The Stranger

No choice now. He would have to be more proactive.

Adam lowered his mouth toward the gun hand. He opened wide and bit down like a rabid dog on the inside of the man’s wrist. The gunman howled. Adam held on with his teeth and twisted hard, ripping the thin skin.

The gun fell from the man’s hand.

Adam dove for it like a drowning man after a life preserver. His hand clasped around the weapon as he felt the man punch him yet again.

But the punch was too little too late. The gun was Adam’s now.

The gunman jumped onto Adam’s back. Adam rolled backward toward him, swinging his gun in a big arc. The butt of the Sig Sauer landed on the man’s already broken nose.

Adam stood up, pointed the gun down at the man, and said, “What did you do to my wife?”

Chapter 54

Thirty seconds later, the cops were there.

They were local guys. Joha

But not quite yet.

Adam dealt with the police. It took some time. That was okay. He could plan as he talked to them. He kept his tone even. He answered all their questions. He answered them in his best attorney voice. He followed his own lawyerly advice: Only answer what is asked.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Joha

Adam nodded as she spoke. He accepted treatment from an EMT, but he refused to go to the hospital. The EMT wasn’t happy about that, but there wasn’t much he could do. When they were winding down, Joha

“You need to see a doctor.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“The cops will want to ask you more questions in the morning.”

“I know.”

“There’ll be a ton of media too,” Joha

“Yeah, I know that too.” Adam checked his watch. “I better go. I called the boys, but they’ll be a wreck until I get home.”

“I’ll give you a ride, unless you want the police to take you.”

“No, that’s okay,” Adam said. “My car is here.”

“They won’t let you take it. It’s evidence.”

He hadn’t thought of that.

“Hop in,” Joha

They were quiet for a while. Adam fiddled with his phone for a bit, typing out an e-mail. Then he sat back. The EMT had given him something for the pain. It was making him feel groggy. He closed his eyes.

“Just rest,” Joha

He would, but he knew that sleep was still a long way away. “So when are you flying back?” he asked her.

“I don’t know,” Joha

“Why?” He pried his eyes open, looked at her profile. “You got the guy who killed your friend, right?”

“Right.”

“That’s not enough?”

“Maybe it is, but”—Joha

“Oh, I think we are.”

“Still some big loose ends left dangling.”

“Like you said, it’s a big story now. They’ll catch the stranger.”

“I’m not talking about him.”

He had figured as much. “You’re worried about Cori

“And you’re not?”

“Not as much,” he said.

“You want to tell me why?”

Adam took his time, considering his words carefully. “Like you said, there’ll be a ton of media now. Everyone will be looking for her, so she’ll probably just come home. But the more I think about it, the more I think the answer was pretty obvious right from the start.”

Joha

“I kept wanting it not to be my fault, you know? Her ru

“And you don’t think that anymore?”

“No, I don’t.”

“So what do you think?”

“Chris Taylor exposed my wife’s most closely held and painful secret. We all know what that does to a person.”

“It messes you up,” Joha

“Right. But more than that, a revelation that big—it strips you bare. It tears you down and takes away how you look at your life.” Adam closed his eyes again. “You need time after something like that. To rebuild. To figure out what’s next.”

“So you think Cori

“Occam’s razor,” Adam said. “The simplest answer is usually correct. Cori

“You sound pretty sure.”

Adam didn’t respond.

Joha

“That’s okay.”

“You’ll scare the boys.”

“Nah,” Adam said. “They’re more resilient than you know.”

A few minutes later, Joha

“Of course,” Kristin Hoy said. “Are you okay, Adam?”

“I’m great. I appreciate this favor.”

Cori

Merton’s gun was.

Another police officer called down that he’d found Adam’s phone upstairs. The battery had been removed. Adam put the battery back and thanked him. Merton’s gun was now hidden in his waistband. The police hadn’t searched him again. Why would they?

The gun had dug into his side the entire ride with Joha

He needed that gun.

He sent the e-mail he’d composed during the car ride to Andy Gribbel. The subject read:

DO NOT READ UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING.

If something went wrong—and that was likely—Gribbel would read the e-mail in the morning and pass it on to both Joha

He had to handle it this way.

He drove over to Beth Lutheran Church. He parked by the gymnasium exit and waited. He thought that he understood what had happened now, but something was still niggling at the base of his brain. Something still didn’t feel right—hadn’t felt right from the begi

He took out his phone, brought up Cori

MAYBE WE NEED SOME TIME APART. YOU TAKE CARE OF THE KIDS. DON’T TRY TO CONTACT ME. IT WILL BE OKAY.

He was about to read it again when Bob “Gaston” Baime came sauntering out. He said good night to the other guys with high fives and knuckle pounds. He wore shorts that were too short. A towel was draped around his neck. Adam waited patiently until Bob was close to his car. Then Adam got out and said, “Hey, Bob.”