deal out of it. Saying I stood to gain financially from the death of my wife.’
‘When did she say that? You never mentioned this before.’
He realizes he has made a misstep, and curses inwardly. ‘I – I forgot to mention it.’
Stephanie looks back at him, saying nothing for a moment. Then she asks, ‘Did the police – the sheriff or whatever – know about the insurance?’
He shakes his head. ‘No, I don’t think so. It never came up at the time. They never asked and I – I didn’t even think of it. My wife was dead. I was in shock.’ After a moment he adds, ‘But I don’t think it’s something we really need to worry about. It’s perfectly legitimate to have life insurance once you have a family. I mean – it’s stupid not to.’
CHAPTER TWENTY
THE NEXT MORNING, after a particularly difficult night with the twins, Stephanie is completely drained, moving like a zombie around the kitchen. She finds herself reaching to put the milk into the cupboard instead of the fridge and shakes her head at herself. She has to get more sleep. She can barely function. And emotionally, she’s a wreck. Even when she does finally get to bed, she’s sleeping badly, a bundle of nerves.
She kisses her husband goodbye when he leaves for work, the same as she always does. But this morning she turns her eyes away – because she’s keeping a secret from him. In a little while, she’s going to put the babies in the car and drive to the bank and try to find out what’s in the safety deposit box.
Whatever he’s keeping from her, she must know what it is. She will find out, and she will confront him. Tonight.
She gets the twins ready. She checks that the double buggy is in the boot, puts the twins in the playpen, dressed and ready to go, and then goes upstairs to the office. She kneels down, pulls open the drawer and reaches in for the hidden key. Once she has it in hand, it suddenly occurs to her that Patrick might not have the safety deposit box at their bank. If he wanted to keep it from her, he would probably choose a different bank.
She makes her way back downstairs. The babies start to fuss, but she ignores them.
She calls the bank from the kitchen phone, a finger over one ear to muffle the sound of the babies’ crying. When she’s put through, she asks to speak to the manager.
‘Yes, what can I do for you today?’ the manager asks.
‘I’ve been trying to reach my husband to ask him, but he’s in meetings all day. Can you tell me, has he been in to our safety deposit box yet this morning? He was supposed to get me some documents. His name is Patrick Kilgour.’
‘Hang on a sec.’
Stephanie waits at the end of the line, her heart pounding.
She hears the manager come back on the line, sounding puzzled. ‘I’m sorry, we don’t have a safety deposit box here for a Patrick Kilgour. Maybe it’s at another bank?’
‘Oh, of course,’ she says. ‘My mistake. Sorry to bother you.’ She quickly hangs up the phone. She stands in the kitchen, the babies wailing now from the living room, her hand still on the phone, trying to breathe.
When Patrick arrives at the office, Niall says he needs to speak to him. Patrick’s anxiety spikes. What if Niall knows what’s going on? What might Erica have told him? He’s still hoping that somehow he can make Erica go away. But if Erica’s already told Niall …
‘Come into my office,’ Niall says, his quiet voice relaying concern.
Patrick enters the other man’s office, slumps, exhausted and uptight, into a chair.
‘How are things going at home?’ Niall begins.
Patrick feels a slow spreading of relief. Maybe this isn’t about Erica, then. Maybe this will just be the same old conversation. At that, he feels a stab of annoyance. Niall already knows how things are at home. They’re bloody difficult with the twins, and so little sleep. He takes a deep breath. ‘No better,’ he admits. ‘If the twins don’t get over the colic soon, I think we’re both going to lose our minds.’
Niall purses his lips tightly. ‘I’m sorry,’ he says simply. Then he says, ‘I’ve been looking at the cost overruns on the Melnyk project.’
‘I know. I’m doing my best,’ Patrick says defensively.
Niall studies the top of his desk and says, ‘Kerri tells me that you cancelled an appointment