Where Are You Now?

36

B ruce Galbraith and his wife, Dr. Barbara Hanover Galbraith, had, so far as possible, avoided talking about Mack MacKenzie. But finally, on Wednesday evening, after the children were in bed and they had finished watching the ten o’clock news, Bruce knew he had to raise the subject.

They were in the library of their spacious Park Avenue apartment. Whenever Bruce was away on a business trip, the realization of how happy he was in his home and with his family hit him afresh. Barbara had changed to light green pajamas and unpinned her ash blond hair so that it fell loose on her shoulders. He had long since passed the days when he felt clumsy and awkward in her presence, but even so, the sense that he might one day wake up and find he’d been dreaming, that life as he knew it was an illusion, always lingered in his subconscious.

He had witnessed the growing tension in Barbara for the past few days since the media began linking Mack to the disappearance of Leesey Andrews, the girl from Connecticut, and then to the murder of the drama teacher.

During the broadcast, with the jealousy he had never overcome, Bruce had watched his wife’s face when pictures of Mack were flashed on the screen. After he pushed the power button on the remote and watched the screen turn dark, he knew it was time to discuss what needed to be done.

“Barb,” he said, “I was in the nightclub the night that first girl disappeared.”

“I know, but so were twenty other guys from Columbia, including Nick and Mack,” Barbara said, avoiding his eyes.

“Carolyn MacKenzie called me, but I haven’t returned her call. I’ll bet anything that she follows up on it. As the police investigation widens, it’s inevitable they’ll look me up. Nick and I were Mack’s roommates, after all.”

He watched as his wife tried to force back tears. “What are you driving at?” she asked, her voice unsteady.

“I think you and the kids should visit your father in Martha’s Vineyard. He’s had three heart attacks. No one would question it if you tell people he’s in bad shape again.”

“What about school?”

“For what we’re paying, we can arrange to get lesson plans and a private tutor. The school year is over in a few weeks’ time anyhow.”

He saw the uncertainty on his wife’s face. “Barbara, you joined a practice with two other pediatric surgeons so you’d have a measure of control over your personal life. I would say this is a time to assert that control.”

He got up, walked over to her, bent down, and kissed the top of her head. “I could kill Mack for what he did to you,” he said quietly.

“I’m over it, Bruce. I really am.”

No you’re not, he thought. But I’ve learned to live with that, and there’s no way on God’s earth I’ll let Mack hurt you again.