“Please, Aubrey. Tell me what Griff said.”
He looked like somebody had punched him in the stomach. Over Kate! Aubrey had had three difficult childbirths. Lilly almost died of croup when she was eighteen months old. Logan broke half the bones in his body playing sports, and Viv had been hit in the face with a softball and nearly lost the vision in her left eye. Yet Ethan never had this look on his face till tonight. Your girlfriend’s dead, asshole, happy now? People got what they deserved. Aubrey had the money to kick him out months ago, and instead she’d let him live here while she ironed his shirts and cooked his meals. He’d taken advantage of her generosity, but the party was over.
“Griff said he hadn’t heard from Kate since Thursday night. Where was she? Do you know?” Aubrey said.
“Me? Of course not. Why would I?” Ethan said, but she saw a shadow pass across his eyes.
“You seem awfully broken up given that Kate was my friend.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know! I’m upset, Ethan, okay? Let go of the door. I’ll call you when I can.”
Aubrey hit the garage-door opener and pressed the ignition. When Ethan didn’t let go, she put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas, forcing him to jump aside.
The Belle River police station was housed in a historic brick building in the heart of town, but inside it was bare-bones, government-issue ugly, with linoleum floors and harsh fluorescent lighting. Griff sat in the waiting area, bent over with his head in his hands. Aubrey took the seat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder, but still he didn’t look up.
“Hey,” she said softly. “I’m here, Griff. Are you ready to go?”
He raised his head. His eyes were flat and dead-looking, and he smelled like the bottom of a bottle, but Aubrey didn’t care about any of that. She saw him as he’d been two decades earlier, on the dance floor at Spring Fling, their freshman year. It wasn’t long after that trouble at the old railroad bridge, because Kate was recently departed, and Griff was hurting. He’d just heard from a friend in Paris who’d run into Kate in Saint-Germain-des-Prés at two o’clock in the morning, riding on the back of some guy’s motorcycle. Kate had said to tell Griff hi, and he couldn’t stop talking about what that meant. Was Kate thinking about him? Was she sad to be so far away from school? Doesn’t sound like it, Aubrey thought to herself, and, Honey, she dumped you already, you just don’t know it yet. But in Griff’s eyes, he and Kate were on separate continents against their will, torn apart by the vagaries of fate. Aubrey let him talk for as long as he needed to. Griff looked amazing that night, in a cream-colored jacket that set off his tan and his sun-kissed hair. They slow-danced, and he buried his face against Aubrey’s neck. Later, they went back to his room. Yes, comforting Griff had always been sweet. And now she’d have a chance to do some more of it.
“They found Kate’s body down by the river,” he said.
“The river? My God.”
“I didn’t see her in person. They took her to some facility to do an autopsy. They had me look at pictures for the identification.”
“That’s awful. I am so sorry, sweetheart.”
“Aubrey, it didn’t even look like her. Her face was this strange color, like—”
He put his head down and started to cry. Aubrey rubbed his back for a few minutes, then, getting impatient with the hard plastic chair, took his hands in hers. Griff’s hands were freezing cold, so she rubbed them.
“Hey,” she said. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I want to help. Let me take you home, all right? I’m gonna get you a hot shower, a cup of herbal tea, and put you to bed. My car is outside.”
Griff wiped his eyes with his coat sleeve. “There’s no way I could sleep tonight.”
“I understand. But let’s get you out of here anyway. Unless—I’m assuming you’re free to leave?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I didn’t mean anything by that. Just wondering if there are any more formalities.”
“No. They wanted to interview me. But I refused to talk to them. After what happened to my dad, I thought I should consult someone first. Do you think that was a mistake?”
“Oh, gosh. I’m not the one to ask about legal stuff.”
A woman with bright-red hair sitting behind the courtesy desk was watching them with a little too much interest.
“Let’s talk about this in the car, Griff,” Aubrey said firmly. “Come on.”
Darkness had fallen early, and with a northern ferocity. The sky was black and full of stars, and the temperature hovered around freezing. Aubrey breathed deep and felt clean, cold air rush into her lungs. Griff, wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, hugged himself and shivered.
“You didn’t bring a coat?” Aubrey said.
“The cops came to the house to tell me that they found her. They said to come downtown so I just walked out. I wasn’t thinking.”
“The heat takes a second to come on,” Aubrey said, once they were in the car.
Griff huddled against the passenger door. Aubrey wanted to be a supportive friend, but now that they were away from prying eyes, she couldn’t hold her tongue.
“What did the police say, Griff? What do they think? Do they think she killed herself?”
“Please.” He raised his hands to his face as if to protect himself from her words.
“No, but really. They must have some explanation. Some theory. They don’t think someone killed her?”
“Aubrey.”
“We were supposed to have dinner Friday night. I think you knew that. Just us girls, for her birthday. But she never showed up. Did you see her that night? Did she say anything that made you think something was wrong?”
“Would you shut up?” he cried, making her flinch.
She would hate for this intimate feeling between them to be spoiled over something stupid like when Griff saw Kate last, or what he knew about her death. After a moment, Aubrey recovered, and patted his knee reassuringly.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. This isn’t the time. It’s just—I’m in shock. I know you are, too.”
They fell silent. Aubrey pulled out of the parking spot. As usual, there was no traffic downtown—there never was, after six thirty or so. The stoplight at the corner of Briggs Street had been turned to blinking yellow, so Aubrey didn’t even have to stop. The right turn onto Faculty Row came up so fast that she nearly missed it.
“I forgot how close to town you live,” she said.
Griff nodded miserably. Aubrey pulled up in front of his house.
“We’re here,” she said.
The lights were off inside the ugly brown house, and it loomed over the street, hulking in the darkness. When Aubrey opened her door, cold air rushed in, pushing out the warm air from the heater. Griff shrank back into his seat.
“Aren’t you coming?” she said.