“What are you getting at?”
“What I’m getting at, Natalie, is that it doesn’t feel good to be the object of scorn and innuendo. This is my family too, and I’m going to keep it together no matter what. So don’t try to leave me. It won’t work out well for you. I’m not the one who can’t sleep, who’s seeing things, acting irrationally. A judge might not look on that too favorably.”
Natalie felt a sputter of fear. She had heard him loud and clear. He hadn’t made a demand of her. No, he had made a threat.
Natalie spent the night on the trundle bed in her daughter’s bedroom. The next morning, Michael gave her a tender kiss on her cheek on his way out the door.
“I’m sorry about last night,” he said with sincerity. “I know it’s been a lot on you … our marital stress, the sleep troubles, all that. But believe me, I’m on your side, not in your way. We’re a team, and we need to stay a team for the sake of our kids, for all we’ve built together, my love for you … we need to ride this out and find a way to come back together.”
Natalie heard a different message: keep quiet, soldier on, and this too shall pass.
Dead Audrey flashed in her mind. Both she and Michael had motive, method, and opportunity.
Michael was sending her a second message, she realized: they were in it together now.
“I love you, Natalie,” he said, looking her in the eyes. She felt his words, his love, and wanted to cry.
* * *
The La Hacienda waitress took their food and drink orders. Unfortunately, Natalie’s order didn’t include a margarita this time, because Sarah had warned her that she’d want to be clearheaded for what she was about to hear.
“I guess I should start with my database search,” Sarah began.
Bright mariachi music played in the background, in sharp contrast to the somber expression on Sarah’s face.
“Natalie—” Sarah paused, collecting her thoughts. “This is going to be difficult for you to hear. I think there may be much more going on with Michael than a case of infidelity.”
What little appetite Natalie had brought to the restaurant vanished entirely. A chip dipped in fresh guacamole lay on her plate, untouched. She had a good idea where this conversation was headed. Judging by Tina’s taut expression and knowing glance, her friend must have been thinking along the same lines. Audrey Adler.
The look Sarah sent Natalie was partly empathic, partly something Natalie couldn’t decipher, which put her on guard. In the back of her mind lurked a gnawing fear that she hadn’t been so perfect in erasing all evidence of her short visit to Audrey’s home.
Worst-case scenarios flittered in and out of Natalie’s thoughts as Sarah pulled out a manila folder thick with papers and set it on the table next to the basket of chips.
“I’ve uncovered evidence suggesting your husband was involved with Audrey Adler.”
Natalie was careful not to let her face reveal that she’d already known about the link between Audrey and her husband—and Tina followed suit.
“Michael was with Audrey?” Natalie said incredulously.
“Well, I can’t say for certain what type of relationship they had,” Sarah answered. “But they were definitely in communication. Take a look. Here’s the first message she sent him.”
Sarah removed the top sheet of paper from the manila folder. She handed it to Natalie, who quickly read the message from Audrey to Michael. It was short and to the point.
We need to talk. You know what it’s about.
Natalie noticed the date and time stamp on Audrey’s email—not long after Natalie had shown her Michael’s picture, and around the time she had shown him Audrey’s.
“Is there more?” Natalie asked in a strained whisper before handing Tina the correspondence to read for herself.
“A little, yes,” said Sarah. “But Natalie, you know that I’m a trained investigator. You must have realized I’d find out that Audrey had reported you to HR for stalking, and that you’d accused her of having an affair with your husband. Why didn’t you bring up Audrey’s name at our initial meeting?”
Natalie froze, but said a silent thank you when Tina came to her rescue.
“We didn’t want to cloud your work with any confirmation bias,” Tina said. “It was only our suspicion. We thought it might come to this, that Michael and Audrey were seeing each other, but it’s still a real shock to have the proof.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not the only shock you’re going to get today,” Sarah said.
Natalie returned a grimace. “Please tell me there aren’t pictures of the two of them in compromising positions,” she said.
“Worse,” said Sarah without a smile. “Much worse, in fact. But before we get to that, I should show you Michael’s response back to Audrey.”
Natalie examined the next page in Sarah’s stack, an email from Michael back to Audrey.
Don’t email me. Not safe. Use Telegram.
His email contained a link.
“What’s Telegram?” asked Natalie.
“It’s a cloud-based instant messaging app,” Sarah said. “You can have messages purged from the system, so it gives users a way to auto-delete their communications without having to remember to do it for themselves. Unfortunately, I suspect Michael suggested they use that app because it’s not his first affair—if that’s what this is. He knew how to stay in the shadows.”
The waitress returned to fill their water glasses, sparing Natalie from having to respond immediately. A second waitress arrived carrying their entrees. Natalie’s was a plate of tacos that she knew she couldn’t eat.
“Is there more?”
A shiver began working its way up Natalie’s spine.
“There are no more messages between them,” said Sarah. “I guess because they stopped using our corporate email server and likely switched to Telegram.”
Judging by Sarah’s expression, Natalie was fairly certain where this conversation was headed: that the police now had eyes on Michael as their prime suspect in Audrey’s murder. Natalie could think of no other reason why Sarah would tell her to prepare for the worst.
“You should know that I’ve given what I found to the Medford police, and they said they’ll take it from here,” said Sarah, as if reading Natalie’s thoughts.
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” said Tina. “Do you think he might be connected to Audrey’s murder?”
“Well, that’s a leap, but I think the police need all the information that’s available.”
“There’s got to be a mistake,” Natalie said softly, almost as an aside. “It can’t be true.” She was stunned at how easily the lie came out, and even more so at how convincing she sounded. “It just doesn’t make any sense. Michael has never been in trouble before.”
Sarah cocked her head slightly, a grimace showing. “I’m not so sure that’s true,” she replied.