It was stupid.
Fine.
I shouldn’t have lied.”
Jack nodded once.
“Which friends?”
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
One of her sisters looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“You told Jack this morning you spent today with us,” she said.
“But you didn’t mention anything about last night.”
Clare’s eyes flashed toward her.
“Because it wasn’t important.”
Jack looked at the watch.
“Then how did Derek’s watch get into our house?”
“Maybe he left it another time.”
“When?”
“I don’t remember.”
“He visits our house often enough that you can’t remember when your boss left an expensive watch in our living room?”
Clare pushed the box away.
“You’re twisting everything.”
Jack felt a surprising calm come over him.
For months, he had questioned his own instincts.
Every late dinner had been explained.
Every hidden message had been dismissed.
Every sudden change in her behavior had somehow ended with him feeling guilty for noticing it.
But now Clare was doing it in front of other people.
And they could see it too.
Her mother spoke softly.
“Clare, just tell him where you were.”
“Mom, stay out of this.”
Her mother’s face fell.
Jack said nothing.
That silence bothered Clare more than anger would have.
“What do you want from me?” she demanded.
“The truth.”
“About a watch?”
“About why you told your husband you were asleep beside him when you weren’t even in the house.
About why your boss’s watch was sitting on our coffee table.
About every night I was told not to worry because you were working late.”
The room seemed to shrink around her.
Clare crossed her arms.
“You have no right to interrogate me in front of my family.”
“You’re right,” Jack said.
She looked surprised.
“I shouldn’t have to interrogate my wife at all.”
Nobody moved.
Jack could see tears beginning in Clare’s eyes, but he no longer knew whether they came from guilt, fear, anger, or simply the realization that she was losing control of the story.
“Jack,” she said more quietly, “please.”
He had wanted to hear that word for months.
Not because he wanted her to beg.
Because he wanted some sign that she understood the damage wasn’t the watch itself.
It was the certainty in her voice the previous night.
Of course, Jack.
Where else would I be at this hour?
He could still hear it.
“Were you with Derek last night?” he asked.
