Twenty-One
HELEN’S IN A MEETING when I arrive at the station the next day, so I decide to wander down to Gladys’ office. I haven't seen her since Nate was savaged by a racoon and I want to check on him.
More to the point, I want to see how she’s doing. Hearing her confession was heart-wrenching. Many of the things she told me were difficult for me to hear, but not nearly as difficult as they were for her to say aloud. I know, because she told me, and because I’ve also felt it, that she felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It’s a feeling of joy and freedom that is divine but often fleeting.
Her door is slightly open. I’m about to knock when I hear, over the hum of the computer equipment, what sounds like quiet sobs.
I push the door open and see Gladys at her desk
