“Yeah, it was Anton.” The whispered words barely register to her own ears, but they’re loud enough for Aimee to hear.
“And you knew.” Aimee’s voice is low and measured. “You knew and you didn’t tell me.”
“Please! Let me explain!”
“Yeah, you’re going to explain.” She laughs, abrupt and unkind. “Right before I call the police. But I will give you one chance as my friend to tell me your side.”
What can she say? There’s no side. Just the awful unvarnished facts. That Anton told her everything the other night during their fierce argument, and she did nothing about it. “I’m so sorry. You have to believe me. I had no idea what he was up to, I swear, Aimee. Not until Friday night.”
“Is that what you were fighting about?”
Gwen nods. “Yes.”
“What did he say? Exactly.”
“He was upset. Really upset.” Gwen closes her eyes, forcing herself to remember that night. “I had put the kids to bed. Anton stayed downstairs and kept drinking. By the time I got downstairs he was very drunk. He left out the back with Sababa to walk him, and I followed him out. I confronted him.”
“About what? If you didn’t know he was blackmailing Scott, what did you confront him about?”
“I knew something was up. I thought that he had started cheating on me again. My mind just jumped to that conclusion. I had no idea what he had really been up to, Aimee, I swear.”
“But what did he say?” Aimee presses on, louder. “What words did he use?”
“He said he had done something really stupid. He said he had fucked up.”
“Meaning what?”
“He was worried… he was in a panic. He was almost frantic. He said he had to warn you.”
“Warn me about what?” she asks through gritted teeth.
Gwen shrinks before Aimee’s ferocity. She will have to say it out loud. Ever since Friday night when Anton told her whathe had been doing, Gwen has known that this moment would come, but it’s so much harder than she ever imagined.
“About Noa,” she says softly.
“Noa?” Aimee’s voice catches. “Gwen, what does Noa have to do with any of this?”
“I don’t know all the details. I was upset. We were yelling at each other.” Gwen feels sick. She shouldn’t have to do this. It wasn’t her fault. This is Anton, that bastard, ruining her life, even from death. “He told me he needed money. That I had emasculated him, if you can believe that. He said I cut his balls off. How could he be expected to live like this? It wasn’t his fault, he said. It got out of control—”
Aimee slaps her hand down on the granite. “Gwen! What does this have to do with Noa?”
“He said he had been blackmailing Scott,” Gwen says, the words tumbling out. “That he had some dirt on him. And no, he didn’t say what it was, and I didn’t ask. I was so shocked. I was so angry. I threw a coffee mug at him. It hit him in the head. I thought I cleaned up all the pieces, but that’s what you stepped on. Remember? On Saturday?”
“I don’t care about the damn coffee mug!” Aimee steps closer, just inches from Gwen, and for a moment Gwen wonders if her friend is going to hurt her. Aimee may be small, but she’s strong from so much physical labor. “You’re going to explain what this has to do with Noa.”
“Anton said somehow the thing with Scott had gotten out of control. He said it was connected with that woman, that client of yours,” Gwen says. “You know, the one with the kittens?”
“Kittens?” Aimee stumbles back. “You mean Cathy? How is she involved?”
“I don’t know, I swear.”
“Goddamnit, Gwen. We’re talking about my daughter. What did Anton say?”
“He didn’t tell me the connection. All he said was…”
“Was what?”
“He was worried that Noa had been going over there.” Gwen paused and looked away for a moment, then in a lowered voice she said: “That she might be in danger.”