Lynn frowned. “Not so great. As to be expected, I guess. She did recognize me, though. I think she was glad to see me.”
“I’m sure it was a comfort to her to see Chuck’s friends.” I pointed over to the parked car with the woman and asked Lynn if she recognized her. “I saw her inside,” I explained. “She was really upset. Do you know if Chuck had a girlfriend?”
Lynn shook her head. “I’ve been out of touch with Chuck for so long, I really don’t know if he was dating or not. But if she was his girlfriend, then she’s better off with him dead.” She let out a long sigh and added, “Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. It’s just a relief to know that he’ll never hurt me or any other woman again.”
“No, he won’t. His murderer made sure of that.”
She shrugged, the semblance of a small smile playing on the corners of her mouth. Or was I imagining that? Nonetheless, her crassness toward Chuck’s murder bothered me. But I couldn’t tell if she was just relieved he was gone, a natural emotion for someone who’d endured his abuse, or if she was actually happy someone had murdered him. Then there was that little niggling doubt that still lingered in the back of my mind: Lynn’s motive, her lack of an alibi, the nails so conveniently planted in Jodi’s room, which just happened to be right next to hers . . .
“Would it be a problem for you to take me into Dunston?” Lynn asked as I was pulling out of the lot.
I blushed, grateful she couldn’t read my thoughts. “Not at all. Why?”
“When I told Sloan I was going to Chuck’s funeral, she suggested that we get together afterward. We were planning on a quick lunch, then riding together to the expo this afternoon. Would you like to join us?”
“Oh, no thank you. I should use my time to run a couple of errands before I have to be at the Arts Center.” I wanted to pop by Sean’s office and tell him about that book I’d discovered in Oscar’s office. “But I’m happy to drop you wherever you need to go. It’s good that you two are getting to know each other. Dr. Meyers seems like quite the woman.”
Lynn’s face brightened. “She is. You should see all the things she’d done to help women who are struggling to break away from abusive relationships. A couple of years ago, she invested her own money to buy a large house and turn it into a home for women in transition. It’s really a nice place. She showed it to me the other day.”
“Really. Where’s it at? I don’t think I’ve ever seen the place.” We were getting close to the Dunston exit and Trey’s car was handling beautifully, despite the fact that my skills with the clutch were rusty and the slush-sloppy roads weren’t helping.
“In a neighborhood not far from the Dunston Shopping Plaza. It’s a convenient location. Quiet, but close enough to shopping that the women can walk if they want. Many of them don’t have vehicles, or much else for that matter. They’ve usually escaped their situations with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Some of them with their children in tow. It’s tough. Really tough.”
“I really feel sorry for the children,” I said, leaving the highway and struggling to downshift on the exit ramp. “How sad for them to deal with something so horrible, so young.”
Lynn sighed. “I guess that’s one good thing: Chuck and I never had children.” She indicated for me to turn right at the next stoplight. “Sloan’s office is just down this road on the left.” I nodded and pulled into a small lot next to a brick office building. The sign on the outside indicated that it housed several office suites: two dentists, a financial planner, Dr. Meyers’s office, and another familiar name—Rufus Manning Photography. As I put the car into gear, Lynn turned to me and added, “You know, Lila, I was just like those women that Sloan works so hard to help. Down and out, without much confidence or means to support myself. I took a job I hated just to make ends meet. I felt so alone. So lost. At night, I’d make up stories just to escape the misery I was feeling.” She shrugged and offered a faint smile. “I guess writing has always been my happy place.”
I nodded, understanding what she was saying. Reading was my happy place. I found comfort in books, easily getting lost in their pages. During that especially dark time of my life, after discovering Bill’s affair and the ensuing bitter divorce, books were my salvation, the only thing that kept me sane. Well, that and my loving mother.
She went on. “Anyway, the happiest day of my life was when I got that phone call from you saying you wanted to represent me. Without you and Ms. Duke, I’d still be struggling to find my way. To imagine that now I might be able to make a living doing something that means so much to me . . . Well, it’s just beyond my comprehension. It’s like a dream. And I’m almost afraid I’m going to wake up and find out that’s all it was, some sort of silly dream.”