Chapter 2 - A Joke That Wasn't a Joke
Marcus had been drinking.
Emma could tell from his posture before she smelled the alcohol.
He had the loose confidence of a man whose judgment had gone before his coordination.
He tossed one glove into the air and caught it.
"Come on."
Emma remained beside Lily.
"No."
"One round."
"No."
People nearby turned toward them.
Marcus grinned.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Scared?"
Emma stared at him.
"Marcus."
He spread his arms.
"I'm just asking."
"No, you're performing."
Several guests laughed.
Marcus's smile tightened.
Warren called from the grill.
"Maybe she's afraid she'll ruin the legend."
Emma looked toward him.
Warren flipped a hamburger.
"You military people always love stories."
Rachel joined him.
"Leave Emma alone, Dad."
The words sounded protective.
Her tone wasn't.
"She doesn't like discussing her mysterious past."
Marcus walked closer.
Derek followed several steps behind.
"Here's what I don't understand," Marcus said. "If you're some kind of elite operator, why won't you ever prove it?"
"Because adults usually don't need to prove things at backyard cookouts."
That drew another laugh.
Marcus's face reddened.
Lily whispered, "Mom, can we go?"
Emma nodded.
"Yes."
She reached for her purse.
Warren's expression changed instantly.
"You're leaving already?"
"Yes."
"We haven't even eaten."
"We'll survive."
Lily began walking toward the gate.
Rachel stepped into her path.
"Come on, Lily. Don't let your mother ruin everything."
Emma's voice changed.
"Move."
Rachel looked at her.
"I'm talking to my niece."
"You're standing between my daughter and the exit."
A long second passed.
Rachel moved.
But Lily suddenly stopped.
She looked toward the kitchen window.
"Mom."
Emma followed her gaze.
Someone was watching from behind the glass.
A man.
Only part of his face was visible.
Gray hair.
Thin cheek.
Then he vanished.
Emma's pulse changed.
"Who is inside?"
Warren answered too quickly.
"Nobody."
Emma looked at him.
"I just saw someone."
"Probably Frank."
"Who is Frank?"
"Neighbor."
A man near the deck raised his hand.
"I'm Frank."
Silence.
Warren laughed.
"Then maybe it was somebody else."
Emma didn't smile.
Marcus stepped forward again.
"Jesus, Emma, why do you make everything weird?"
She ignored him.
"Lily, get in the car."
Her daughter hurried through the gate.
Emma followed.
Marcus grabbed her shoulder.
Everything inside Emma became still.
"Let go."
Marcus leaned close.
"Don't walk away when I'm talking."
Emma looked at his hand.
Then his face.
"You have three seconds."
He laughed.
"Or what?"
Derek moved closer.
"Marcus."
"Stay out of it."
Emma didn't count aloud.
She simply removed Marcus's hand from her shoulder.
He resisted.
She increased the pressure slightly.
Marcus's face twitched.
Then he pulled away.
Warren called out, "There she is. Always has to be in control."
Emma turned toward him.
For the first time all afternoon, Warren was not pretending.
His expression was full of hatred.
"You destroyed my son," he said.
Several conversations stopped.
Lily stood outside the fence.
Emma saw her listening.
"Warren."
"He was fine before you."
"No."
"You humiliated him."
"He stole money from our daughter."
"He made mistakes."
"He emptied her education account when she was four."
"He was desperate."
"He put a gun against my kitchen table while Lily was asleep upstairs."
Warren's mouth shut.
Some of the neighbors had clearly never heard that story.
Emma continued.
"I didn't destroy Daniel. I stopped covering for him."
Warren dropped his spatula onto the grill.
"Maybe that's why he left."
"Maybe."
"You ever think about that?"
"Every day."
Rachel stepped between them.
"This isn't appropriate."
Emma looked at her.
"You grabbed Lily hard enough to leave marks."
Rachel blinked.
"What?"
Emma lifted Lily's arm.
Several guests saw the marks.
Rachel stared.
"She was trying to go somewhere she shouldn't."
"The bathroom?"
"The basement."
Warren's head snapped toward Rachel.
That reaction was stronger than anything Emma had seen all afternoon.
Rachel realized it too late.
Emma looked at Warren.
"You told me that basement was sealed."
"It is."
"Lily heard someone down there."
"Kids hear things."
"I saw someone in the kitchen."
Warren's voice hardened.
"Leave my house."
Emma almost laughed.
"I was already leaving."
Marcus walked toward her holding the gloves.
"Not yet."
He threw them at her feet.
One landed against Emma's shoe.
The second bounced near Lily.
Marcus shoved Emma in the shoulder.
"Put the damn gloves on, coward."
Lily screamed.
Warren laughed.
Rachel smiled.
Emma looked down at the gloves.
Then toward the kitchen window.
May you like
And for the first time she wondered whether Marcus's challenge was not simply drunken arrogance.
Maybe it was a distraction.
