Page 80 of The Couple's Secret
“Did she abandon you?” Josie asked. “Is that what you believe?”
“That’s what happened.”
“You have a lot of photos of your mom on display in your home, considering that,” Josie pointed out.
“Yeah, well, what few memories I have of her are happy ones even if they’re only fragments, too. Riley thought I should hold onto those. She said I might find my way to forgiveness if I saw those happy memories every day.” He swiped at a tear trapped in his eyelashes. “Is this really necessary? ’Cause I’ve got shit to do.”
Gretchen watched him carefully. “Is there a man named Victor in any of your flashes?”
His hands stilled on the end of the church pew. “I don’t remember a guy. That’s what everyone told me. That I said she went with some guy named Victor, but I don’t remember any guy. Never have. But again, I was three.”
“Do you remember Hollis being there?” Josie asked.
“What?” He shot them a look that conveyed incredulity and disgust in equal measure. “God, you people are relentless. No. I don’t remember Hollis being there.”
“How about Tobias?”
He dropped his chin to his chest and took a deep breath. “If my dad had been there, I wouldn’t remember feeling hungry and scared.”
It was hard to distinguish all the different noises produced on the junk removal lot from the sound of thunder, but Josie was positive she’d heard it this time. “That doesn’t answer the question.”
Jackson slid the church pew toward him and hefted it up, placing it with the other items just inside the bay. “No, I don’t remember my dad being there. I told you. I remember my mom’s face. Feeling hungry and scared. That’s it. Are we done here?”
“What do you remember about the day Zane’s mom died?”
Avoiding their gazes, he leaned into the truck bed and pulled a cardboard box toward him. “Are we going to do this for every person I’ve ever known who died? Don’t know if you noticed, but rain’s coming. I want to get this shit inside.”
“Let’s just stick with Gabrielle for now,” Josie said. “You were twelve years old when she passed away. We’ve looked at the reports. You and Zane were there when your dad got home and found her unresponsive in the kitchen. Do you remember that?”
He grabbed another box. “I remember that she picked us up from school. When we got home, we had a snack and then Zane wanted to play out back but he was only five so she told me to go with him. He had a T-ball set. We whacked balls around the yard.”
“When you heard her talking with someone, did you go back to the house to check it out?” Gretchen asked.
“No, I—” He stilled again. “There is no point in bringing this shit up, you know. No point. It’s done. Nothing is going to bring her back. Nothing will bring any of them back.”
“Jackson,” Josie said. “We reviewed Gabrielle’s autopsy report. There were some findings that were overlooked back then that cast doubt on the medical examiner’s conclusion that she died of cardiac arrest.”
Turning toward them, he fisted his hands at his sides. “What are you saying?”
Another cold gust of air slapped them. Josie pushed her hair out of her face. “There was someone else there the day that Gabrielle died, wasn’t there?”
He didn’t answer but behind his eyes was a maelstrom of emotion.
Gretchen stepped closer and leaned in, forcing him to look at her. “Jackson.”
“There was a man there that day, wasn’t there?” Josie pressed. “You heard him, didn’t you?”
Still no response other than his eyes darkening like the clouds above their heads.
“Gabrielle was arguing with him, wasn’t she? Is that why you didn’t go back into the house?”
His jaw worked. “Zane would have followed me,” he finally said. “He was up my ass back then. Everywhere I went, he was there. Yes, there was arguing. I don’t know what about. Or I don’t remember. It’s fuzzy. Always has been. I just knew that he’d get scared if he heard it. He hated when they argued.”
“Your dad and Gabrielle?” Josie asked.
“Toward the end, yeah. It always made Zane cry and then he’d be in my bed for a week, all freaked out.”
“Who was Gabrielle arguing with that day?” asked Gretchen.
