It suddenly came to mind I hadn't told them Julie was on her way west and Molly was at our house. With Quinn's ranting it was difficult to get a word in. I wondered if, with his days off, he might be hitting the bottle early.
"We should all go out there and either drag his ass back home or do our thing in California," Quinn said as he paced.
I jumped in and explained that Molly was at our house and Julie was on route to the Boston airport. My pronouncement earned a frown from Martha.
"Way to keep us advised," Quinn snarled.
"Sorry. When I read about the killing in Canada my mind went blank on everything else."
"Mine too," Quinn said, forgetting his anger at me. "That's why we should all be out there."
"I have a baby and I'm not about to drag Claire all over the United States! Howie will be back when he's ready. Maybe everyone else is hyper to drop everything and hop a plane but I'm not going anywhere!"
"What about you and Betsy?" Quinn asked me. His question sounded more designed to contradict his wife than a search for companionship.
"Betsy is babysitting Molly who's registered at school here in Keene," I said; conveying more information I'd neglected to relate.
"Then it's a done deal with Julie? She's here for good?" Martha looked bewildered as she tried in vain to quiet Claire.
"More damn reason for us to go," Quinn groused. He turned to me. "I don't suppose you'd go if you say your wife can't." I didn't want to come right out and say Betsy was frightened to stay alone so I just shrugged.
Martha turned to her husband. "You go if you're so set on doing it. I could use the peace around here."
"Maybe I'll just do that!"
"Let's discuss this without yelling at each other,' I said, raising my voice over Claire's continued screaming. "What about your equipment?"
"I'll pack it and ship it overnight air." He turned and left the office. Martha began to cry but thankfully, Claire quieted.
"Do you want me to try and calm him down; talk him out of it?"
She shook her head and wiped her face. "He's been a total pain in the ass since Howie left. He can't stand to sit around and do nothing. Let him go."
"Those two might kill each other without a referee."
"Let Julie separate them. She can be the one to talk Howie to sleep too." She cuddled her daughter. "Come on sweetheart, it's you and me now."
After Martha and her baby left, I called Betsy with the news. I could tell by her terse response Molly was nearby. I hadn't considered that having a house guest would severely limit our chances for candid conversation.