The End of Marriage

by Nina Vida

Ellie Holmgren is no stranger to tragedy. Her only child, eight-year-old Jamie, died during a tonsillectomy, and while Ellie was trying to find a way to dig herself out of her profound grief, her husband divorced her. And now her sister, Alice, has called to tell her that Morty, Alice's husband, has killed himself. Ellie can only think, "What next?" The question of "What next?" is answered when Ellie reaches Alice's home and learns that Morty didn't actually kill himself -- Alice pulled the trigger. She confesses to Ellie that after suffering years of abuse, she had finally had enough. Alice is considerably older than Ellie, and the two have never been particularly close, but the possibility that Alice could be tried for murder shocks Ellie into action. She arranges the body to look like a suicide and then calls the police. One of the homicide detectives who shows up to investigate is Teo Domingos, an angry, battle-scarred Vietnam vet. He takes one look at Morty's body, observes the wa