Free Remember Me by Mary Higgins Clark Page B

Nichols—”
    â€œAdam.”
    â€œAdam, I understand why there’s so much talk. I’m a stranger. Vivian was wealthy. But on the Bible, I swear I had no idea she had so much money. Viv was desperately insecure and could be secretive. She loved me, but she was just beginning to understand how much I loved her. Her self-image was terrible. She was so afraid people only bothered with her because of her family background and her money.”
    â€œWhy was her self-image that bad?”
    Covey’s expression became bitter. “Her whole damn family. They always put her down. In the first place, her parents didn’t want to have her, and when she was born, they tried to make her a carbon copy of her sisters. Her grandmother was the one exception.She understood Viv, but unfortunately she was an invalid who spent most of her time in Florida. Viv told me her grandmother had left her a million-dollar trust and that three years ago, at twenty-one, she came into it. She told me she had paid six hundred thousand for the house, was living on the rest and wouldn’t come into another dime until she was thirty-five. By anybody’s standards she was well off, but I understood that the balance of the trust reverted to her grandmother’s estate if anything happened to her. Yes, because of her death I received the house, but I never thought her estate went beyond a couple hundred thousand dollars more. I had absolutely no idea she’d already received five million dollars.”
    Adam linked his fingers and looked up at the ceiling, thinking aloud. “Even if she was only worth the amount of money she told you, people could justifiably say that for a marriage of three months, you did mighty well.”
    He looked back at Covey and shot the next question. “Was anyone else aware that your wife had not shared her true financial status with you?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œNo close friend who was a confidante?”
    â€œNo. Vivian didn’t have what I would call close friends.”
    â€œDid her father and mother approve of the marriage?”
    â€œThey never knew about it until it was over. That was Vivian’s decision. She wanted a quiet wedding at city hall, a honeymoon in Canada and then a home reception when we got back. I know her parents were shocked and I don’t blame them. It’s possible she did tell them that I didn’t know the extent of the inheritance. In a way, as much as she defied them, Vivian desperately wanted their approval.”
    Adam nodded. “On the phone you said that a detective has been asking you about a family ring.”
    Scott Covey looked directly at Adam. “Yes, it was an emerald, a family heirloom, I believe. I absolutely remember that Viv was wearing the ring on the boat. The only thing that makes sense is she must have changed it to her left hand that morning. When I was going through her things I found her engagement ring in the drawer at home. Her wedding ring was a narrow gold band. She always wore the engagement and wedding rings together.”
    He bit his lip. “The emerald ring had been getting tight to the point it was cutting off circulation. That last morning Viv was tugging at it and twisting it. When I was leaving for the store I told her if she was determined to get it off to soap or grease her finger first. She bruised very easily. When I got back we took off for the boat and I didn’t think to ask about it and she never mentioned it. But Viv was superstitious about that ring. She never went anywhere without it. I think when I identified her body and didn’t see the ring I assumed it was because her right hand was mutilated.”
    His face suddenly became contorted. He pushed his knuckles against his mouth to stifle the dry sobs that shook his shoulders. “You just can’t understand. No one can. One minute we’re down there, swimming next to each other, watching a school of striped