I just want to know when youre coming home, she said.
Weve talked about this and talked about this.
Youre still married to me. Youre still my husband.
And theres just no point in talking about it any more. Again he took her elbow. He already had her out of the Chevy when she hauled off and slugged him in the jaw. He staggered back a few steps, his whole head ringing.
Hey! said Floyd, grabbing Doreens arms. Hey now, you dont wanna go doing that!
Lemme go! screeched Doreen. She broke out of Floyds grasp and took another swing at her husband.
This time Lincoln ducked, which only made his wife madder. She got in one more swing before Lincoln and Floyd managed to get her arms secured.
I hate to do this," said Lincoln. But youre just not being reasonable today.
He snapped the handcuffs on her wrists. She spat at him. He wiped his sleeve across his face, then patiently guided his wife into the backseat of the cruiser.
Oh man, said Floyd. You know were gonna have to book her.
I know. Lincoln sighed and slid in behind the wheel.
You cant divorce me, Lincoln Kelly! said Doreen. You promised to love and cherish!
I didnt know about the bottle, said Lincoln, and he turned the car around.
They drove at a leisurely speed toward town, Doreen cussing a purple streak the whole time. It was the drinking that did it; it seemed to pop the cork off her bottle of demons.
Two years ago, Lincoln had moved out of their house. He figured hed given the marriage his best effort and ten years of his life. He wasnt by nature a quitter, but the despair had finally gotten to him. That and the sense that, at forty-five, his life was racing by, joyless and unfruitful. He wished he could do right by Doreen, wished that he could recapture some of that old affection hed felt for her early on in their marriage, when shed been bright and sober, not bubbling over with anger as she was now. Sometimes hed search his own heart for whatever trace of love might still linger, some small spark among the ashes, but there was nothing left. The ashes were cold. And he was tired.
He had tried to stand by her, but Doreen couldnt even see clear to help herself. Every few months, when her rage boiled up, shed spend the day drinking. Then shed borrow someones car and go for one of her famous high-speed drives. People in town knew to stay off the roads when Doreen Kelly got behind the wheel.
Back at the Tranquility police station, Lincoln let Floyd do the booking and locking up. Through the two closed doors leading to the cell, he could hear Doreen yelling for a lawyer. He supposed he should call One for her, though no one in Tranquility wanted to take her on. Even down south as far as Bangor, shed worn out her welcomes. He sat at his desk, flipping through the Rolodex, trolling for a lawyers name. Someone he hadnt called in a while. Someone who didnt mind being cussed out by a client.
It was all too much, too early in the morning. He shoved away the Rolodex and ran his hand through his hair. Doreen was still yelling in the back room. This would all be reported in that nosy Gazette, and then the Bangor and Portland papers would pick it up because the whole damn state of Maine thought it was funny and so very quaint. Tranquility police chief arrests own wife. Again.
He reached for the telephone and was dialing the number for Tom Wiley, attorney at law, when he heard a knock at his door. Glancing up, he saw Claire Effiot walk into his office, and he hung up.
Hey, Claire, he said. Got your safety sticker yet?
Im still working on it. But Im not here about my car. I want to show you something. She set a dirty bone down on his desk.
Whats this?
Its a femur, Lincoln.
What?
A thigh bone. I think its human.
He stared at the dirt-encrusted bone. One end was splintered off, and the shaft showed the gnawings of animal teeth. Where did you find this?
Rachel Sorkins place.
How did Rachel get it?
Elwyn Clydes dogs dragged it into her yard. She doesnt know where it came from. I was over there this morning, after Elwyn shot himself in the foot.
Again? He rolled his eyes and they both laughed. If every village had an idiot, then Tranquilitys would be Elwyn.
Hes okay, she said. But I guess a gunshot wound should be reported.
Consider it done. I already have a folder for Elwyn and his gunshot wounds. He gestured to a chair. Now tell me about this bone. Are you sure its human?
She sat down. Though they were looking directly at each other, he felt a barrier of reserve between them that was almost physical. He had sensed it the first time theyd met, soon after shed moved to town, when she had attended to a prisoner suffering from abdominal pain in Tranquilitys three-cell jail. Lincoln had been curious about her from the start. Where was her husband? Why was she alone raising her son? But he had not felt comfortable asking her personal questions, and she did not seem to invite such intrusion. Pleasant but intensely private, she seemed reluctant to let anyone get too close to her, which was a shame. She was a pretty woman, short but sturdy, with luminous dark eyes and a mass of curly brown hair just starting to show the first strands of silver.