After Midnight Box Set by Tess Gerritsen

Author:Tess Gerritsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Published: 2020-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWO

SARAH STARTED TO speak, but her voice refused to work. Like a statue, she sat frozen in her chair, unable to move, unable to do anything but stare at him.

“I thought you should know,” said Nick. “I had to tell you in any event, because now we’ll need your help. The Berlin police want information about your husband’s activities, his enemies…why he might have been killed.”

She shook her head numbly. “I can’t think of… I mean I just don’t know…. My God!” she whispered.

The gentle touch of his hand on her shoulder made Sarah flinch. She looked up and saw the concern in his eyes. He’s worried I’ll faint, she thought. He’s worried I’ll get sick all over his nice thick carpet and embarrass us both. With sudden irritation she shook off his hand. She didn’t need anyone’s rehearsed sympathy. She needed to be alone—away from bureaucrats and their impersonal file folders. She rose unsteadily to her feet. No, she was not going to faint, not in front of this man.

Nick reached for her arm and nudged her gently back into the chair. “Please, Mrs. Fontaine. Another minute, that’s all I need.”

“Let me go.”

“Mrs. Fontaine—”

“Let me go.”

The sharpness of her voice seemed to shock him. He released her but did not back away. As she sat there, she was acutely aware of various aspects of his presence—the faint smell of after-shave and fatigue, the dull gleam of his belt buckle, the wrinkled shirt sleeves.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to crowd you. I was just worried that…well…”

“Yes?” She looked up into those slate eyes. Something she saw there—a steadiness, a strength—made her suddenly, and against all instinct, want to trust him. “I’m not going to faint, if that’s what you mean,” she said. “Please, I’d like to go home now.”

“Yes, of course. But I have just a few more questions.”

“I don’t have any answers. Don’t you understand?”

He was silent for a moment. “Then I’ll contact you later,” he said at last. “We have to talk about the arrangements for the body.”

“Oh. Yes, the body.” She stood up, blinking back a new wave of tears.

“I’ll have the car take you home now, Mrs. Fontaine.” He moved toward her slowly, as if afraid of scaring her. “I’m sorry about your husband. Truly sorry. Feel free to call me if you have any questions.”

She knew none of those words came from the heart, that none of them held any genuine sympathy. Nicholas O’Hara was a diplomat, saying what he’d been taught to say. Whatever the catastrophe, the U.S. State Department always had the right words ready. He’d probably said the same thing to a hundred other widows.

Now he was waiting for her response, so she did what was expected of any widow. She pulled herself together. Reaching out, she shook his hand and thanked him. Then she turned and walked out the door.

* * *

“DO YOU THINK she knows?”

Nick stared at the door that had just closed behind Sarah Fontaine’s retreating figure.

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