Chapter 55

She dialed Jen's cell number as she navigated the still dense late evening traffic on the interstate just outside of Denton. Jen answered on the first ring.

"Steve, I've been trying to get through to you all day."

"It's Emma, Jen."

"Oh." There was a long silence on the other end. And then, as though a switch had been flipped, her voice filled with concern and caring. "Is everything okay, sweetie?"

"Fine," Emma lied. "I wanted to apologize for the way I was with you the other day."

"Don't worry about it. I understand."

"Do you?"

"Losing Tommy like that must have been difficult."

"It was. Especially the way he died."

"Suicide, right?" Jen asked, an undercurrent of cruelty in her voice. "Such a pity."

Emma maneuvered the car around a curve, nearly dropping the phone as she tried to hold it in the crook of her shoulder.

"Where are you?" Jen asked. "I went by the house earlier, but there was no one home."

"We took the kids to the airport." Emma grabbed the phone with her right h