The righteous men

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Sunday, 4.14am, Sag Harbor, New York

TO was staring at Will, stock still. The sound was too regular to be the music of an old house, the creaking of aged timber.

There was no doubt about it: these were footsteps. Will grabbed the heaviest poker he could find from the fireplace, placed his finger over his lips to hush TO and edged out of the study.

He crept down the corridor, towards the kitchen. The sound seemed to have moved there. As he got closer, he could hear a rustling, as if the intruder was rifling through papers. He inched closer, until he could see the shadow of a tall man.

His heart was pounding; his throat was parched.

In a single movement, Will swung around the corner, lifted the poker above his head- 'Christ, Will! What the hell are you doing?'

'Dad!'

'Will, you scared me out of my wits. I thought someone had broken in. Jesus.' Monroe Sr, clad in striped pyjamas, collapsed into a chair, clutching at his chest.

'But Dad, I didn't-'

'Hold on, Will. Give me a second to catch my breath here.

Hold on.'

When Will called out to TO, his father's bewilderment was complete. 'What on earth is going on here?'

Will did the best he could, talking his father through the events of the last few hours: the text messages, Proverbs 10, the visit to the office, the stalker, the dash for Penn Station.

He listened patiently, nursing the hot tea TO had made for him, the great judge now a Dad.

'I should have told you I was here. I came yesterday evening. I hadn't heard from you and I was climbing the walls with worry. I thought it might help to hear the ocean, breathe in the sea air. Beth is your wife, Will, but she's also my daughter-in-law. She's family.' He glanced towards TO, whose face turned hot.

'I'm sorry we woke you,' she said, as if trying to change the subject. Then, yawning, 'I could really use some sleep.'

'Motion granted. Will, the garden room is made up.'

That peeved Will. Was his father giving his son an order, instructing him that he must sleep separately from TO — as if suspecting that, left to their own devices, they would share a bed? Did his father really believe that Will was cheating on the daughter-in-law he loved so dearly?

Perhaps his father suspected something much darker. Was it even possible? Could he imagine his son had somehow engineered this whole episode as a way to get back with his ex? Will realized how economical with information he had been, barely letting his father in on the quest for Beth. How insistent he had been that the police remain uninvolved. It had been nearly thirty years since Will Monroe Sr had practised criminal law — but he would have forgotten none of it.

What was worse, Will knew he could feel no righteous indignation: After all, a matter of hours earlier he had pressed his lips to TO's, their eyes closed, in a kiss. And not a fleeting brush either; it had been a real kiss.

He was too exhausted to say any more. He surrendered mutely to his father and headed upstairs, joining TO who was waiting for him on the landing. The way she stood, as if she were hiding herself, suggested she felt it, too: the suspicion radiating from his father and the guilty admission that it was not entirely groundless.

Sunday, 12.33am, Manhattan 'Good work, young man. And your enthusiasm is a joy to me, it really is.' The voice was clear and distinct, even on the telephone. 'No, your best move now is to hang back. I'm not worried about Sag Harbor. That's not going to be a problem.

We need you there, in the city.'

'So where do you want me to post myself, sir?'

'Well. They're not going to stay in Long Island long, are they? He's going to have to come back. And that means Penn Station. Why don't we make sure you're there to greet him?'