Cast into Doubt

SIXTEEN

Once seated in her car, Shelby had tried calling Glen at Talia’s. Talia informed her that Glen had left again. Shelby knew from long experience that it was impossible to call Glen. He bought prepaid cell phones from time to time, but she never had his number. Talia did not ask what she wanted with Glen, or offer to help. Shelby wouldn’t have asked for her sister’s help anyway. She felt as if there was no one in the world she could talk to. No one who would understand.

She drove home to her apartment. Her hand was shaking so hard as she tried to unlock the door that her keys made a jangling noise. A door opened down the hall and a woman poked her head out. She frowned. ‘Shelby.’

Shelby looked. ‘Hi Jen,’ she said weakly.

‘You look terrible. What’s the matter?’

Shelby sighed. ‘It’s a long story.’

‘How about coming over for some dinner tonight,’ Jennifer said. ‘I’m going to try this new recipe and it makes enough for six people.’

Shelby almost said no, but then stopped herself. ‘Thanks,’ she said humbly. ‘That would be great.’

She let herself in to the silent apartment, unpacked her bag, and ran herself a bath. After a long soak, she got dressed and went to her desk. The photos that Perry had forwarded to her in a file were on her computer. She began to go through them, searching in vain for a face she might recognize. She studied them until her neck ached and her lower back was cramped, and it was time for dinner.

She went gratefully down the hall to Jen’s apartment, where she had a glass of wine, a complicated veal dish, and forced herself, no matter how Jen urged her to explain, to avoid talking about Chloe, Jeremy, or her son-in-law. Jen agreeably took up the slack, recounting her problems with a Main Line homeowner who wanted the best of everything and didn’t want to pay for it. Shelby felt herself relaxing a little bit, just by being away from her own problems for an hour or two.

As she walked back into her apartment she heard the phone ringing. The message had just picked up, and she heard a breathless, frightened voice speaking to the voice mail.

‘Shelby? This is Darcie.’

Darcie, she thought? Jeremy’s teacher?

‘I’m sorry to bother you but the police just called . . .’

Shelby grabbed up the phone. ‘Darcie,’ she said. ‘It’s me. I’m here. What happened? What’s going on?’

Darcie swallowed hard, and when she spoke, her voice was shaking. ‘I’m at Rob’s house. He asked me to come over and babysit Jeremy tonight. He said he had to go somewhere. So I came over. When I got there Jeremy was already in bed, asleep—’

‘Darcie, is it Jeremy?’ Shelby cried impatiently. ‘Has something happened to my grandson?’

‘No, not Jeremy,’ Darcie said miserably. ‘It’s Rob. The police just called. Rob’s been in a terrible accident. He’s at Dillworth Memorial.’

‘Is he going to be all right?’ Shelby demanded.

‘I don’t know. They wouldn’t say too much because I’m not related to him. But apparently it’s not good.’

‘Oh my God. All right. I’m going to go over there,’ said Shelby. ‘Can you stay there with Jeremy a while longer?’

‘Yes, of course,’ said Darcie. ‘As long as you need me.’

‘Whatever you do, don’t wake him up,’ Shelby said. ‘Let him sleep. He’s had too many shocks already. I’ll come over there as soon as I find out what is going on at the hospital and stay with Jeremy. But I don’t want him to hear this until I’m there with him.’

‘I understand,’ said Darcie. ‘Just let me know, OK?’

‘I will,’ said Shelby. ‘As soon as I know.’

Shelby wove through the nighttime city traffic and arrived at Dillworth Memorial in record time. She parked haphazardly and rushed inside. As Shelby burst through the sliding doors into the subdued chaos of the hospital’s emergency room, she realized that, in her haste to get here, she had committed a terrible oversight. Rob had more than one child. Molly needed to be told. Shelby pulled out her phone, ready to call, and then decided to wait, just until she had a little more information. She asked the receptionist where to find her son-in-law, and ran down the hall to the room where she had been directed.

Three uniformed policemen were conferring outside the room with an older man in a neat jacket and tie. They all looked up at her suspiciously as she approached.

‘I’m looking for Rob Kendricks,’ she said.

‘He’s in surgery,’ said one of the uniformed cops. ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m his mother-in-law. My name is Shelby Sloan. What happened?’

‘His mother-in-law?’ the officer asked skeptically.

‘I’m his closest relation, I guess. His parents are missionaries in Southeast Asia. His wife, my daughter, just . . . she died recently. Will someone please tell me what happened?’

The man in the jacket and tie peered at Shelby. ‘I’m Detective Camillo. How did you find out about this?’

‘My grandson’s babysitter called me after you called the house. I almost missed the call. I was having dinner with a friend.’

‘Your friend will confirm that?’ said Detective Camillo.

Shelby felt something tighten in her chest. ‘Yes, of course.’

‘What’s his name?’

‘Whose? My friend’s?’

Camillo nodded.

‘Her name is Jennifer Brandon. Why? What is going on?’

The detective exchanged a glance with one of the uniformed cops, who immediately turned away and began to make a call on his radio. Detective Camillo, whey-faced with dark circles under his eyes, looked back at Shelby. ‘Your son-in-law was driving on the Schuylkill Expressway tonight. His pick-up truck was forced off the road and flipped over.’

‘Oh my God.’

‘He was ejected from the vehicle. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt.’

‘I can’t believe this. I hate that road. Everybody speeds on it,’ said Shelby. ‘With all those huge trucks it’s taking your life in your hands just to drive on it . . .’

Camillo shook his head. ‘So far, we don’t know what kind of vehicle it was. We’re investigating that. It was dark, so the witnesses didn’t see the plates or the make of the car. But we know it wasn’t a truck. And we know it wasn’t an accident.’

Shelby stared at him. ‘It wasn’t . . . What do you mean?’

‘I mean,’ said the detective. ‘It was deliberate. Your son-in-law was forced off the road deliberately.’

Shelby shook her head, uncomprehending.

‘It might have been road rage. Maybe he had a bumper sticker some idiot didn’t like. It could be anything these days. Everybody’s got their middle finger permanently at the ready.’ Detective Camillo shook his head. ‘Nothing surprises me anymore. There’s no civility left. None at all.’

‘Deliberate,’ said Shelby.

Camillo shrugged. ‘We need to know where he was immediately before this took place. He might have been in an argument with someone. At a bar or club, or whatever. Do you know where he went tonight?’

Shelby shook her head.

‘You’re looking a little green, ma’am.’

‘I need to sit down,’ said Shelby.

One of the officers stepped aside and offered her the chair behind him. Shelby sank down into it, trembling.

A doctor emerged from the nearby room and pulled his cap off his head. He spoke to the detectives, and then, when they pointed Shelby out to him, he came over to her.

Shelby looked up at him. ‘How is he?’

‘He has a lot of internal injuries.’

‘But he’ll be all right?’

‘Well, I hope so. But, if there’s any other family, you might want to get in touch with them,’ he said.

‘Is . . .’ Shelby tried to wet her lips with her tongue. ‘Is he . . . ?’

‘Just a precaution.’

Shelby pulled out her phone and stared at it. She could still see Rob’s angry eyes as he threw her out, furious that she had hired a detective to investigate Chloe’s death. And now, someone had tried to kill Rob. Road rage? An accident? She had heard what the detective said, but what were the chances that it was all a coincidence? First Rob’s wife. Now Rob. Both victims in such a short time. She wanted to call Perry and tell him. Ask him what he thought. But first, Molly. And Rob’s parents. The church would know how to get in touch with them. She would call the church. First, Molly. She thought of calling Molly’s cell phone, but then she decided, as she looked up her address book, to call Lianna instead. This was news that Molly needed to hear from her mother.