Chapter 5 - THE WEEK BEFORE EMILY “DIED”I had spoken to Emily forty-three minutes before she disappeared.
That fact became a weapon against me inside my own head.
Thursday.
8:17 p.m.
She called.
I was packing for a two-day conference in Boston.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
The universal sister lie.
“Emily.”
She exhaled.
“Can I stay with you this weekend?”
That surprised me.
“With Noah?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
Silence.
“Does Richard know?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“He’s lying about something.”
“What?”
“Money. Work. I don’t know.”
Richard owned a residential construction company called Hale Renovation Group.
Twenty-six employees.
Kitchen additions.
Historic restorations.
High-end residential work.
He had done well.
Emily handled some bookkeeping before Noah was born but stopped after returning to teaching part-time.
She said:
“I found invoices with jobs I don’t recognize.”
“Ask him.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“He said I’m snooping.”
Another silence.
Then:
“Claire, if I come over, don’t tell Mom Hale.”
Meaning Margaret.
“Why?”
“She tells him everything.”
I should have asked more.
Instead I looked at the clock.
Conference packing.
Laundry.
Flight.
My own stupid life.
“Come tomorrow after school.”
“Okay.”
“Are you safe tonight?”
Pause.
“Yes.”
That pause.
I heard it.
I accepted the word.
By morning, Emily’s phone was off.
Richard told me she had driven out after an argument.
By afternoon, he claimed a Maryland trooper had contacted him about an accident.
Two days later, he produced the death documents.
I was shocked enough to stop asking the questions Emily had begun.
That was my failure.
May you like
Not causing what happened.
Failing to stay curious.
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