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I remember at the time being terrified that they might be arguing about me, A
But later, when Jack had stopped her in the corridor, he had given no indication of being angry with her. Instead, he had asked if she was going to visit her mother soon. When A
I was so relieved he hadn’t found out about Gary and me and so tortured over what I knew about the hospital that I wasn’t even curious about what was in the file, A
“A
Startled, A
Molly studied A
There was nothing provocative about this plainly dressed woman across from her. Her hair was short now, and while her face was still pretty, it was somewhat puffy. She was heavier than Molly remembered. But her eyes were lovely, deep brown with dark lashes, although the expression Molly saw in them was one of unhappiness and fear.
She’s afraid of me, Molly thought, amazed that she might have that effect on someone.
The waitress reappeared, friendlier now. A
“Tea with lemon, please,” Molly said.
“And more coffee for me, if it’s not too much trouble,” A
Molly waited until they were alone before she said, “I’m grateful you agreed to meet me. I know this is probably as awkward for you as it is for me, and I promise I won’t keep you too long, but you can help me if you’ll be honest with me.”
A
“When did your relationship with Gary begin?”
“A year before he died. My car wouldn’t start one day, and he gave me a ride home. He came in for a cup of coffee.” A
He was getting ready to hit on her, Molly thought. Was she the first? Probably not. The tenth? she wondered. She’d never know. “Was he involved with any other nurses?”
“None that I knew of, but then I’d only been working at the hospital a few months when I became involved with him. He did stress the need for absolute discretion, which suited me fine. I come from a strict Italian Catholic family, and my mother would have been heartbroken if she’d known I was carrying on with a married man.
“Mrs. Lasch, I want you to know-” A
When the waitress was out of earshot, she continued: “Mrs. Lasch, I want you to know that I absolutely, profoundly regret what happened. I know it destroyed your life. It ended Dr. Lasch’s life. I gave up my baby because I wanted him to have a clean start with people who would give him a happy, two-parent home. Maybe someday, when he’s an adult, he’ll want to see me. If he does, I hope he’ll be able to understand and even forgive me. You may have taken his father’s life, but my actions set this entire tragedy in motion.”
“Your actions?”
“If I hadn’t gotten involved with Dr. Lasch, none of this ever would have happened. If I hadn’t called him at home, you probably would never have known.”
“Why did you call him at home?”
“Well, first of all, he told me that you and he had been discussing divorce, but that he didn’t want you to know there was another woman in the picture. He said it would complicate things for him with the divorce, and it would just make you jealous and vindictive.”
So that’s what my husband was telling his girlfriend about me? Molly thought. He said that we were talking about divorce, and that I was jealous and vindictive? That’s the man I went to prison for killing?
“He said it was just as well that you lost the baby; he said a baby would only have complicated the breakup.”
Molly sat in stu
“But when I told him I was pregnant, he freaked out. Told me to get rid of it. He stopped coming to see me and even ignored me at the hospital. His lawyer phoned and offered a settlement, provided I signed a nondisclosure statement. I called your home because I had to talk to him, and he wouldn’t see me at the hospital. I was desperate; I wanted to discuss with him whether or not he pla
“And I picked up the phone and overheard the call.”
“Yes.”
“Did my husband ever talk about me to you, A
“Yes.”
“Please, tell me what he said. I have to know.”
“I realize now that anything he said to me about you then was because he thought it was what I wanted to hear.”
“I’d still like to know exactly what that was.”
A
A boring Stepford wife, Molly thought. For a moment it seemed to her that she was once more in prison, eating the tasteless food, hearing the click of locks, lying awake for sleepless night after sleepless night.
“As a husband-and as a doctor-he wasn’t worth the price you paid for killing him, Mrs. Lasch,” A
“A
“In my apartment, packing.”
“Was anyone with you at the time?”
A
“Do you know of anyone who might have had a reason to kill him?” Molly could see the startled look in the eyes of the other woman. “A
“No I’m not. I don’t know anything more. Look, I have to go now.” A
Molly reached over and grasped her wrist. “A