said. Stevens squirmed a little in his seat at the mention of the adoption. Clearly, he had been told not to talk about it.

“It must have been hard when Brianna came back,” Joe said. “A little kid sure does put a damper on your love life.”

“That’s for sure,” Stevens said.

“I know I would have been mad as hell,” Joe said. “It was like being tricked. You didn’t sign up for no little kid.”

“It was messed up,” he agreed.

“You must have told Ashley how hard it was with Brianna around,” Gil said. “We know Brianna cried all the time. That must have really got on your nerves.”

“I did tell her, but she said there was nothing she could do,” Stevens said. “That kid was so spoiled and just screamed whenever she didn’t get what she wanted.” Gil looked over at Joe, knowing that he was protective of Brianna, but he showed no sign of his usual anger.

“I mean,” Stevens continued without prompting, “she was supposed to be fucking adopted, but all of the sudden, she’s back again, like nothing happened. What was I supposed to do?”

“I know what I would do,” Joe said. “I’d tell Ashley it’s either the kid or me.”

“Exactly.”

“So what did Ashley do?” Gil asked a little more quietly, maybe because he was afraid of the answer.

“I dunno,” Stevens said, looking down.

“Do you think it’s possible that Ashley did something to Brianna?” Gil asked.

“I dunno.”

Gil thought of Ashley, only twenty. No job, no money, no education—and the man she loves threatening to leave.

“Alex, do you think it’s possible that Ashley made sure Brianna was gone so you would stay?” Gil asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Maybe.”

Lucy found a deputy who offered to take the woman and her son home while she went in search of Gerald. She hoped he was doing the paperwork so they could get out of there soon. She found him talking to Deputy Segura, who asked, “How are they?” Lucy just shook her head, not knowing how to answer. Instead she asked, “So what’s the deal? How did this happen?”

“Suicide by car,” Segura said.

“What?” Lucy asked. “How is that a good suicide plan?”

“I didn’t know there was such a thing as a good suicide plan,” Gerald said.

“I’m not sure on the details,” Segura said, “but it sounds like she and her boyfriend were up all night drinking and then they got in some big fight. I guess she was always telling him about how she was just going to walk into traffic if he ever left her. Tonight she said something like ‘You’ll be sorry when I’m gone.’ They live in a trailer just down the embankment there.” He gestured over to the left. “She went out for a walk and never came back.”

Joe, starting to get the feel for the interview, said to Alex Stevens, “It takes a lot of love for a woman to choose her man the way Ashley chose you.”

“Yeah,” Stevens said, not sounding convinced.

“You don’t think Ashley loves you?” Gil asked.

“I dunno,” he said. “Sometimes, I know she does. Other times . . . who knows.”

“What makes you think she doesn’t love you?” Joe asked. “She must love you if she’s having your baby.”

“I’m not even sure it’s my kid,” Stevens said, then instantly seemed to regret he’d said anything.

“What do you mean?” Gil asked.

Stevens stopped and leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling, as if he were imploring God to deliver him from this interrogation. He rubbed his eyes and then said suddenly, “Okay, look. I love Ashley, man, but she’s a trip. She’s got issues.” He started bouncing his leg. Gil said nothing. He would let Stevens’s tension do the talking for him. With that much nervous energy, he would eventually have to talk it out. A moment or two later, after some deep breaths, Stevens said, “Just so you know, I’m, like, a normal guy. I like sex and everything.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” Gil said, because it seemed important to Stevens that he be seen as normal.

“Okay, so, things sex-wise with Ashley were always kind of different,” Stevens said, not looking at Gil or Joe. “She just has problems, you know. I try to be understanding of that.”

“What kind of problems?”

“Just, you know . . . okay, like for instance she can’t have sex unless she’s had a few beers,” Stevens said, as if he had just laid something out on the table. Just given up his king of hearts. It was an important card,