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ed-and-breakfast and a couple of restaurants, so if Coffey asked
about it, he’d know what to say.
His days followed the same routine. He worked and talked to
witnesses and finally went home. His work was stressful and he
wanted to relax when he finished, but everything was different at
home and the work stayed with him. He’d once believed that he
would get used to the sight of murder victims, but their gray,
lifeless faces were etched in his memory, and sometimes the
victims visited him in his sleep.
He didn’t like going home. When he finished his shift, there was
no beautiful wife to greet him at the door. Erin had been gone
since January. Now, his house was messy and dirty and he had to
do his own laundry. He hadn’t known how to work the washing
machine, and the first time he ran it he added too much soap and
the clothes came out looking dingy. There were no home-cooked
meals or candles on the table. Instead, he grabbed food on the way
home and ate on the couch. Sometimes, he put on the television.
Erin liked to watch HGTV, the home and garden channel on cable,
so he often watched that and when he did, the emptiness he felt
inside was almost unbearable.
After work he no longer bothered to store his gun in the gun box
he kept in his closet; in the box, he had a second Glock for his
personal use. Erin had been afraid of guns, even before he’d
placed the Glock to her head and threatened to kill her if she ever
ran away again. She’d screamed and cried as he’d sworn that he’d
kill any man she slept with, any man she cared about. She’d been
so stupid and he’d been so angry with her for running away and
he demanded the name of the man who had helped her so he
could kill him. But Erin had screamed and cried and begged for
her life and swore there wasn’t a man and he believed her because
she was his wife. They’d made their vows in front of God and
family and the Bible says Thou shalt not commit adultery. Even then,
he hadn’t believed that Erin had been unfaithful. He’d never
believed another man was involved. While they were married,