Rachel found relief in that, as adding childreneven ones that were adults and moved awaymade situations like this infinitely sadder. The bearded officer led them through the small hallway that emptied out into a living room and adjoining kitchen. A woman sat with a second officer on a couch against the back wall. The officer looked very uncomfortable and maybe even out of his element. The woman, meanwhile, looked up as Rachel, Jack, and the bearded officer came into the room. There was a dazed look on her face and though it was clear shed done a good deal of wailing and crying, there was a confused aspect to her expression. It was almost as if, though heartbroken, she was expecting someone to jump from behind a corner somewhere and tell her this was all part of a cruel prank.

The bearded officer took up a space at the intersection of the living room and kitchen. Mrs. Adams, these are Agents Rivers and Gift. Is it okay if they ask you a few questions?

Mrs. Adams nodded, slowly turning her eyes to the agents. This is all a mistake, she said. It has to be a mistake. Dustin…he wouldnt do this. Theres no way he…no way…

Thats why wed like to talk to you, Rachel said, coming forward and making sure to keep her voice soft and reassuring. I need to be blunt here for a moment, so please forgive me. But your husband will be the fourth person that appears to have taken his own life in the last four days. However, there are some signs that indicate they may not have been suicides at all. Right now, the sheer number of instances is essentially a clue in and of itself. You seem confident that your husband would not take his own life. And if you can, I need you to tell me why.

The wife nodded and made a strange gulping noise that Rachel assumed was her desperate attempt to keep some sort of control, to keep a flood of grief from pouring out of her.

Dustin had spent some time working through a variety of issues. He had a rough childhoodsome pretty traumatic things with his parents that were always difficult for him to talk about. It led to bouts with depression and yes, a few years back, he locked himself in the bathroom with a razor. But hes worked so hard…hes come out of all of that and…

Sensing the woman on the brink of losing it, Rachel did her best to press on. She knew their time here was limited and that the woman needed to properly grieve. The last thing Rachel wanted was to get in the way of that.

Was he seeing a therapist at any point?

Yes. He still sees one. The same therapist that helped him back then. But even she said he had vastly improvedthat the current appointments were mostly just continual check-ups.

What about meds?