Chain of Evidence

CHAPTER 47

“They called you a genius,” Dart told her. Ginny’s favorite walk was a section of the Appalachian Trail.

“Well, it shows that at least sometimes cops are right,” she teased.

It was awkward for Dart walking with his arm in a sling-he hadn’t realized how much walking depended on swinging his arms. His ankle was good enough for this hike, though it occasionally glowed with a twinge of pain. She had asked to see him, and he was in no mood to deny her.

Once on the trail, she found an overlook where an outcropping of rock faced north, and they perched there, wrapped in their winter coats, their breath fogging, Dart’s heart pounding. The afternoon sun was muted by clouds.

She said, “That was fun, what we did.” He thought that she was referring to the raid at Roxin, but he wasn’t sure.

“Yeah.”

He could tell when she was nervous by the way she chewed her lip. “Where do you stand with Abby?” she asked, not surprising him one bit. He had known what this talk would be about.

“Why?”

“I need to know.”

He wanted to ask why for a second time but thought better of it. He said, “Where do I stand, or where do we stand?”

“Is there a we?”

“Very much so.”

“That’s part of what I need to know,” she said.

“She’s not going back with her husband, if that’s what you’re asking. Ultimately, it was for the kids that she ever considered it-and I think she’s pretty clear that if she sacrifices herself for her kids and ends up unhappy, then that’s maybe harder on the kids than the way it is now.”

“And you?”

“This isn’t easy, you know.”

“I can make it easier,” she told him. “Michael-I’m sure you’ve heard about Michael-has asked me to move to New Hampshire with him. I’m tempted, because it offers a chance to start over. You know…. And I can do my computer work from just about anywhere-I don’t need to be in an office. It works for me. But there’s this part of me that is still holding on to us-is still thinking that we might try again-and I need to put that part away if I’m going to do this. I owe that to Michael. I can’t be leading one life and hoping for another.”

“No, that’s no good,” he said.

The wind blew across them, whistling in Dart’s ears and singing in the shrubs and treetops. The view was a vast sea of gray. Dart felt gray.

“So?” she asked.

“I don’t want to lose touch,” he answered. It was difficult for him to say, and his body ached with it.

“No.” She looked into the wind, and when she looked back at him her eyes were shiny with tears and she gave him a smile that made his heart tight and a lump form in his throat. “It’s okay,” she said, one tear escaping down her cheek.

“So much has happened,” he said.

“Yes, it has,” she agreed, looking away again.

She was a strong person, and he admired her. He wanted to reach over and touch her, to show her the compassion he felt, but he did not. He would not confuse things. It was difficult enough as it was.

“I’m sorry,” she said into the wind.

“Me too.”

They walked a little while longer, and somewhere high above a town that he didn’t recognize, she took his gloved hand in hers and did not let go. She held hands with him for the remainder of the walk, right until they reached their cars, at which point they finally released each other’s grip. She looked into his eyes and said, “We were good together.”

He nodded. He could feel the tears coming from deep within him, and he fought to hold them off.

“A good fit,” she said.

He nodded again.

She kissed him once lightly on the lips, climbed into her car, and was gone.