She became quiet as well, too nervous to talk. Nothing to do except wait him out. As soon as he got off at Devonshire and headed west instead of east, she knew where he was headed. He wasn’t taking her home. He was driving toward McCoy Park.

Years since Rina had been there. It hadn’t changed at all. A time warp of yesteryear when land was still an available commodity. A velvety green lawn hugging the foothills, dotted with several picnic benches. In the distance were the outdoor tennis courts. The sky was gray, the weather was cool, and the nets were empty. Since it was a school day and the park didn’t have a playground, there weren’t any children around. She and Bram owned the place.

He parked the Volvo, walked away from the car without a word. If she had had the keys, she would have driven home. Instead, she had no choice but to follow.

He turned to her, his face wan, his voice a shadow. “I am so sorry, Rina. I don’t know what…forgive me.”

She didn’t answer.

He ran his hand over his chin, surprised to find it roughened with stubble. “Are you all right?”

“I’m alive. It’s a good start.” She approached him tentatively. “Are you all right?”

“No, I’m not.” His eyes met hers. “What on God’s green earth were you thinking, showing up like that? The LAPD doesn’t have enough problems? You can’t do things like that, Rina. If you get dragged into this mess, you take your husband down at the same time.”

“I just wanted to talk…to help if I could—”

“You can’t.” He moved away from her, leaned against a giant budding sycamore and looked upward. “Go home, Rina. Just…go home.”

She came toward him. “Bram, I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but what they’re saying is absurd. You’re no more capable of murder than I am.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“I know you’re not…that way.”

“That way? You mean gay?”

“Why are you torturing me?”

He spun around, rage in his eyes. “Because you don’t know a damn thing about me. And you never did. Because if you had had even the tiniest clue, you would have never told me to go to Rome.”

Rina’s mouth dropped open; she was stunned and stung. “So suddenly I’ve become responsible for your regrets?”

“I would have moved mountains for you.” His eyes moistened. “All I wanted was some kind of…sign—”

“So why didn’t you ask for one?”

“Oh believe me, I asked in a thousand ways! You just never bothered to listen!”

His voice was seething with bitter fury. It was hard not to respond in kind. But Rina bit back her tongue. Because a harsh word delivered couldn’t ever be taken back.