7
Jack was standing in the doorway of a house that didn’t belong to him, taking in the darkness outside, except for the streetlights. His wife was walking barefoot to the kitchen with an empty wineglass, and Iris O’Connell stepped over to him. He took in the headlights from a vehicle coming up the street, and the sound of the engine. It had to be Suzanne, or maybe it was Owen. Both were on their way over after the call Karen had made.
“So how bad is this?” Iris said. She wasn’t just his wife’s mother but his family, too, he realized. Never once had she made him feel as if he weren’t a part of this family. She had always had a smile for him, but no one was smiling now.
“You want me to give it to you straight?” he said.
In the living room, Charlotte was sitting on the sofa, with Marcus s
