Bennie’s eyes flared with credible concern. “DiNunzio, do you need to see a doctor? Do you want me to get an ambulance?”
“Oh no. You mean, the baby’s coming?” Detective Krakoff grimaced in alarm, and Mary nodded in bogus pain.
“I hope not, I doubt it, I’m only seven months, but you never know. I think I need to go home and lie down. Sorry, Bennie, I hope you don’t mind if we go.”
“Not at all.” Bennie rose, picking up their purses. “We can’t take any chances, especially after you were already rushed to the doctor today.”
“I agree, you’re reading my mind.” Mary rose, her hand on her belly, hamming it up. “Detectives, sorry, but I had a medical emergency earlier, well, you don’t need the details, but my doctor said I had to take it easy. And this feels like a contraction.”
Bennie took Mary’s arm. “Detectives, I’m taking Mary home. It’s been a long, hard day. She needs to rest.”
“Of course.” Detective Marks nodded, agitated. “Do you have a ride?”
“The car is outside.” Mary took her purse from Bennie. “Ooh, that hurt! You never know, and I don’t want to have a baby right here. Maybe we could do this another time, Detectives?”
“Anytime, yes.” Detective Krakoff nodded, vaguely flustered.
“Bennie, let’s go.” Mary headed out of the interview room, rubbing her belly.
“Good-bye, Detectives!” Bennie called behind her. “We’ll be in touch.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mary let herself into her house, setting down her purse in the entrance hall and following the soft light emanating from the living room, where she wasn’t surprised to see Anthony asleep on the couch with Judy’s golden retriever curled up on his stocking feet. In contrast, Judy was awake in the chair-and-a-half by the window, looking exhausted and numb.
“Mare, how did it go?” Judy started to get up, but Mary waved her back down.
“Stay put, I’m coming over.” Mary crossed to the chair and kicked off her flats, so her feet could swell to Fred-Flintstone proportions.
“You must be starving. You want a slice? I can heat it up for you.” Judy gestured to the coffee table, which held a cardboard box of pizza, a few bottles of water and soda, and a Greek salad that released the aroma of feta cheese and onions despite its plastic clamshell.
“No thanks, I’m fine.” Mary picked up a bottle of water, twisting off the cap and taking a slug. She wanted to stay hydrated, but she didn’t feel like eating.
“Are you okay? You must be so tired. I’m sorry to put you through this.”
“You’re not putting me through it, honey.” Mary drank more water. “Can we both fit in that chair?”
“You mean, all three of us? Totally.” Judy managed a smile, removing one of the pillows and shifting over to make room for Mary, who squeezed in beside her.
“Cuddly.”
“Right?”
“We need it.”
“We sure do.” Judy dabbed at her eyes, which were bloodshot and swollen. “So what did you find out? They’re not saying anything on the news, just that he was a lawyer and he was murdered.”
“We got the basic facts, but do you want to hear them?”
“Yes.” Judy nodded, sniffling. “I cried all the tears I can cry, at least for now.”
“They don’t have any suspects yet and they won’t tell us if they have any witnesses.” Mary met her best friend’s gaze directly and softened her voice to ease the blow. “They think he interrupted a burglar. His electronics were gone, and he was killed by a blow to the head.”
“Oh no.” Judy moaned, her eyes glistening. “That’s terrible. That’s terrible.”
“That’s all we know. We don’t know anything else, not even who found him or anything like that. We talked to the detectives on the case and we got as much information as we could, for now.”
“No suspects?”
“No, it’s too soon.”
“No witnesses?”
“They won’t say.”
“They don’t even know what time he died?”
“If they do, they’re not telling us.” Mary knew that John’s body would already be at the Medical Examiner’s Office and his autopsy would be scheduled for tomorrow. It usually took a few days to process and release a body, but this wasn’t the time to review those details with Judy. Mary wanted to shift the topic from the gruesome details. “The only bright spot is that I ran into Detective Azzic, who I used to know. He told us what we know and he might be a way to find out more in the future. But that’s it for tonight.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. We tried.” Mary patted her leg. “You know how Bennie is. She cross-examined them.”
“Like she did me, about seeing John.”
“Right.” Mary flashed on Bennie’s question, back in the interview room before the detectives had entered. “She feels bad about that, she told me.”
“She did?”
“Yes,” Mary answered, though it was only partly true. Judy needed the comfort tonight, and Bennie had felt bad about giving Judy a hard time. Plus, a white lie was only a venial sin.
“I know why she said it, I get it. I knew she’d feel that way, that’s why I didn’t tell her. I know it didn’t make it right, but it wasn’t like that, it was…” Judy’s sentence trailed off, and her gaze wandered over to the couch, where Anthony and the dog were sleeping. “It’s just so sad, that’s all, and in any event, it’s the definition of a moot point. John’s gone, so whether he was an associate and I was a partner doesn’t matter at all.”
“I’m so sorry, honey,” Mary said, though she had said it before, many times. She remembered that when she was grieving her first husband, she hadn’t understood why people said I’m sorry, since it wasn’t their fault. But now, she understood. It really meant, I’m sorry this happened to you, and that moment of empathy made us human.
“He was such a sweet guy. I tried to call William’s cell, but there was no answer. They have to turn their cell phones off at night in the group home.”
“How well do you know William?”
“Pretty well. John would go out there, mostly every Sunday, and I went with him lots of times. William saw me more often than his aunt and uncle. His aunt is their mom’s older sister, Susan Hodge. Her husband’s name is Mel.”
“Do you know them?”
“No, never met them. John wasn’t that close to them, and I bet they don’t even know about me.” Judy’s gaze stayed on the couch. “I’m guessing the police were able to reach the Hodges, since they’re next of kin. John was so orderly, he probably has them as the emergency contact for him and for William. So they probably reached William. I guess I’ll leave it to them to tell him, right? They’re family.”
“Right,” Mary said, though her definition of family was changing as she’d gotten older. She had grown closer to Judy and further away from her own twin sister, Angie. Even though Mary had been raised in a family where blood was as thick as tomato sauce, she felt as if Judy were her sister. And she was starting to understand that family was something you weren’t born with, but chose.
“I really am sorry I didn’t tell you about John and me.”
“Don’t worry, I understand.” Mary patted Judy’s leg again. “I know you love me.”
“I do, I really do, and I knew you wouldn’t tell Bennie. It’s just that, it was like we wanted to keep it to ourselves, like, our thing. You know, John and I are so different, were so different, and I just didn’t know how it would be, out in the open. We’re not the likeliest couple. The preppie and the goofball.”
“You’re not a goofball.”
“Well, whatever.” Judy’s gaze returned to the couch. “It’s like we were incubating, you know? I told him that once. I said, ‘Let’s see if we just grow on our own, see what hatches.’ He was fine with that, he didn’t want anybody to know, but honestly, his reason for keeping it secret didn’t have to do with what Bennie would think or anybody else.”
“Then why?”