you.” I waited, hoping she would say more.
“But there was just a lot of pressure,” she continued. “About everything. And it wore on both of us. I'm sure everything would've been fine. I really think that. I'm not just saying that.” She paused. “But he really hated Sal.”
FIFTEEN
“Who's Sal?” I asked.
“My ex,” Olivia said, her eyes flashing with anger. “He's a total jerk. He was a jerk when we went out and he's still one.”
Sharon raised her eyebrows quickly, as if it was an obvious thing.
“When did you go out with him?” I asked.
“It was like two years ago,” Olivia said. “Before Desmond. Everyone hated him.”
I looked at Bill for confirmation.
“The kid's an asshole,” Bill said.
“Bill,” Sharon said, frowning.
“Well, he is,” her husband said. “I don't know any other way to describe him.”
I looked back to Olivia. “So what did that have to do with you and Desmond? Was he just jealous that an ex existed?”
“That was some of it,” she said. “But he hated that he still called me. And texted me. It's not like I was telling Sal to do that. I'd told him to stop, but