He looked at the picture and saw a sleek blue-and-white sailboat with twin sails and a cabin below. At the helm was Curtis Silkwell with a far younger Jenny next to him, one of her hands on the wheel next to her father’s. Off to the side were Alex and Dak.

“Someone took the picture from shore and gave it to us.”

“He obviously liked the painting, if it’s hanging in here.”

“I did that two years after... it happened. It was therapy.”

“I’m sure it was. It took you back to a safe time and a safe place.”

She smiled. “My dad was a daredevil sailor, too, even more than Jenny.”

Devine smiled. “How’d you all handle it?”

“Jenny pretended not to be scared. Dak was terrified and screamed bloody murder the first few times we went out, especially if the seas were rough, but then he got the hang of it.”

“And you?”

“I trusted my dad,” she said simply. She looked up at Devine as she handed him a cup of tea. “I knew he would never do anything to hurt us. And he was always in control even when he seemed not to be. He could do anything.”

“Sounds like you really love him,” said Devine.

“I knew he was this brave war hero from way back. But I never saw that side of him. He never had any of that stuff here. No medals or anything, and he never talked about it, even when we asked him. Well, Jenny and Dak did. I wasn’t interested.”

“It’s been my experience that the people who did the most in war talked about it the least, and the reverse is also true.”

She nodded and looked out the window, where the wind had intensified. It pushed against the glass with the firm pressure of a leviathan’s hand. Then there was a loud smack as possibly a tree limb hit the house; Devine felt his hand dart to his gun.

Get a grip, you idiot.

Alex said, “He was a good congressman and senator. He worked a lot with the state’s governors, especially Angus King, who is now a senator, too, and John Baldacci when he was the governor. My dad really cared about the people who live here.”

“Will you go down to see him?” he asked. “And your mother? She said she tried to call and got no answer. And she hasn’t seen or talked to you since the divorce.”

“It’s complicated, Travis,” she said, her expression tightening. “I’m a different person than I used to be. I don’t want to be different. I want to be happy and I am, sometimes. But sometimes things hit me and wipe the smile right off my face. My anxiety goes through the roof. I can barely breathe. The world feels like it’s closing in on me. It’s not Mom, really, it’s... me. And I don’t want her to see me... like that.”

She seemed to grip the teacup harder, and glanced at the fire. He could see her taking deep, moderating breaths and saying something under her breath. A calming phrase or chant, like she had mentioned.

“You’re safe with me, Alex. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

She gave him a sad smile. “But one day you won’t be here, and I will. ”

Of course, and what a stupid thing for me to say.

He stared at the flames, and couldn’t think of any suitable reply to her honest from-the-gut words.

Chapter 39

He left her there by the fire.

Devine looked back at the house as he sat in the SUV, his spirits as bleak as the weather.

The case had its difficulties, but so did every other challenge he’d confronted. No, it wasn’t the case that bothered him so much. It was knowing that no matter what he did he could not make people who were not whole, whole. Not Alex. Not Curtis Silkwell. Not his ex-wife. Not Earl or Annie Palmer. Not anyone whose life had been touched by Jenny Silkwell.

Including me, and I never even knew the woman.

He drove to the police station and found that neither Fuss nor Harper was there. But there was a woman he had been introduced to before. Her name was Mildred James, and she handled the dispatch and all the admin work for the department.

“I’m not sure when they’ll be back,” said James. “Can I do anything for you?”

He sat down across from her. “You lived here long?”

“I was born here fifty-nine years ago next week.”

“Happy early birthday, then. So you know the Silkwells?”

“Oh sure. Wonderful family. It’s so awful what happened to Jenny. I’m sure her parents are very upset. Well, I heard Senator Silkwell is not well, so he may not... be aware.”

“You like working here?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t. There’s never too much to do, I mean nothing that you’d call exciting. And that’s not a bad thing, don’t get me wrong. But with more people moving into the area, we are getting more calls and such. There’s even talk of hiring another officer or two.”

“Were you working here when Alex was assaulted?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve been working here over twenty years. Thank God whoever attacked her didn’t kill her.”

I think they killed part of her, Devine thought.

“What can you tell me about the incident?” he asked.