“Right. Right. Sure.” Dennis is all energy. I get the feeling he’s relieved to have us in the house just to have something to focus on. He pours wine into the glass nearest me without actually checking, then takes the other one and pours for himself.

“I’m sorry about this,” he says. “If I didn’t absolutely have to be there tonight…”

“Of course,” I say, keeping my eyes away from Oliver’s.

“Her timing, as ever, is impeccable. Can you believe it?” His voice is grim as he takes a swig from his glass. “I don’t know,” he scoffs. “Maybe I shouldn’t even be surprised.”

“You don’t…you don’t have any idea?” I say. “Any thoughts on where she might have gone?”

Dennis meets my eyes. Don’t expect me to make sense of this.

“I’m not convinced there’s any rhyme or reason to this, Gillian,” he says. “She took off because she felt the urge, and she’ll come back when she’s done. That’s the way your sister works, isn’t it?”

“You don’t think there’s anything to it?” I say. “This ‘I have somewhere to be’ thing?”

Dennis grimaces. “If it’s a reason she can’t say out loud, Gillian, I don’t think it’s one I’m going to like.”

Now I feel like I need some of that wine too. I take a sip—I was right, it is expensive—and replace the glass on the beautiful black-granite island. So I guess Dennis is thinking an affair as well. Oliver’s bouncing his leg beside me, the way he does when he’s agitated.

“And she hadn’t been,” I say, “you know, acting strange?”

Dennis sighs, shrugs. I hear the words he’s not saying out loud: strange isn’t strange for Abigail.

“What about a friend—is there a friend she might have gone to stay with?”

Dennis shakes his head.

“I doubt it. I wish she had, they might be able to talk sense into her. I’ve called the few people I could think of—which was humiliating, obviously. But they say they haven’t seen her and I don’t believe they would lie to me.”

I don’t believe they would either. Dennis is not the kind of guy you lie to.

Unless you’re my sister, a little voice reminds me.

“Anyway, it’s not like she really has friends here.”

“She doesn’t?” They’ve been here for two years now.

“I mean,” Dennis sighs, “she knows Sam’s schoolfriends’ moms and stuff. But that’s it, and I wouldn’t say they’re exactly close. She doesn’t really go out.”

I frown. This doesn’t exactly sound healthy.