information with certain people.”
“But if it’s not relevant?”
“Then my lips are sealed.”
Lauren nods solemnly and takes a deep breath. She looks away for a moment, then turns back to me and says, “I’ve known about Ruth all along, Mattie. In fact, I knew before it ever happened.”
I stare at her, confused. “
I watch indecision, then resignation flit across her face. “What I’m about to tell you has no bearing on Karen Owenby or her case so if you breathe one word of it to anyone, I swear I will hunt you down and kill you,” she says.
I laugh—a quick snort—then swallow it down. One look at her face and I know she isn’t kidding. Having no desire to be laid out on Izzy’s table, I nod my understanding.
She leans forward, folds her hands on the table in front of her and stares at them, picking at one thumb with the nail of the other. “When I was little, my father…he…abused me.” She pauses and swallows hard. “Sexually. Beginning when I was about six and continuing until I left home at the age of seventeen.”
“Oh shit, Lauren. I’m so sorry.”
She shrugs. “It happens in the best of families. Or so my therapist says.”
“Did you tell anyone? Try to get help?”
She gives me a wry smile and a quick, sad glance before looking back at her hands. “I told my mother when I was about twelve or so. She insisted I was making mountains out of molehills, that my father was merely an affectionate man and that such talk could ruin him and his reputation. The image of a happy, middle-class family was everything to her. It didn’t matter what the reality was, all she cared about was what other people would think or believe. Protect the facade at all costs,” she says bitterly.
I squeeze my eyes closed, blocking out the awful pain on her face.
“Once I left home I thought I’d be fine, but I was wrong. I love my husband very much, Mattie, and I believe that he loves me. But when it comes to sex…I…I…well, I can’t. I tried during the early years of our marriage—that’s how I came to be blessed with Jenny and Kelly. But I simply can’t do it anymore. I become physically ill. And Arthur isn’t the type to push himself on someone if he isn’t wanted. Yet he has…needs. So I told him years ago that I would understand if he sought release elsewhere. The only thing I asked was that he not do anything to jeopardize our marriage or trigger gossip until the kids are grown.” She lets out a sad little laugh. “Ironic in a way. I’m as much into the facade as my mother was.”
I am utterly dumbfounded. I shudder to think of the mental and emotional effort it must have taken for this woman to keep it together and present a happy front all these years. “My God, Lauren. I had no idea. I’m so, so sorry.”
She flashes me a weak smile. “Me too,” she says. “It’s not the life I dreamed of when I was a little girl, that’s for sure. But I think it’s as close as I’m going to get.”
“Forgive me if I’m treading where I shouldn’t here, Lauren, but are you still getting counseling?”
She shakes her head. “Can’t see the point. I did it for nine years and it didn’t change much of anything. To be honest, telling you gives me a huge sense of relief. I’ve been carrying this secret around so long…it feels good to finally share it with someone.” She looks at me then and this time her smile is a warm one. “I’ve always liked you, Mattie. You’ve always seemed so strong to me and you’re a good person. Honest. You have integrity.”
She couldn’t make me feel more ill at ease if she stripped me naked, painted BITCH on my back, and paraded me up and down Main Street.
“I trust you to keep what I’ve told you to yourself.”
“I will,” I tell her. “I swear. I’ll take it to my grave.”
She eyes me a moment and then says, “Yes, I believe you will. And since it’s what you came for, I might as well tell you the rest. Arthur has some income that we don’t keep on the books. It’s his discretionary fund, money he uses for whatever…personal needs he has. Some of it comes from investments, some of it comes from side ventures we’ve dabbled in. One of those side ventures is an arrangement of sorts with a medical supply company that Karen Owenby had connections to, a place called Halverson Medical Supply. It’s basically a convoluted ownership setup that allows the docs to invest in the place without any apparent conflict of interest problems. It’s not strictly aboveboard, but it’s not exactly illegal either.”
As soon as I hear Lauren mention Halverson Medical Supply—the same name that was on the business card I found in David’s tobacco pouch—I know I have to add a visit there to my day’s agenda.
Lauren glances at the clock. “The girls will be home in half an hour.”
I realize this is her way of signaling an end to our conversation and that she is asking me to leave. I rise from my chair and stand there a moment, wracked with indecision. Part of me wants to turn and run, another part of me wants to gather Lauren Henley into my arms and rock her like a child. But the expression on her face tells me she will tolerate neither cowardice nor pity. So I simply thank her, smile, and leave.
Chapter 23
I’m hungry and the coffee I had at Lauren’s is churning away in my stomach, threatening to eat a hole in it. Consequently, I am looking forward to chowing down on one of Carver’s cheeseburgers and topping it off with a turtle sundae. Gina arrives ten minutes late and, as usual, her entrance turns a few heads. Aside from being the closest thing to a famous person we have here in Sorenson, she is the sort of woman who attracts attention. She is dressed in black slacks and a simple pullover sweater. The only jewelry she is wearing is a pair of small gold hoops in her ears. Her short hair has a reckless, tousled look to it—loose blond curls that frame her face in a soft, golden glow—and the fact that her dark roots are beginning to show doesn’t detract from her overall beauty. If anything, it simply adds to her air of casual self-assurance.
I wave to catch her eye and once she sees me, she heads to the booth where I’m seated.
“Hey there,” she says, beaming me a huge smile as she slides in across from me. She eyes my forehead with a worried expression. “What’s this?” she asks, touching her own forehead in the region where mine is bandaged.
“A small cut. Nothing serious.”
“Ah, good. I’m so glad you called, Mattie. How are you?”
“I’m doing okay for the most part. But at times…”
She looks at me sympathetically. “You know Sid and I will always be there for you. Sometimes when couples split, their friends feel the need to take sides. But Sid and I won’t do that. You and David are both our friends and we intend to keep it that way, no matter what happens.”
“Even if he’s guilty of murder?” I ask her.
She hesitates, then shakes her head. “I can’t believe David killed that woman. What he
I’m glad to hear her echo my own thoughts. “I agree,” I tell her. “But I realize now that I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. I don’t think he’s the type who would kill someone but I never thought he was the type to have an affair either.”
“Men!” Gina says with disgust. “Sometimes you have to wonder what the hell they’re thinking.”
“I’m not sure there was much thinking involved with this.”
“Or maybe he was just thinking with the wrong head,” Gina says, a wicked gleam in her eye.
We both start to giggle, and it is all we can do to get ourselves under control when the waitress comes by. After placing our orders—a cheeseburger with all the trimmings for me and a healthy chicken salad for Gina—I get down to business.
“Thank you for your support, Gina. It means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome. Like I said last night, we girls have to stick together.”
“I’m glad you feel that way, because I could use some help on a particular matter.”
“Great,” she says. “Name it.”
“I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that I plan to file for a divorce from David. As soon as we’ve been separated long enough, I’ll get the paperwork started. In the meantime, I’m struggling a bit with some financial
