Keep No Secrets (26 page)

He wakes the next morning fully dressed on the family room sofa. He squints to read the clock in the kitchen, winces when he sees that it's half past eight. He's already missed the meeting he likes to have with his staff every Monday

morning. By the time he showers, dresses, and drives into the city, he'll also have missed a nine o'clock call with an investigator.

Last night, he arrived home just after one thirty to Claire’s stubborn silence, a clear indicator he’d done the opposite of what she thought he should. Rather than spend another night lying next to her, immersed in the tension that had taken up permanent residence in their bed, he collapsed in a sleepless stupor on the couch. He has a vague memory of her calling down to him from the top of the stairs, but maybe, in a bout of

hopefulness, he only imagined it.

Michael, he knows, left for his bus much earlier, but he hears the bedroom floor creak upstairs from Claire's quick footsteps. Water runs in the bathroom at the top of the steps and he hears Jamie brushing his teeth. Jack forces his aching body up from the sofa. He sees Claire left him two gifts: a full pot of freshly brewed coffee and the
Post-Dispatch
. She propped the newspaper up against an empty coffee cup placed in his usual spot on the table.

Once again, Jack has made the front page.

In an ironic twist, late last night
police searched the office of St.

Louis DA Jack Hilliard for

evidence relating to the pending
sexual assault charges against him.

Police searched the Hilliard

residence as well. Sources close to
the case, who asked to remain
anonymous, say police found a
document created by Hilliard's
teenage accuser that they believe
may be a written account of the
alleged rape of the victim by the
District Attorney. Hilliard's
accuser informed authorities that
she believed he had stolen the
document from her backpack when
she left it unattended on school
grounds. The special prosecutor,
Elias Walker, plans to appear in
court this morning to seek a

restraining order against Hilliard
to prohibit any further contact
between the DA and the alleged
victim.

No mention that Jack willingly handed the document over. Or that the police showed up at his home well after the time allowed by law. Or that the document failed to identify the male written about.

Or that the document wasn't dated. Or that Jack consented to the restraining order.

He glimpses the street from a front window. A few media types lie in wait.

He thinks about what might happen if he invited them in, offered himself up for an in-depth interview, instead of waiting until trial to tell his side of the story. Or maybe he'd choose only one of them. Call Jim Wolfe and grant an exclusive. He imagines Wolfe's startled reaction to the invitation, his wide eyes made to look even larger behind the Radar O'Reilly glasses he wears. He then imagines Earl's reaction and turns for the stairs to fight his next battle.

A small suitcase rests on Claire’s side of the bed, open flat like two butterfly wings. She comes out of the bathroom fully-dressed and carrying various items

—a blow dryer, her hairbrush, and a make-up bag, which he knows doesn’t have much make-up in it, but instead most likely holds toothpaste, a

toothbrush and miniature bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion.

She places everything in the suitcase, tucking the items around the clothes which have already been packed inside.

"Going somewhere?" he asks from the doorway.

"I need a few days away from this." She answers without looking at him. "Mom and I are flying to Arizona for a few days.

We both want to see Sedona."

She makes her announcement as if she and her mother take off on vacation together all the time. Jack can’t remember Claire ever traveling alone with Ruth except to visit relatives in Kansas City.

And yet now she's leaving only days before Christmas? He wants to ask her how long they've had this in the works; she couldn't have spoken to her mom since just last night. And aren't her students in the middle of exams?

Wouldn't she have had to arrange for someone to cover for her? It also doesn't escape his notice that their chosen destination is a place he and Claire always talked about visiting together. He wonders how much it will cost and then feels ashamed. He should probably be concerned that this is the first step in his wife leaving him. Instead, he agrees with her: they both need a few days away from everything. From each other.

She zips the suitcase shut and yanks it upright onto the floor. "I'll take Jamie to the bus stop on my way out, and Marcia will meet his afternoon bus and drop him with my dad for the rest of the time."

"Is there a reason he's not staying home with me?" Jack asks the question without emotion even though he's

outraged by the insult.

"I think you have enough to contend with."

Jack crosses his arms over his chest, holds his tongue.

"I'll call to let you know we arrived,"

she says, and without another word, not even goodbye, she starts for the bedroom door, the suitcase rolling behind her.

And despite all the questions in his head, the things he wants to say, he moves aside and lets her go.

He stays home for the rest of the morning rather than battle the small crowd outside. He knows they’ll abandon their posts soon enough; the story, even with fresh developments, is old enough to die quickly if they don’t get a newsworthy reaction from him. Avoiding the press is a perfect excuse to hibernate and explore Michael's computer. He can't access Web Watcher without Claire, but he can read Michael's Facebook messages.

"Jesus Christ, Michael, do you ever sleep?" he mutters when he sees the many messages. Most of them reflect exchanges with Celeste, but plenty are

communications with others, too.

He opens the message with the oldest date and begins reading.

His weary-eyed patience bears fruit an hour later in an early October message from Celeste to Michael, but Jack is surprised by the subject matter.

Celeste: who's jenny?

Michael: why?

Celeste: people at school keep

making comments about how i

look like her. who is she? an old gf?

Michael: no . . . definitely not

Celeste: ?

Michael: my dad cheated on my

mom with her, long story --__--

Celeste: ur dad? no way!!

Michael: u dont even want to

know

Celeste: what happened?

Michael: long story, cee. it

happned after he was first

elected. he got caught cus she

got arrested 4 murdering some

lady and my dad was her alibi

Celeste: u got to b shitting me!

Michael: i wish . . it was al over the news, google youl see

Michael: u there . .?

Celeste: OMG . .

Michael: told ya

Celeste: she does look like me

O.o

Michael: yea i guess a little, she was hot, i’l give her that ;)

Celeste: cant believe ur parents

stayed together

Michael: yea me either

Celeste: ur lucky

Michael: not quite

Celeste: i mean, that they

stayed together. my rents got a

divorce cus my mom fucked

around a lot

Michael: ur MOM?!

#usual ytheguy

Celeste: ha! they al do it . .

adults are fucked up . . my

moms stil with one of the

douchebags!

Celeste: i hate him hes a total

asshole, what kinda guy screws

around with someone whos

married?

Michael: i sorta liked jenny,

believe it r not, least til he

fucked her. after that, i hated

her

Celeste: you knew her . . ?

Michael: yea she was friends

with my rents, she even babysat

me and jamie a couple times

when we were little

Celeste: damn . . . that sucks

Michael: tel me bout it

Celeste: so did she actual y do it

. . kil the lady?

Michael: no one knows 4 sure,

its al online

Celeste: is that why u like me,

mike? cus i look like her? cmon,

tel the truth ;)

Michael: lol . . trust me that

would be a reason for me not to

like u

Jack has always known how angry Michael was about what happened with Jenny.

Even at just shy of twelve, he understood the gravity of the betrayal. After Claire kicked Jack out of the house, Michael assumed the role of her protector—he insisted on accompanying her everywhere, he screened every phone call—and in doing so, he grew up that year faster than he should have. His anger at Jack only intensified when his parents reunited, because Jack's return to the family knocked Michael back down in the family pecking order.

Yet seeing him discuss it with a friend gives Jack a new understanding of his son's feelings. Michael had always liked Jenny. Even after he learned what Jack had done, he never spoke badly of her. He heaped all his vengeance on Jack, so it never occurred to Jack that Michael might hate Jenny, too. Yet four years have passed and Jack feels the hot resentment buried in his messages with Celeste.

Jack watches for more discussion of Jenny, but the one conversation seems to be it. The next messages to catch Jack's attention are ones that make clear their relationship had become physical.

Celeste: hey babe :) what u

doin?

Michael: hey :) nm just got

home

Celeste: can i come over, its

been a while ;) . . oh and i have good news!

Michael: nah not tonite. oh yea?

whats the news

Celeste: . . . why not

Michael: hw

Celeste: i could help u :)

Michael: lol . . u hate chem.

what news??

Celeste: true, lets just say ive

dropped the bait ;)

Michael: ?

Celeste: r plan?

Michael: what plan

Celeste: juris doctr lol

Michael: what r u talking about

Celeste: dont u remember? im

just gonna cal u

Jack remembers how she sat in his car so doe-eyed, insisting what she and Michael were doing on the couch was a first. He knew she was lying. Now, the
its been a
while
followed by the winky face confirms it. They met at the start of the school year, and this message is from late October.
A first, my ass
, Jack thinks.

He wonders what she meant by "juris doctr." Did it have something to do with her wanting to be a lawyer? He can't imagine them talking about that, yet he didn't think he'd find a file named

"Poems" on his son's computer, either.

And why had she wanted to call Michael to answer his questions? What didn't she want in writing?

He opens the next message, dated the very next day.

Celeste: heyy

Michael: hey.

Celeste: u stil mad?

Michael: i guess not.

Celeste: it was just 4 fun, i

thought u’d be happy

Michael: i know

Celeste: cal me when ur in bed

tonite . . i'l make it up 2 u ;) Michael: yea? hows that J

Celeste: using my seductive

voice and talents of persuasion,

obvi

Michael: :-)

What the hell, she's offering him phone sex
. Jack wonders what Michael was mad about.

Was it something that had occurred that day at school? Or did it have to do with the messages from the night before? Or the phone conversation that followed those messages?

The messages over the next few days are seemingly innocuous, but then Jack reads one that he thinks references Celeste's dad.

Celeste: i fuckin hate him

Michael: what happened?

Celeste: don't wanna talk about

it

Jack can't quite believe how skillfully she manipulates his son. She's a master. Jack wants Michael to ask, "Then why'd you bring it up?" No such luck.

Michael: aw cmon whats wrong

cee

Celeste: he wont let me wear the

dress i bought for homecoming

Michael: why?

Celeste: "too revealing"

Michael: i find "revealing" sexy Celeste: lol u would

Michael: ehh, idk, i dont want

other guys looking at u ;)

Celeste: ur sweet, i dont think

hes worried about that, he says

i'l look like a slut

Michael: he said that . .?

Celeste: yep

Michael: want me 2 beat him

up? :)

Celeste: lol yea please do

Michael: wear something he

likes out the door and you can

change latr

Celeste: alright :)

Jack remembers the dress she wore to Homecoming, and he's not surprised by her father's reaction. Claire wanted pictures of them, so she insisted that Michael come back by the house after he picked up Celeste. Celeste walked into their house already wearing the dress, and Jack now wonders where she

accomplished her quick-change act. The dress was a liquid, pale orange number that clung to her like quicksilver and plunged so far down her back they couldn't help but see the butterfly tattoo at the base of her spine. He remembers, too, being surprised by the tattoo and her lack of fear about him seeing it. He doubted her highly conservative dad was aware of it, which, given her age, would mean she'd obtained it illegally. Celeste called it right, though. Jack and Claire commiserated about it together later as parents, but as DA, he let it go.

The next messages of any interest come just after the dance.

Michael: u there?

Celeste: yea

Michael: how’d it go?

Celeste: not good

Michael: ?

Celeste: he’s crazy

Michael: what u mean?

Celeste: he’s just crazy

Michael: tel me

Celeste: its good i left my dress n stuff in ur car

Michael: why