Small Mercies

Bobby leaves the station to find Mary Pat sitting in her car, “Bess,” and waiting for him. He tells her that he is still investigating the case, but that someone powerful is working to conceal the truth about what happened on the subway platform. Mary Pat observes that if Butler thinks the case will expose him, he’ll silence anyone who is a potential liability, but if they fail to press forward, no one will talk. Mary Pat wants to clear Jules’s name and offers to talk to the other suspects on her own. Bobby refuses her offer, telling her to go home and find some other meaning in her life. He reflects that Mary Pat is both broken and unbreakable and asks if she has anyone to talk to. She responds that she’s talking to him, but that he’s not really hearing, and drives away.

Later on, Bobby has dinner with Carmen, the woman he met at NA, and tells her about the case, wondering aloud why Jules disappeared. When Bobby mentions his own son, she asks if Bobby would do whatever it took to get revenge if someone were to hurt his son. On that topic, he recounts the series of tragedies that afflicted Mary Pat, including the death of her son and the disappearance of her first husband, and wonders if she has anything to live for if Jules is in fact dead.