“Well, this might sound strange, so bear with us. We’ve been trying to figure out, well, to be frank, why Clare would do this. And nothing makes any sense, but we can’t ignore how different her last book was, especially the ending.” His voice cracked a little. He took a breath to steady himself. “And I know you’re familiar with some of her work—”

“All of it,” Donna interrupted.

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

“I’m very familiar with all of Clare’s books. I’ve read every one. And the ones I reviewed, I read at least twice.”

He and Eileen met each other’s eyes. “What?” she mouthed.

“Um…okay, I guess that really surprises me,” Simon finally said. He could add that, given the mostly negative reviews over the years, he didn’t really think Donna Mehan was a fan of Clare’s books, but figured he should leave that out since he was asking for her help now. “But I know she spoke with you about the blurb, and we were wondering if you could let us know if you had any insights into… I don’t really know how to put this, but basically into what Clare might have been thinking lately? I know that sounds—”

“It doesn’t sound weird. Obviously something big happened for her, I mean for her to… I’m sorry, are you okay if I just speak plainly? And by plainly I really mean blunt like a hammer? Because I actually do have some thoughts, but given the current situation, and also how the both of you are likely feeling right now, what I have to say will probably come off as indelicate at best.”

A panic of nerves broke loose inside him. When he had called, he half expected for Donna to either not respond at all or give him a verbal shrug. Sorry, I have no idea. She knew something, something that would maybe confirm his worst fears—he was a shitty husband and should have done more to save his wife from herself.

“Please just tell us what you think. Mostly, we are wondering about her latest book. Did she mention to you why she decided to do something so different?”

Donna cleared her throat on the other end of the line. “So, to start off, and please forgive me now because I think this is where I say something that you may find offensive, but I guess I’ll start off by saying, I disagree with your foundational premise for starters.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Eileen chimed in.