Cogent

FIFTEEN

Mikael began slowly, just as she had at the diner. She told Carter one thing at a time, reliving one conversation after another that she had shared with Lenny. It seemed easy for her to talk about her friend, as though Lenny was a happy memory to her and nothing more. Carter hated the way Mikael could do that so easily. She seemed to have recovered fully, while he was still drenched in yesterday's regrets.

"This is maddening." Carter finally said, cutting Mikael off mid-sentence. He continued driving down the road, comforted by the hum of the engine. He had to keep driving, to focus his attention on something other than his thoughts.

"Is there something you want me to explain?" she inquired.

"Tell me, once and for all: do you think Lenny killed herself?"

She hadn't wanted to answer before. She didn't think it mattered, apparently. But it looked like Mikael knew Lenny better than anyone—even Carter. If that was the case, only the ones closest to her would be able to know for sure whether or not she'd killed herself.

"No. I don't." Mikael said, giving him a straight answer for the first time.

Carter swiped a hand over his face, forcing himself to calm down. "Then do you know who would have wanted to hurt her?"

Mikael frowned deeply and adjusted her blouse beneath the seatbelt. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Carter repeated.

"...Maybe. I don't know. The way that her work was evolving, there was potential for it to become controversial. But she wasn't there yet. As far as I know, her research wasn't conclusive enough to go public."

"Go public with what? That a bunch of teenagers were murdered? People would've thought she was crazy." Carter clenched his jaw. Lenny wasn't crazy. Obviously she was onto something. "But the killer wouldn't want any attention drawn to them."

"My thoughts run along those same lines. If Lenore didn't want anyone to interfere, she wouldn't have been able to say anything unless she had conclusive evidence that someone did harm those children and that they were not, in fact, suicides."

"Well, then, where is the evidence?" Carter demanded.

Mikael gave him a look. "How should I know? You're the one who has all of her things. Did you find anything suspicious, or, or questionable?" she spread out her fingers in inquiry as she spoke.

"There's just a lot of paperwork and furniture. Her parents took some of her stuff with them. Just small things—some photographs, jewelry box, heirlooms. Nothing big. Nothing that has anything to do with her 'project'."

"Those kids were her life, Carter. Not just a project."

"I thought that I was her life, Mikael." Carter retorted. "But that turned out to be a lie."

"No, not a lie. You were a big part of her life. She loved you. I know that, and so do you. Things were just a little more complicated than you knew. I suspect even Lenore wasn't aware of how complex her life was getting. She never seemed to deviate from her dedication to her students. I think she got caught up in trying to help them."

"They are dead," Carter spat, angry again. "How can you help kids who are already dead? Suicide or murder, it doesn't matter anymore. Lenny never should have stuck her nose in this. Especially not alone."

"Carter," Mikael sighed and looked up at him.

"What?" he sounded wary.

"There's something else." She hesitated to say more.