Jenna brought the coffee up to her mouth, blew on it, took a small sip. "Okay, when we first started going out, he'd disappear every other Saturday. I don't want to make it sound as cryptic as all that. But he'd just take off and not say where he was going."

"I assume you asked?"

"I did. He explained to me early in the relationship that this was something he did and that it was his private time. He said it was nothing to worry about, but he wanted me to understand he needed to do it."

She stopped talking.

"What did you make of that?"

"I was in love," Jenna said simply. "So at first, I rationalized it. Some guys play golf, I told myself. Some guys bowl or meet the boys in a bar or whatever. Dan was entitled to his time. He was so attentive in every other way. So I simply let it go."

The lobby door opened. A family of five staggered in and approached the front desk. The man gave their name and handed the receptionist his credit card.

"You said 'at first,' " Wendy said.

"Yes. Well, more than simply at first. I think we'd been married a year when I pushed him on it. Dan said not to worry, it was no big deal. But now it was, of course. The curiosity was eating me up. So one Saturday, I followed him."

Her voice drifted off and a small smile came to her face.

"What?"

"I've never told anyone this. Not even Dan."

Wendy sat back, gave her room. She took a sip of her coffee and tried to make herself look as nonthreatening as possible.

"Anyway there isn't that much more to the story. I followed him for about an hour, hour and a half. He got off at the exit for Princeton. He parked in town. He went into a coffee shop. I felt so silly following him. He sat by himself for maybe ten minutes. I kept waiting for the other woman to show up. I imagined she was some sexy college professor, you know, with glasses and dark black hair. But nobody showed up. Dan finished his coffee and got up. He started walking down the block. It was so weird, following him like that. I mean, I loved this man. You have no idea how much. And yet, like I said, there was something about him I couldn't reach and now I'm skulking around, trying to keep out of sight, and I'm feeling like now, finally, I'm close to learning the truth. And it's terrifying me."

Again Jenna lifted the cup to her lips.

"So where did he go?"

"Two blocks away, there was a lovely old Victorian home. It was in the heart of faculty housing. He knocked on the door and entered. He stayed an hour and left. He walked back to town, got in his car, and drove back."

The hotel receptionist told the family that check-in wasn't until four PM. The father pleaded for an earlier time. The receptionist remained firm.

"So whose house was it?"

"That's the funny thing. It belonged to the dean of students. A man named Stephen Slotnick. He was divorced at the time. He lived there with his two kids."

"So why would he visit him?"

"I have no idea. I never asked. That was it. I never raised it with him. He wasn't having an affair. It was his secret. If he wanted to tell me, he would."

"And he never did?"

"Never."

They drank coffee, both lost in their own thoughts.

"You have nothing to feel guilty about," Jenna said.

"I don't."

"Dan is dead. One thing we had in common, neither of us believed in an afterlife. Dead is dead. He wouldn't care about being rehabilitated now."

"I'm not trying to do that either."

"Then what are you trying to do?"

"Damned if I know. I guess I need answers."

"Sometimes the most obvious answer is the right one. Maybe Dan is everything people think he is."

"Maybe, but that doesn't answer one key question."

"That being?"

"Why was he visiting the dean of students at his alma mater?"

"I have no idea."

"Aren't you curious?"

Jenna thought about it. "You plan on finding out?"

"I do."

"It might have destroyed our marriage."

"Might have."

"Or it might have nothing to do with anything."

"More likely," Wendy agreed.

"I think Dan killed that girl."

Wendy did not reply to that. She waited for Jenna to say more, but she didn't. Admitting that had sucked the energy out of her. She sat back, seemingly unable to move.

After some time had passed, Wendy said, "You're probably right."

"But you still want to know about the dean?"

"I do."

Jenna nodded. "If you find out what it was, will you let me know?"

"Sure."

CHAPTER 30

WENDY GOT OFF THE ELEVATOR and headed to Vic's office. On her way, she passed Michele Feisler-the new young anchorwoman-working at her cubicle. The cubicle had photographs of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, Peter Jennings. Again Wendy thought, Oy.

"Hi, Michele."

Michele was busy typing. She gave a half-wave, no more. Wendy peered over the woman's shoulder. She was Tweeting on Twitter. In this case, someone had commented: "Your hair looked great on last night's broadcast!" Michele was re-Tweeting it to her followers with a "Using a new conditioner-will tell more soon. Stay tuned!"

Edward R. Murrow would be so proud.

"How's that guy who got both knees shot?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah, it's your kind of story," Michele said.

"How's that?"

"Seems he's something of a perv." She turned away from her computer, but only for a moment. "Isn't that your specialty-pervs?"

Nice to have a specialty, Wendy thought. "What do you mean 'pervs'?"

"Well, you're our resident sex perv, aren't you?"

"Meaning?"

"Oops, can't talk now," Michele said, back typing away. "Busy."

Standing there, Wendy couldn't help but notice that Clark had been right: Michele did indeed have a gigantic head, especially in contrast to that wisp of a body. It looked like a helium balloon on the end of a string. It looked like her neck might collapse under the weight.

Wendy checked her watch. Three minutes until twelve sharp. She hurried down the corridor to Vic's office. His secretary, Mavis, was there.

"Hey, Mavis."

This woman too barely looked up at her. "What can I do for you, Ms. Tynes?"

First time she'd called her that. Maybe someone had sent down a directive to be more formal since her firing. "I'd like to speak to Vic for a second."

"Mr. Garrett is not available." Her tone, usually so friendly, was pure ice.

"Will you tell him I'm headed up to the sixth floor? I should be back soon."

"I will let him know."

She made her way to the elevator. Maybe it was her imagination but there seemed to be a weird tension in the air.

Wendy had been in this building-the network offices-a zillion times, but she had never been on the sixth floor before. Now she sat in an office of startling white, a cubist wonder, with a little waterfall running in the corner. One wall was dominated by a painting of black-and-white swirls. The other walls were empty. The swirls were facing her and very distracting. Across the glass table, in front of the swirls, sat three suits. Two men, one woman-all lined up against her. One man was black. The woman was Asian. Nice balance, though the one in charge, the one who sat in the middle and did all the talking, was the white man.

"Thank you for coming in to see us," the man said. He had introduced himself-had, in fact, introduced all three-but she hadn't been paying attention to names.

"Sure thing," she said.

Wendy noticed that her chair was at least two inches lower than the others'. Classic-albeit amateur-intimidation move. Wendy crossed her arms and actually slid lower. Let them think they have the advantage.

"So," Wendy said, trying to cut through this, "what can I do for you folks?"

The white man looked at the Asian woman. She took out a sheet of paper and slid it across the glass tabletop. "Is this your signature?"