As he drives home the argument he had with Angela, before he left in the morning, occupies his mind. It was his fault and yet Angela made the first move at putting things right. She left a message on his phone while he was still in the studio, as the recording had ran long. She said she was sorry for getting angry and for calling him a selfish idiot. He had called her back but it had gone to the answering machine. After the third time, he left a simple message, that she had nothing to be sorry for, it was his fault and he loved her.
"Angela I thought I'd asked you pick up my suit from the dry cleaners?"
"You did and I told you yesterday that I hadn't had time."
"No you didn't. "
"Yes, I did, but you must have been too caught up in dreaming about what tonight's performance may bring, than listening to me."
"That's not fair you know I'm doing this for us."
"That's what you tell yourself, but, look around. Look at this house. It's beautiful, and we're on the beach, it's where our daughter was born and memories made. Why would we want to leave?"
Jane took her in his arms and spun her around.
"We can have somewhere bigger and better. Acres of land, security gates, just you, me and Charlotte."
Angela plants her feet, releases her herself from her husband's grip and takes his face in her hands.
"Patrick, we made it out of the carnival. You've done it. We don't need anywhere bigger. I like it here, Charlotte likes it here and you like it here."
Jane steps away from her hold, raising his voice.
"That's not why I do this. I do it for our future, not our past. Don't try and read me. You're no good at it. "
Angela's blue eyes sparkle with anger.
"I don't try to read you. I know you. You can't keep trying to run away by doing what you've always done."
"It's what I'm good at Angie. I help people, look I'm even helping the police."
"Yes more time away from us, and how exactly do you think that you can help the police? You're not really a psychic, your lying to them. Murder is a serious business, and you're getting in the way? Why? For more recognition?"
"They asked for my help and I couldn't say no..."
Angela is really angry now, tired of hearing her husbands excuses, tired of him being away, tired of missing him.
"Because it would make you look good. You're a selfish idiot. You have a beautiful daughter and a wife who loves you and wants to spend more time with you and all you do is find more reasons to be away from home. How is that for us?"
Jane glances up and the clock.
"I have to go. We'll talk about this later. I love you."
He moves to kiss her but she turns and leaves the room. Jane watches her leave, he moves to go after her, but his phone rings, he takes it out his pocket. He sees that it's his manager and he flips it open.
He smiles now at the night to come. They always make up after an argument. He has a beautiful wife, but, when she's angry and fire burns in her eyes, she's stunning! It's only for his own preservation that he keeps his hands off her. He knows she would have watched the show and seen the success it had been. They're going places, this night is just the beginning. Angela will be so pleased, he cleared his calendar for tomorrow and he's going to take them to Sea World, Charlotte's been pleading for months to go.
He touches the hand of his wife's lifeless body to say his final goodbye. It's been a week since he'd found their bodies, since he'd held her in his arms. Her blood soaking into his shirt as he squeezed her to him, trying to feel her breath on his cheek. But Angela was gone. The hand is so cold, it feels waxy to the touch, not warm and soft. The fingers don't curl around his own, they sit still in his palm. They never got to make up, they never got to take Charlotte to Sea World, instead, they were taken away and locked in this cold place, being cleaned up and made presentable for this goodbye. He drops the hand as tears fall, Angela isn't here. His fiery, beautiful wife isn't in this cold shell. He leaves the room without looking back.