_OceanofPDF.com_The_Girl_on_the_Train_-_Paula_Hawkins

given up hope, that no matter what the police say, he still clings to the
idea that Megan will come home.
The words come out hollow, they ring false, but without looking into
his eyes, I can’t tell why. I can’t tell whether he doesn’t really believe
she’s coming home because all the faith he once possessed has been
ripped away by the events of the past few days, or because he really
knows that she’s never coming home.
It comes to me, just then: the memory of calling his number yesterday.
Once, twice? I run upstairs to get my phone and find it tangled up in the
bedclothes. I have three missed calls: one from Tom and two from Scott.
No messages. The call from Tom was last night, as was the first call from
Scott, but later, just before midnight. The second call from him was this
morning, just a few minutes ago.
My heart lifts a little. This is good news. Despite his mother’s actions,
despite their clear implications (Thank you very much for your help, now
get lost), Scott still wants to talk to me. He needs me. I’m momentarily
flooded with affection for Cathy, filled with gratitude to her for pouring
the rest of the wine away. I have to keep a clear head, for Scott. He needs
me thinking straight.
I take a shower, get dressed and make another cup of coffee, and then
I sit down in the living room, little black book at my side, and I call
Scott.
“You should have told me,” he says as soon as he picks up, “what you
are.” His tone is flat, cold. My stomach is a small, hard ball. He knows.
“Detective Riley spoke to me after they let him go. He denied having an
affair with her. And the witness who suggested that there was something
going on was unreliable, she said. An alcoholic. Possibly mentally
unstable. She didn’t tell me the witness’s name, but I take it she was
talking about you?”
“But . . . no,” I say. “No. I’m not . . . I hadn’t been drinking when I
saw them. It was eight thirty in the morning.” Like that means anything.
“And they found evidence, it said so on the news. They found—”
“Insufficient evidence.”
The phone goes dead.
FRIDAY, JULY 26, 2013