She released her grip, managed to look me in the eye. “Your uncle and I have . . . we’ve had some issues. I know sometimes I lord it over your mother about how I chose a career and she chose to make her career in the home . . . and I’m sorry about that. I know there are times you must all think I’m a total . . .”
Agnes almost smiled. “I was about to say control freak, but I can’t help but wonder what word you thought I was going to say.”
I wasn’t about to share.
“Anyway, what I’m saying is, for all I may have achieved in the working world, your mother has it all over me in the marriage department. What I’d give for a man like Don. Someone who’s there for you, who you can trust.”
“What are you trying to say, Agnes?”
“I don’t know any other way to say this.” She let out a long breath. “Gill doesn’t always come home at night, if you get my understanding. And when you start asking questions, maybe someone’s going to tell you that. If they do, I’d be grateful if you could keep it to yourself.”
“Whatever’s going on between you and Gill is none of my business,” I said. “I’m sorry you two are having problems.”
She grimaced. “It is what it is. Let me know what you find out. Not just about Gill, but anything else. Good or bad. I’m wondering whether I need to hire a private detective for this. That’s not to diminish what you’ll be able to do, but if you think I need to bring someone else in, you tell me.”
“I will. There is something I’d like to ask you right now.” Agnes blinked, surprised, maybe, that I was already at this stage.
“Go ahead.”
“Tell me about Dr. Sturgess,” I said.
“Jack?” Agnes said. “What about him?”
“I just . . . What’s your take on him?”
Agnes shrugged. “On a personal level, he’s been our GP for years. For the last ten, I think. And professionally, I have the utmost confidence in him. He’s on the board at the hospital. He’s someone whose opinion I value in a number of areas.” She eyed me with concern. “This is about what happened when Marla was having the baby.”
“Well—”
“David, I was there. That man—that man and I—did everything we could to save that baby. It was the worst moment of my entire life, let me tell you. There’s not a minute of any day since then that I haven’t thought about what happened. If there’s anyone to blame for what happened, it’s me. I should never have insisted Marla give birth anywhere but the hospital. We were in the midst of that outbreak and—”
“I’m not talking about that,” I said.
She was taken aback. “What, then?”
“At the hospital last night, when I said I was going to help Marla by asking around, he tried to talk me out of it. Belittled the effort.”
“He had no business doing that,” Agnes said. “Why would he try to stop you?”
“I don’t know. There’s another thing.”
Agnes waited.
“He’s also the GP for the Gaynor family.”
Agnes’s mouth opened half an inch in what clearly looked like astonishment. “Are you sure about that?”
I nodded. “He told me. He was cautioning me against talking to Bill Gaynor. Said the man wouldn’t be up to it. So he must have known Rosemary Gaynor. Has he mentioned that to you?”
“I don’t . . . I’m not sure.”
“You’d think, in the last twenty-four hours, that it might have come up,” I said.
Agnes considered this. “You would, wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah. Regardless of what Marla did or didn’t do, there has to be some kind of connection between her and the Gaynors. There may be several out there we don’t know about, but one that we know for certain is, their family doctor is Jack Sturgess.”
“Thank you for this, David,” she said quietly. “Thank you very much.” Her face hardened. “If that son of a bitch has been anything less than honest with me, I’ll haul him into the operating room and cut his nuts off myself.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
MARSHALL did not go to the ATM for money for Sarita Gomez.
Once he was a few blocks from his home, he pulled into the lot of a McDonald’s and got out his phone. He entered a number, put the phone to his ear, and waited.
There were four rings. Then a pickup.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mr. Gaynor?”
“Who is this? If you’re some goddamn reporter I have nothing to say.”
“Is this Bill Gaynor or not? Because I’m telling you right now, you better not fuck around with me. Because if you do, you’re going to be pretty goddamn sorry.”
Dead air. Then: “Yes, this is Bill Gaynor.”
“That’s good. Now we’re starting off on a good foot here.”
“Who is this?” Gaynor asked. “Tell me who this is or I’m hanging up right now.”
“Now we’re starting off bad again. I’m going to talk, and you’re going to listen. Okay? Trust me; it’s in your interests.”
“What do you want?”
“What do I want? I want to do you a favor, that’s what I want. I’m trying to be a good citizen here by keeping quiet about things I know. Things that if they came out could cause you a fucking boatload of trouble.”
“I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Gaynor said, but his voice lacked confidence.