Phillip nodded.
“And you have to go to the store for whatever food and drinks you want, Phillip. I’m running on empty, as far as energy goes. I’m going to rummage in the refrigerator for our supper.”
My brother retreated to his room to make his plans, and Robin and I repaired to the kitchen. I searched the refrigerator while Robin went through our mail and checked the messages on his phone. I felt victorious when I unearthed a chicken and rice casserole that wasn’t too old. It would be perfect for tonight. Problem solved.
I went to sit at the island with Robin. I picked up my current book, but I put it down again.
“What’s on your mind?” Robin put down his phone and turned to me.
“I read an article or two about stalking, after my first encounter with Tracy. That doesn’t mean I’m an expert.” I hesitated. “But from what I learned about different kinds of stalkers…” To my surprise, I began crying. “When I saw Tracy on the nanny cam … in Sophie’s room … I was glad she died. I wanted to kill her myself. But you know … she didn’t do anything. She could have killed me or Sophie, or both of us. I was too weak to put up much of a fight. I would have expected her to hurt us, considering the last time she confronted me. And she didn’t.”
Robin put his arms around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. “I’ve thought about that every day,” he said. “Every hour.”
“I will not be grateful to Tracy because she didn’t kill us. That’s crazy.”
“But we have to acknowledge Tracy had had the opportunity to commit terrible acts, and she didn’t take it.”
I nodded against his shoulder. “I think I know why. At least, to me this is a credible reason. She couldn’t harm your child. And Sophie is so much yours. The red hair.”
In quick succession, Robin looked startled, appalled, and pleased. “But the light was out in the nursery,” he objected. “How’d Tracy see it?”
“The turtle night-light. There’s just enough light to see Sophie’s hair color. I think about it every time I go in there at night.”
“Then I protected Sophie after all,” my husband said.
I nodded. After a moment, I said, “Aubrey told me Tracy’s funeral service is tomorrow afternoon.”
“Maybe after that her mother and sister can get back to their lives,” Robin said, but not as if he was really thinking about it.
I wondered if there’d be many people there. I wondered if Tracy had had normal friendships. I wondered if she’d ever held down a regular job.
It was simply weird that at that moment Robin got a call from Cathy Trumble. The conversation started off amiably enough, but Robin suddenly exploded. “You want me to do what?” He listened. “No, absolutely not,” he said. This was a voice I’d seldom heard, and it had never been directed at me.
It seemed like a good time to start heating up supper. Behind me, I heard Robin say, “I don’t see how talking to reporters would make a bit of difference. I don’t have any special knowledge about this. The only relationship I have to Tracy’s death is that it happened in my backyard. You don’t understand how this whole situation makes me feel. The idea is ridiculous.” And Robin hung up. Wow. I decided to go hang out in our room for a few minutes. After all, it was time to pluck my eyebrows.
It wasn’t that I was worried about being in the same room with Robin, far from it. But he had just boiled over, and he needed a minute to settle himself.
Five minutes later, Robin came in the bathroom still fuming. “Cathy wants me to have a press conference to talk about Tracy getting killed here,” he said.
I’d guessed right. “Why?” I tried to sound neutral.
“She thinks that will bring someone out of the woodwork, someone who knows where Tracy was between escaping and dying here. Maybe knows of some enemy Tracy had.”
“That just sounds dumb,” I said. “If she wants to know who Tracy might have turned to, she should film the funeral tomorrow. Someone might pop up there.”
“Good idea,” he said slowly. “I’ll suggest it.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. As he wandered out of the room, I could hear the phone ring over at SPACOLEC. I sighed when I heard Sophie stirring. My heart sank a little. I’d hoped she’d sleep an hour longer.
As I lifted her from the crib, I reminded myself that in another month she would not need to feed nearly as often, she might even consistently sleep through the night, and I’d probably miss that unique alone time with my daughter. Maybe.
“Sophie, your daddy is so smart,” I said to our daughter as I cleaned her little bottom before putting on a dry diaper. “And he listens to me, too. Marry a person who listens to you, my little bunny.”
Sophie looked up at me solemnly, and I was sure she agreed.
Chapter Twenty-four
Overnight, the season changed for good. The temperature dropped, starting early on Saturday night. We turned on the heat, though it didn’t run much. In happy anticipation of her first winter, I got out one of Sophie’s many blankets, and gloated over the adorable white hat with mouse ears my mother had given her for just such weather.
Since I was thinking of my mother, I called her to check in. They’d stayed home from church, too. Mother didn’t want John to be exposed to germs, during his recuperation.
Since John was doing so well, Mother seemed much more like herself. I remembered to tell her about our Thanksgiving plans, and she said Robin’s entire family should come over the night before for a drink and (considering the many children) a buffet supper. This was a generous offer, and I said as much. “But let’s just wait and see how John’s feeling by then,” I suggested. “Not set anything in stone.”
“Subject to change, of course. But he should be just fine in two months.” There was no doubt in Mother’s voice.
I ended the call feeling cheerful and optimistic.
“All we have to do is find out who killed Tracy, and we’ll be right as rain,” I told Sophie as I changed her diaper.
“Did Sophie answer you?” Robin called from our room.
“Just about to, when you scared her off,” I called back. “You have to creep up to hear her. She’ll only talk if she thinks nobody else’s listening.”
Phillip slept until nine, when he bounded from his room to tell us he was going to run a mile and then head over to Josh’s. It was a gray day, so I checked to make sure he was wearing his fluorescent yellow. (He was.) I started to ask him to let me know when he got to Josh’s, but I stopped myself just in time.
“When I get home, can you take me to the store?” he asked. “To get the snacks for tonight?”
“One of us will,” I promised. “You know tomorrow’s a school day, so they can’t stay late?”
“Define ‘late.’”
“Out by ten thirty.”