“Barbara supports my alibi, Douglas. I was with her all night and she’ll testify to that fact. Just ask her.”

“We have,” Douglas said.

“When?” I asked, stunned.

“This morning.”

Now I saw it. “Mills,” I said. “She spoke to Barbara this morning.” I pictured Mills at the restaurant. She’d known then that the warrants would be served. That’s why she’d wanted to know my schedule. “Are you taking me into custody?” I asked.

Douglas pursed his lips and looked away, as if the question embarrassed him. “That would be premature,” he finally said, which meant that he lacked sufficient evidence for an arrest. Then I understood. If Barbara had said anything different, Douglas would have served an arrest warrant, as well. That’s why they’d waited so late to talk to her. They’d known what she’d say, and an alibi might have prejudiced their application for a search warrant. A judge might have hesitated. So get the warrant first, they’d figured. And if Barbara had told them anything other than what she had, then Douglas and I would have been having a different conversation altogether.

I nodded, studying the street scene one last time, as if to memorize all the little things I’d always taken for granted. “Fine. Then I’ll get out of your way.” I started to turn, when Douglas spoke.

“If you want to make a statement, Work, now would be a good time.”

I turned back, leaned forward. “Fuck you, Douglas. There’s your statement.”

Douglas didn’t bat an eye. “You’re not helping yourself, Work.”

“Do you want that statement in writing?” I asked.

Douglas frowned and glanced back at my office. “Don’t talk to Jean about this,” he said. “She’s got enough on her plate without you adding to her troubles. I don’t want you confusing the issues for her. She’s given a sworn statement and that’s all that matters.”

“You don’t have that authority, Douglas. You can’t order me to stay away from my sister.”

“Then call it another warning. Interfere with any phase of this investigation and I’ll come down on you so hard, you won’t believe it.”

“Is there anything else?” I asked.

“Yeah. There is. Hambly probated your father’s will today. Congratulations.”

I watched him walk away. To my office. To my life. Such as it was.

He disappeared inside, and the crowd milled around my office door. In that instant, I was too furious to be scared, disturbed only by the ease with which the security blanket of my life had been ripped to shreds. Again the eyes were upon me, but they were not curious ones. And that, most of all, angered me to the point of disgust. These were people I knew, people who knew me. Yet there it was, plain in every glance. I was more than a suspect. I stood condemned, alone in a hostile country. So I left. I walked around the block and returned to the parking lot in back of the building. I got in my truck and I drove away, destination unknown.

Eventually, I arrived at the park, my house before me like a stranger’s. It glowed in the eerie light, and loomed taller than normal against the gunmetal sky. The cops were there, too, at least a dozen of them; and my neighbors, like my colleagues, had gathered for the feast. Word would be all over town within the hour. In my head I saw the expressions of shocked disbelief, but the undercurrent of true emotion would be there as well, the dark thrill of another’s utter collapse. Tongues would wag, and Ezra would emerge as the martyred hero, the hardworking, brilliant attorney who’d dragged his family from poverty, only to face this final reward. I saw it now. I’d killed him for the money.

I pictured the police in my house. Specifically, I pictured Mills, pawing through my things, my drawers, my desk. Looking in my closet, under my bed, and in my attic. Nothing would be sacred. Mills would see to that. My life would be stripped bare, tagged and bagged. I knew these people, damn it! And they now knew things about me that were nobody’s business but my own. What I ate. What I drank. What kind of toothpaste I used. My wife’s underwear. Our preferred method of birth control. The whole thing pissed me off, so instead of leaving, I drove to the house. Barbara was there, pacing the driveway in panic and despair.

“Thank God,” she said. “Oh, thank God. I tried to call you. I tried…”

I put my arms around her out of long habit, feeling her bewilderment but nothing else. “I’m sorry. I’ve been in court. My cell phone was off.”

She began to sob, her voice muffled by my chest. “They’ve been here for hours, Work. They’re going through everything. And they’re taking things! But they won’t tell me what.” She pulled back, her eyes wild. “Do something! You’re a lawyer, for God’s sake. Do something!”

“Did they show you a warrant?” I asked.

“Yes. They showed me something or other. I think that’s what it was.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry. I hate this as much as you.” I tried to put my arms around her again, to offer what I could, but she pushed away, her hands hard on my chest.

“Goddamn it, Work! You are worthless! I swear to God. Ezra would never have let this happen. He’d have been so on top of this, the cops wouldn’t have dared to cross him!” She turned away, hugging herself.

“I’m not my father,” I said, meaning it in so many ways.

“You’re damn right about that!” Barbara spat out. Then she gestured at the gathering crowd. “They’re going to have a field day with this. That much I can tell you.”

“Screw them,” I said.

“No, screw you, Work. This is our life. My life. Do you have any idea what this means? Do you?”

“I think I know better than you what this means.” But she didn’t hear me. I tried again. “Listen, Barbara. They’re going to do this with or without us. There’s no reason to stay here. Let me take you somewhere. I’ll go inside and try to get some of your things. Okay? You don’t need to see this. Then we’ll go to a hotel.”

She was already shaking her head. “No. I’m going to Glena’s house.”

The momentary charity I’d felt toward my wife evaporated, leaving me chilled. “Glena’s house,” I said. “Of course.”

When she turned to me, her face was bleak. “Tomorrow, Work. Tomorrow we’ll talk, but right now I need to get away. I’m sorry.” She turned away. As if on cue, a horn sounded, and I saw Glena Werster’s black Mercedes at the curb below the house. When my wife turned back to me, I thought she’d changed her mind.

“You make this go away, Work.” There was winter in her voice. “You make this go away. I can’t take it.” She began to turn.

“Barbara…” I stepped toward her.

“I’ll find you tomorrow. Until then, please leave me alone.”

I watched her all the way down the driveway, until she climbed into the sleek sedan. She embraced Glena and then they were gone, around the corner, toward the country club and the fortress of Glena’s home. As I stared across the park, a horrible thought occurred to me. Barbara had never asked me if I’d done it. It’d never even come up.

Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me, and I knew it was Mills before I turned. She had on blue pants and a matching jacket; I didn’t see her pistol. Her face was calm, which surprised me. I expected antagonism. I expected triumph. I should have known better. Mills was a professional; she wouldn’t gloat until she had a conviction. After that, all bets were off. I’d probably get Christmas cards in prison.

“Where’s your car?” she asked.

“What?” Her question took me off guard.

“Your BMW? Where is it?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Don’t be an ass, Work. It’s included in the warrant. I want it.”

Of course she’d want the car. Who knew what a thorough forensic analysis might reveal? Ezra’s hair in the carpet. Bloodstains in the trunk. Even as I spoke, I realized how my words would sound.

“I sold it.”

She studied my face as if she could read something there.