FORTY-TWO
Ben and his wife were in their bedroom. The door was locked. Melony was pacing the floor in front of the bed while Ben changed out of his work clothes.
“What were you thinking?” Melony asked him. “Bringing our daughter to the morgue? Did you know she caught a glimpse of a corpse as it was wheeled through the hallway?”
He shook his head. “She didn’t mention it.”
“What’s going on, Ben? You promised me twice that you would get help.”
He sighed.
“I talked to Lori Mitchell today, and she said she called and left you a message to come see her and that you never showed up.”
“Melony,” he said after he pulled a T-shirt over his head, “I’ve got a lot going on right now. I really don’t need to be lectured. I’ll make another appointment. I promise.”
She stopped pacing and instead crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “Abigail said that you embarrassed her in front of her friends and the new coach.”
“Have you met the guy?”
“Of course I have. He’s a good man, a decent husband and father. He’s a busy man, just like you, but he finds the time to coach the girls.”
“I might think that was a very generous way for him to spend his free time if I hadn’t seen the way he touched some of the girls, including our daughter.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He’s a phony, Melony. His hands were everywhere, including around Abigail’s shoulders. He had the team in a huddle, and I saw his thumb brushing against her bare neck. I didn’t like it.”
Melony stiffened. “I’m sure you’re imagining things.”
“I hope for Abigail’s sake that you’re right.”
He grabbed his car keys from the top of the dresser.
“Where are you going now?”
“It’s a long story.”
“I have time.” She released a heavy sigh. “Are you seeing someone, Ben? Because if you are, I want you to tell me right now. I don’t want to hear it from Susan or Diane across the street.”
Ben stared at her, shaking his head. An affair? He had to hold back any amusement he was feeling because judging by the look on her face, she was serious. He slipped the keys into his pants pocket, walked up to her, and put his hands on her waist. “There has never been anyone but you. Not now. Not ever. I love you.”
She rested her head against his chest, and for a long moment they stood silently breathing each other in.
Ben was the first to speak. “I need to talk to Jessie Cole about her sister, Sophie.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I haven’t been completely truthful with her, and it’s weighing on me.”
“You’ve been holding things inside. That’s not healthy, Ben. Jessie Cole isn’t the only one you need to open up to.”
“You’re right, but I need you to be patient with me for a little while longer. Jessie needs to know the truth about her sister. I’ve learned things about Sophie Cole. Things that Jessie won’t want to hear. She doesn’t trust me as it is, but my conscience won’t allow me to keep what I know from her any longer.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Go, then, and get this over with so I can spend time with my husband.”
He kissed her on the forehead, and then both cheeks, and finally the mouth. “Our anniversary is coming up soon. What do you think about a week in Hawaii?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he put a finger over it. “No kids,” he said. “Just the two of us.”
“Money is tight and—”
“We’ll make do. You deserve to be pampered.”
“We’ll talk later,” she said. “Hurry home.”
It was six o’clock by the time Ben found a parking spot and made his way to Jessie’s house. He knocked, heard the dog bark, then looked up and saw Olivia looking out the window at him.
He waved, then watched her disappear. Until he heard the pitter-patter of feet coming down the stairs, he wasn’t sure if she had recognized him. When she opened the door, it was clear she was upset about something.
“What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I can’t find Jessie. She left a message telling me she’d be home soon, but that was hours ago. I’ve called everyone I can think of, but nobody knows where she is.”
Higgins barked as someone walked by, so Ben stepped inside and shut the door. The phone rang. Olivia left him to run back to the main part of the house. By the time he reached the top step, she was hanging up the phone.
“Wrong number.”
“Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on. Did you try calling her cell phone?”
“A dozen times. There’s no answer. I think she turned her cell phone off, and she never does that.”
“Did you check the office down the street?”
She nodded.
“Okay, let’s back up a bit. Before you left for school, did Jessie tell you anything at all about what her plans for the day were?”
“No, not really, but I can guess. She’d been spending most of her time on the Zee Gatley case.”
“Is that the missing girl?”
Olivia nodded. “She told me this morning that she’d had a breakthrough.”
“What sort of breakthrough?” he asked, hoping Jessie would walk through the door at any moment.
“It’s sort of complicated.”
“Try me.”
“When Jessie was at Zee’s house, she found a shoe box full of her possessions under the bed. On Saturday morning, we were sorting through the things in the box when we saw a picture of Zee wearing some funky sunglasses. In the lens we saw a man’s reflection. Jessie had the picture blown up, and we went to Zee’s neighborhood and asked people if they recognized the man in the photo.”
“Any luck?” he asked.
“No, not until last night when we drove back to Zee’s house and ran into one of the neighbors. She told us her brother recognized the guy in the picture. He said his name was Forrest Bloom, and he grew up on a farm somewhere in Woodland.”
“And you think that’s where Jessie might have gone today?”
Olivia wrinkled her nose. “I just know Jessie was working on trying to find out where he lives now, and when I asked her about it this morning, she said that his family had sold the farm.” Olivia walked to the kitchen, grabbed a notebook, and held it up for him to see. “I found this earlier. It’s an address in Woodland, but I have no idea if it has anything to do with Forrest Bloom or where Jessie might have gone.”
He made note of the address on his phone, then wrote his cell-phone number on the same pad of paper. “It’s still early, and I’m sure Jessie is fine, but I’m going to drive to Woodland and see what I can find out, okay?”
“Really?”
He smiled. “I wrote my number there for you to call if Jessie returns.”
She nodded.
“What kind of car does she drive?”
“A dark-green Jeep Grand Cherokee. Older model.”
“Got it. I’ll call you in an hour to check in.”
She nodded again. “There is one more thing I think you should know before you go.”
He waited.
“Zee’s dad, Arlo Gatley, was arrested.”
“Why?”
“Jessie noticed that Zee was wearing a necklace in the picture Arlo Gatley gave her of his daughter. The necklace looked exactly like the one that belonged to one of the twin girls recently found dead.”
The news stunned him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. There’s just so much crazy stuff going on. First Jessie was attacked, and now she’s missing. I’m scared.”
“Okay,” he said, trying not to let her see his concern. “Lock the door behind me. Call me if you hear from Jessie.”
As he drove off, he couldn’t help but worry about Jessie. Had her car broken down? Maybe her cell phone ran out of batteries, and she would be home at any moment. He tried to tell himself that there was no reason to get worked up.
But why had Jessie called hours ago to tell Olivia she’d be home soon?
He had no idea what was going on, but seeing Olivia and hearing the worry in her voice made him step hard on the gas, keeping a keen eye on the road in front of him, hoping he’d see Jessie’s broken-down car on the side of the highway.