Sam swallowed. “I told Adeline that Nora wanted to give her some things. Just trinkets and reminders of Sarah. But the real purpose of going over there last night was to tell Adeline that Nora and I had been seeing each other. We wanted her to hear it from us before she saw it online.”
“Okay,” Elliott said slowly. “So what happened?”
“We got there around nine. Everything went fine at first. Adeline was thankful for the reminders of her mom. And then—” Sam glanced up at the ceiling.
“And then you told her,” Tom said.
“Yes.”
“How did she react?” Tom asked.
Sam closed his eyes and slowly shook his head, remembering the scene. “She just… lost it.”
“Lost it how?” Elliott asked.
“We were in the living room, sitting on couches and chairs just like we are here, and she jumped up and started pacing and yelling at us, telling us we had been sneaking around behind her back—which is technically true. She said that we were a disgrace to her mother’s memory, that she was never going to talk to either of us after she went back to college, and that she was leaving the city immediately.”
Sam took a deep breath.
“I think it’s just the fact that she had kept it all bottled up for so long. She just wasn’t ready—not ready for anything to change. She screamed at Nora, told her she wasn’t half the woman her mother had been and that we should both be ashamed of ourselves. She punched the living-room wall hard enough to make two of the framed photos fall off. She grabbed one of the other pictures—one with the Absolom Six—and slammed it on the floor.”
“What did you and Nora do?” Elliott asked.
“We just sat there, letting Adeline get it all out. But Nora jumped up when she realized Adeline was bleeding.”
“From the glass in the picture frames?” Tom asked.
“No. From hitting the wall. Her knuckles were bleeding. Nora went to the master bathroom and got some things and tried to clean the wound, but Adeline was still in a rage. She pushed her away.” Sam rubbed his forehead. “Nora stumbled and slipped on the broken glass on the floor. It all happened so fast. Seeing Nora fall sort of snapped Adeline out of it. She immediately tried to help her up.”
Elliott stared at Sam. “Did… she get up?”
“Of course she got up. She landed on her hand, on some glass. She had a cut, but she was fine. We both helped her up and washed the blood off. Once Adeline saw that Nora was okay, she just wanted to leave. She stormed out, and Nora assured me she was fine, so I ran after Adeline. I didn’t see her when I got home, and she was still angry the next morning—too angry to even hold my hand as we walked to Sarah’s grave.”
Sam closed his eyes and rubbed his eyebrows. “It was a disaster. The whole night.”
Elliott put his hands on the seat back and braced himself. “This is bad, Sam. We need to know what the police know. And we need to keep this out of the press.”
“That’s going to be impossible,” Tom said. “Absolutely impossible. One of the scientists whose invention almost eradicated crime is arrested for murdering another scientist who also helped eradicate crime? It’s the story of the century. The world loves a mystery. Especially one with love involved. And rich people. And irony.”
“Forget the press.” Sam focused on Elliott. “We need to bring Hiro, Connie, and Dani here.”
“Why?”
“Several reasons. First, if someone is killing Absolom scientists, they might be in danger. Second, Nora’s death might be related to Absolom Two. If so, we need to talk about precautions. And finally, one of us might know something that could help us find Nora’s killer.”
“We’re scientists, Sam, not some crack team of detectives.”
Sam leaned back in the chair. “Well, technically, we’re frauds, so I’d say that makes us equally qualified for detective work.”
Tom’s head snapped back and forth between Elliott and Sam, finally settling on Elliott. “What does that mean?”
“Ignore it, Tom. Sam is under a lot of stress. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.”
“Oh yes I do. Get them here, Elliott. And Tom, go get the detectives. It’s time we found out what happened at Nora’s house after Adeline and I left last night.”
FIVE
The police offered Sam lunch, but he was too nervous to eat.
Apparently, so were Elliott and Tom. They sat in the small living area, rehashing what they knew, until the door’s deadbolt slammed open with a loud crack that made Sam jump.