I was pregnant, I wasn’t really sure if it might not be his. I thought we’d been using protection, but—well, it’s a long story. Anyway, the time I was with him and when Brian had returned home—it was just too close to call. I told my doctor my predicament, and he advised me just to focus on taking care of myself and my baby. We could work out the paternity issue with a simple test once the baby was born.”
“Did you consider having—” Eberhard stopped himself. He sat back in his chair and quickly waved away the question. “Sorry. It doesn’t have anything to do with the investigation. Go on . . .”
Laurie figured she’d answer his question anyway. “I wasn’t going to terminate the pregnancy just to keep covering up what happened.” She shrugged. “Then there’d have been one more awful thing I’d have to hide from my husband.”
“While you were pregnant, did McBride call you again—or harass you in any way?”
She nodded. “There were a few more calls—basically the same thing over and over. He asked me when I was due, and he threatened to tell Brian. He was convinced the baby was his.”
Her throat went dry, and Laurie took a sip of the bottled water they’d gotten for her. “In my eighth month, someone left a used high chair in front of the restaurant one morning. My coworkers figured it was some nice customer who had spotted me in the kitchen and thought they were doing me a favor. But I have a feeling it was Tad. Anyway, I didn’t keep the high chair. I didn’t even take it home. I dropped it off at Goodwill.”
“Did you ever spot him outside your house during this time?”
“It was hard to be certain,” Laurie replied. “I never saw him sneak up to the duplex or anything like that. But several times, I wondered if it was him driving by. Tad had an old, red VW Bug. And—well, you know, this is a college town . . .”
“Crawling with VW Bugs,” Eberhard said, nodding.
“Every time I saw one come down the block, I couldn’t be sure.”
Laurie let out a sad little laugh. In a strange way, she was glad to tell someone—at long last. Yet she was trembling inside, and she perspired so much that her sweater stuck to her skin.
It was sort of how she’d felt when she’d told Brian the truth. She’d decided to wait until his next furlough home. It wasn’t exactly something she could tell him over the phone or in an e-mail. Just deciding to come clean with Brian had given her an edge over Tad and his threats.
Joey was born on September first. Brian finally saw his baby son on Halloween. By that time, Tad was calling with more frequency, demanding to see his child. By then, she was almost certain Joey was Brian’s son. Still, that wasn’t enough. She’d need Brian to take a paternity test to get Tad off her back. Though she hated breaking Brian’s heart and risking their marriage, she had to tell him. Besides, she owed him the truth.
She told him in the kitchen while they were washing the dinner dishes together. They’d already put Joey to bed. It was Brian’s fourth night home. Laurie had considered it a minor miracle that Tad hadn’t called to harass her during Brian’s stay. Or had he been watching the house? Brian had another three days left before he shipped back.
Laurie tried to brace him for what she had to say. “I have something to tell you that’s going to be really difficult, Brian.” She took the pot and the dishtowel out of his hands and pulled him over to the breakfast table. Brian had a sort of mystified half smile on his face—as if he thought this might be a joke.
“First off, you should know, this— thing, it was like a blip. And I’m so sorry. It was over with by the time you came home last year. But I need for you to know about it.” She sat him down in one of the chairs, and watched the smile run away from his face. “I don’t expect you to forgive me,” she continued, tears in her eyes. “What I did was utterly stupid. It
“Did you consider having—” Eberhard stopped himself. He sat back in his chair and quickly waved away the question. “Sorry. It doesn’t have anything to do with the investigation. Go on . . .”
Laurie figured she’d answer his question anyway. “I wasn’t going to terminate the pregnancy just to keep covering up what happened.” She shrugged. “Then there’d have been one more awful thing I’d have to hide from my husband.”
“While you were pregnant, did McBride call you again—or harass you in any way?”
She nodded. “There were a few more calls—basically the same thing over and over. He asked me when I was due, and he threatened to tell Brian. He was convinced the baby was his.”
Her throat went dry, and Laurie took a sip of the bottled water they’d gotten for her. “In my eighth month, someone left a used high chair in front of the restaurant one morning. My coworkers figured it was some nice customer who had spotted me in the kitchen and thought they were doing me a favor. But I have a feeling it was Tad. Anyway, I didn’t keep the high chair. I didn’t even take it home. I dropped it off at Goodwill.”
“Did you ever spot him outside your house during this time?”
“It was hard to be certain,” Laurie replied. “I never saw him sneak up to the duplex or anything like that. But several times, I wondered if it was him driving by. Tad had an old, red VW Bug. And—well, you know, this is a college town . . .”
“Crawling with VW Bugs,” Eberhard said, nodding.
“Every time I saw one come down the block, I couldn’t be sure.”
Laurie let out a sad little laugh. In a strange way, she was glad to tell someone—at long last. Yet she was trembling inside, and she perspired so much that her sweater stuck to her skin.
It was sort of how she’d felt when she’d told Brian the truth. She’d decided to wait until his next furlough home. It wasn’t exactly something she could tell him over the phone or in an e-mail. Just deciding to come clean with Brian had given her an edge over Tad and his threats.
Joey was born on September first. Brian finally saw his baby son on Halloween. By that time, Tad was calling with more frequency, demanding to see his child. By then, she was almost certain Joey was Brian’s son. Still, that wasn’t enough. She’d need Brian to take a paternity test to get Tad off her back. Though she hated breaking Brian’s heart and risking their marriage, she had to tell him. Besides, she owed him the truth.
She told him in the kitchen while they were washing the dinner dishes together. They’d already put Joey to bed. It was Brian’s fourth night home. Laurie had considered it a minor miracle that Tad hadn’t called to harass her during Brian’s stay. Or had he been watching the house? Brian had another three days left before he shipped back.
Laurie tried to brace him for what she had to say. “I have something to tell you that’s going to be really difficult, Brian.” She took the pot and the dishtowel out of his hands and pulled him over to the breakfast table. Brian had a sort of mystified half smile on his face—as if he thought this might be a joke.
“First off, you should know, this— thing, it was like a blip. And I’m so sorry. It was over with by the time you came home last year. But I need for you to know about it.” She sat him down in one of the chairs, and watched the smile run away from his face. “I don’t expect you to forgive me,” she continued, tears in her eyes. “What I did was utterly stupid. It
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