a very short note and attached, the final study that Isaac Driscoll had worked on at Rayform. Mark scrolled through it. It was a study on the incidence of incarceration in inmates raised by single mothers. There were lots of stats and graphs, none of which seemed to make a good case for single motherhood—though Mark knew that in any good psychological study, other variables needed to be accounted for, or at least mentioned as contributing factors. The study did that, naming low income, gun and gang violence in the area where the inmate grew up, and things of that nature. It painted a bleak picture, and Mark realized that it was mostly because the piece of work simply offered numbers and stats—not solutions. Which, of course, was what studies were meant to do. They weren’t designed to solve problems, simply identify them. He could see why Isaac Driscoll, or anyone working in that field for that matter, might become cynical about society after performing such studies year after year.
His door creaked open, and his wife peeked around it, her smile hesitant. He sat back in his chair, offering her one in return. “I made lunch if you’re hungry.”
Mark ran a hand through his hair. “Thanks. I’m kind of involved in this though. Will you set some aside for me?”
He didn’t miss the minute drop in her smile, but he also didn’t acknowledge it. The truth was, he’d gotten lost in his work, lost in the puzzle of the case in front of him, and he craved it. God, he craved it. An escape that wasn’t only for him, but for two dead people counting on him for answers. Is that how you’re justifying it, Gallagher? He heard his inner voice whisper the question but pushed it aside. Maybe it was a justification, but it was also true.
“Need any help?” Her smile grew, but he could see the nervousness in her eyes. He knew her. He still did, he realized. Knew her expressions and her body language. What had changed was his desire to respond to what he knew she was asking for. Inclusion. But he had gone to her for the same thing, during moments when she had been the one unwilling to let him in. It felt like they just kept missing each other emotionally. He had to focus, though. In the past, she’d been his sounding board, the person he bounced ideas off if he was stuck, the person who’d helped him so many times when he couldn’t connect A to B. Now, having her around would distract rather than assist him.
It will take time. He kept telling himself that and somehow it kept ringing hollow, but he didn’t know what else to hope for. “No, thanks. Not on this one. I’ll be out soon.”
Her smile did slip then, but she nodded and turned, closing the door softly behind her. He released a breath, massaging his temples, trying to move his mind back to the case.
But his focus was gone, at least for the moment. As he was closing the study Dr. Swift had sent him, he made note of not only Isaac Driscoll’s name, but his assistant who had worked on the study: Kyle Holbrook.
He put in a call to Rayform and found that the man was still listed on the directory, but his voicemail picked up when Mark dialed it. He left a message and then tapped his pen on the desk, the smell of grilled cheese and tomato soup drifting under his door, as he sat staring at the wall.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The snow sparkled under the silver-gray sky, fat flakes floating down and melting on Jak’s skin as he slid across the open field. The long flat shoes he’d put together, made it easier to walk over the ice-crusty ground without sinking into the soft fluffy snow beneath. He wished he’d thought of making something like these a long time ago. But, how could he? He learned the best he could as he went along, figuring new and better ways to survive. These shoes weren’t a . . . what was the word? He didn’t need to have them, but they were nice to have.
His mind drifted, the words of the woman in the picture going around in his head. He talked to her sometimes, asked her questions, tried to guess what her answers would be.
Sometimes, like today, when his mind wanted to drift from the cold of winter, he’d say the words that brought