run your plates on their computer. If they're still curious they pull you over.'
Suddenly the car behind them pulled out into the left lane. Jane caught a clear silhouette of the approaching car in the headlights of cars behind it. 'It's a cop,' she said. 'I can see the light bar on the roof. He's going to pass us. Sit tight.' She slowed down.
The car moved steadily up to their left, accelerating all the time. It slid past them, and the cop in the passenger seat glanced at them but then let his eyes focus on the next car ahead. The police car was moving fast now, and its red taillights gradually diminished into the distance. 'I guess we're not the ones he wants.'
'That's a relief,' said Shelby. 'Want me to drive for a while'
'Not yet. Feel like talking some more'
'About what'
'When I've taken people out of the world in the past, all of them had somebody chasing them. But I can't recall any who were already serving a life sentence in jail and still had enemies trying to get at them. Why do you'
'I don't know. They sent me to prison for life. They should have been satisfied.'
'I keep thinking it has to be something about the murder. If we can figure out what happened to your wife, maybe we'll know what these people are so afraid of.'
'My sister told you the essentials, and I've told you most of what went on between Susan and me.'
'You said she moved to California. What was there'
'Supposedly it was to be able to start a new life without interference from me.'
'`Supposedly''
'Her mother said that. After I found out where Sue was, I called her mother to ask if I could come over and talk. She said she thought that might be a good idea. She said to come over to her house at seven, and we could have a real conversation.'
'Did you tell her you knew where Susan was'
'No, I didn't,' he said. 'I didn't feel as though she had ever been on my side, and I certainly didn't that night.'
'And nothing new happened the weekend Susan went away No argument, no big fight stands out in your memory'
'No fights. The only thing that stands out is that I'd found out she had concealed a lot about her business trips, and I had asked her mother about the credit card. The next thing that happened was that she was gone.'
'About the money-'
'I didn't care about the money.'
'I believe you weren't motivated in any of this by money. The victim often isn't. The thief is. Otherwise she wouldn't steal. How much was in the account she emptied'
'About two hundred thousand. What I'm saying is that she didn't decide to leave me to get my part of the money.'
'Why do you think she left'
'Embarrassment. Humiliation. I had evidence that she'd been having an affair, and evidence that her mother had known and helped her. They had both lied to me. As soon as her mother told her I'd found her reservation and the credit card number, she knew what our next conversation would be about, so she decided there wouldn't be one.'
'Was she afraid you would do her physical harm'
'She couldn't have been. She'd known me since college. I've never done anything violent. I just wanted to talk, so I could either close the door on the whole marriage, or know what to do to save it.'
'But you decided to start with her mother'
'Yes. If I was polite and respectful, I thought she might give me an idea of what to expect from Sue. I even thought that if it went well, she would tell Sue I was being reasonable and deserved an explanation.'
'How did it go'
'I went to her house at seven, and she opened the door. When I stepped inside, I saw she wasn't alone.'
'Who was there'
'Her brother-Sue's uncle Dave-and his two sons, one they called Little Dave after his father, and Cody. When I walked in, they were all sitting in the living room scowling at me.'
'How did you react'
'It didn't look good, but I thought I had to try. So I said, `All right, then. We can all talk. Here's the situation I'm in. The wife I've loved since freshman year has taken off and left me without saying a word. She took with her our savings, about three quarters of which came from my paychecks, and a new car that belonged to both of us. I had been planning to ask her about her last business trip, when she left home two days early and came home a day late. She charged the trip to a credit card that I didn't know she had, and it is billed to this address instead of ours. I'd like to hear her explanation of all of this. Since she's gone, I thought you might be able to help me understand what she was thinking.''
'What did she say'
'Her mother said, `I can't believe you've come into my home and in front of my family accuse my daughter of adultery and theft.'
'I said, `I didn't come here to call her names.'
'`Why did you come, then'
'`I'd like to know if she has plans to come back to me. I'd like to know if she's found somebody else, and if she plans to file for divorce. If so, we'll have to get some legal help and make an agreement about how to proceed.'
'The one to answer was Uncle Dave. He said, `You came in here with an attitude. You accused the lady of conspiring with her daughter to steal your money and then helping her daughter to whore herself out to other men. Now, it's time for you to get yourself out of here.'
'I said, `I'll leave in a moment, but first I'd like to say something to Mrs. Owens.' And I turned to her. That was a mistake. The two boys were on me from behind. The pair of them were grappling with me and throwing punches at once. As soon as I was fully engaged in fighting them off, the father got up and started throwing hard punches from the outside. A few of them landed. Pretty soon I was worn out from struggling with the boys and bleeding from the punches. The only satisfaction I got was watching them wreck the house doing it. They threw me out on the lawn and locked the door.'
'Did you just go home'
'I went home the long way. They called the police, who got there in a minute. There were two of them, an older one and a young one. The older one explained the situation. When they're called out on a domestic disturbance, they have to arrest somebody. There were four witnesses on one side, and one on the other. Guess who got arrested.'
'Couldn't the cops see who got the worst of it'
'Of course. What the older cop said was that I had obviously been hit in the head a lot, and since this was about my absent wife, I was obviously living alone at that time. It was better not to leave me alone, since there might be a concussion or something. So I was going to spend the night at the station.'
'I suppose that makes sense.'
'The problem was that it gave me a record. I had been arrested for domestic violence.'
'They released you. What happened next'
'I flew to California, to the place where the skip tracer had found Sue. I drove straight from the airport to her apartment building in Santa Monica. I had no idea how long it would take to wrap this up, so I'd taken a week off work and bought a one-way ticket.'
'What did you do first Did you sit in the car and watch the building to see if she was alone'
'It never occurred to me. It was a first-floor apartment in a big stucco building that was one of about seven buildings on the block, mostly condos. I just figured I'd go talk to her.'
'Was she there'
