by Willow Rose
Lynn wrinkled her nose. This was unusual. “Okay?”
“A Jeffrey Johnson.”
“I can’t disclose whether or not he is a patient here. You know that.”
They exchanged a look briefly before Detective Fraser continued. “We know that. But we are a little desperate here.”
“Can you tell me what this is regarding?”
“His girlfriend—or rather ex-girlfriend—has been missing for quite some time now,” Harder said and showed Lynn a picture of Joanna Harry, the woman Jeff had been with when he came to Lynn in the first place when they came in for couple’s therapy.
“Do you know her?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Of course not. But, as I said, she has been missing for six months now, and we are frankly a little desperate to get her back.”
“And how do you figure I can help?”
They exchanged another look, then Fraser said, “We know it’s a little unorthodox, but we fear he might have hurt her, and well, we thought that maybe you could get him to talk about her.”
“Why don’t you ask him yourselves?”
“We did, but he refuses to say anything about her whereabouts. We think he’s lying, naturally.”
“I think if someone tells you he didn’t harm her, then chances are, he didn’t,” Lynn said. “Innocent till proven otherwise.”
Fraser sighed. “We had just hoped that maybe you could talk to him and maybe ask him about her. Maybe he’ll open up to you.”
Lynn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I am sorry, Detectives. I can’t do that. But, as always, if I do hear anything that causes concern in any of my patients, concerns for their own or other’s health, then I will make sure to get in touch.”
The detectives looked at one another, disappointed. They got up.
“Thank you for your time.”
They left and closed the door behind them, while Lynn just sat there, staring into thin air, unable to calm her beating heart.
Chapter 36
“I was certain that there was a connection between the murder of Tommy Carlson, Sarah Abbey’s old boyfriend two and a half years ago, and her recent disappearance. It’s so frustrating, and now we’re back to square one.”
I took the chicken out of the oven and placed it on the counter. I had asked Matt to carve it up for me. It smelled heavenly. Olivia was looking after the babies in the living room while I cooked, something that hadn’t happened a lot lately. We had eaten so much pizza I could barely say the word without someone making gagging sounds. So tonight, I had made a real homecooked meal with chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans.
“But the guy was dead when it happened. He died four years ago,” Matt said while finding the knife in the drawer. “And that’s where it ends.”
I poured the potatoes into the bowl and started to mash them, then sent him a look. “It sure hasn’t ended for Sarah Abbey.”
He shrugged. “Maybe you’ve got it all wrong from the beginning. What if she just left without a word? Didn’t you say that she left her family and boyfriend without an explanation some years ago?”
I nodded while mashing and letting all my frustrations out on those poor potatoes.
“Sure. But back then, she at least called her brother to say she was all right. She told him not to look for her. That hasn’t been the case this time around. As a matter of fact, she told Scott to look for her if she disappeared. She said that two months ago. She must have had a feeling it could happen. That makes me think that something awful happened to her—that she feared for her life.”
“Maybe she’s just nuts,” Matt said and cut off a thigh, then placed it on the plate before moving on to the breast part of the chicken.
I grunted while mashing, then stopped.
“Excuse me?”
He continued to cut and wasn’t looking at me.
“What kind of an argument is that? She is just nuts?”
He shrugged. “Some women are like that.”
I lifted both my eyebrows. “Was that meant for me?”
He shrugged. “You have been a little…lately.”
I stared at him. I had completely stopped mashing the potatoes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He looked up. “How about taking in Amy and now caring for her child? Refusing to let the authorities take over?”
“That’s nuts to you?” I asked, surprised.
He didn’t look at me but continued to carve the chicken, putting the pieces on the plate with swift, angry movements.
“Kind of. It’s not normal, at least.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“Nothing. We’re just farther apart than I thought.”
He scoffed. “You won’t even hear what I have to say. It’s like I don’t exist—like I don’t have a say in the matter. I keep telling you it’s too much for you, that you need to let go. It’s not only your life that is disturbed by this. It’s all of us. When is the last time you had time alone with Alex, huh? He’s getting more and more loud and annoying while begging for your attention. Do you know what Christine is doing in the afternoons? Because she hasn’t been coming home straight after school, I can tell you that much. I bet you haven’t even noticed.”
“Christine hasn’t been coming home after school?” I asked, puzzled. “She’s probably just been practicing with the school orchestra.”
Matt scoffed again. “She stopped playing the double bass weeks ago and dropped out of the orchestra.”
I let go of the masher in my hand, and it plunged into the potatoes.
“She what?”
“I told you. You have been missing out on what goes on. The kids need you, Eva Rae. And frankly, so do I. Two infants are too much.”
“And just how long have you known this about Christine and not told me anything?” I asked, wiping my hands on a towel.
“Don’t make this about me,” Matt said, raising his voice. “Don’t you dare make this about me. Not when you’re out there doing only God knows what with that Scott guy. When are you going to tell me what is going on between you two? Don’t you think I can sense how smitten you are with him? All I have to do is mention his name, and your entire face lights up. Don’t you think that hurts me?”
I shook my head, my eyes avoiding his.
“I don’t do that.”
“Yes, you do, Eva Rae,” he said and put the knife down on the counter. “And I am sick of it. We’re about to get married, and how do you think it makes me feel, seeing the way the two of you look at one another?”
I stared into the potatoes, then grabbed the masher and continued, hoping that Matt would leave this alone.
“Hey, where are you going?” I asked when he grabbed his phone and car keys. “We’re about to eat?”
He shook his head. “I’ll eat at my mom’s tonight.”
“What? Why? I made this entire dinner so we could eat it all together. As a family.”
“It’ll have to be without me.”
I exhaled. “Matt. Come on. There’s nothing between Scott and me. I promise.”
“I hear you say the words, but I don’t believe them, Eva Rae,” he said and opened the door.
I stepped toward him. “Matt, please. Let’s talk instead. Don’t leave.”
But it was too late. He had already slammed the door shut, and a second later, I heard his cruiser start. Alex came running up behind me, pulling my arm.
“What are we having for dinner?”
I sighed. “Chicken.”
He made a face. “Aw. I really want pizza.”
“Of course, you do,” I said and kissed his forehead. “But not tonight, sweetie. Tonight, we’re having chicken and mashed potatoes.”
“Yuck,” he said, then took off toward the stairs. In the living room, the babies had both started to cry.
Chapter 37
She waited until he was done with his sandwich. He was standing underneath the streetlamp, eati
ng it, while his girlfriend tugged on his arm, telling him they needed to go, that they were late. Covered by the darkness of the alley she was standing in, Sarah watched him throw the remains in the trash bin next to him. As he left, she moved closer, then peeked inside the open metal bin. The sandwich was still wrapped and was lying on top of something, a box, barely touching it. She looked around, then stuck her hand in and reached for it.
So, this is what it has come to, she thought, as she stared at the spinach wrap with chipotle chicken inside it. The guy had barely taken three bites of it. Sarah broke off the end piece, then closed her eyes and bit into it.
At least it’s better than going hungry.
Sarah finished the wrap and felt better. She looked up and down Park Avenue. It was so odd to be back in Winter Park again. Everything looked the same. The same stores and most of the same restaurants were still in the same places, yet it seemed like a strange new world.
Had she ever belonged here?
Sarah walked down the street, going past a couple of restaurants where people sat at tables outside, eating and chatting happily. A couple was holding hands across the table, looking deep into each other’s eyes. How Sarah missed doing things like that, how she missed normalcy.
She walked down another block when she saw the truck and stopped, her heart suddenly racing in her chest, beating hard against her ribcage. The truck was going down Park Avenue, slowly, while approaching the place where she was standing. Sarah recognized it immediately and couldn’t move.
It was a bright red 1991 Ford Skyranger convertible. The same truck that she had been taken away in on the day she was kidnapped from her home.
This is it. It’s coming for me.
Seeing this, Sarah began to shake. She fought not to hyperventilate yet somehow managed to get herself turned around. Forcing herself to move, she walked up to a window, then stood completely still and stared in, turning her back to the road, acting like she was watching the exhibition in the window of the old toy store, the Tugboat & the Bird. While holding her breath, she watched the red truck in the reflection of the window as it slowly cruised by behind her.
Is it stopping? Have they seen me?
Heart throbbing in her throat, she stood as still as humanly possible so she wouldn’t be seen, hoping she wouldn’t be recognized.
The car slowed as it came up behind her and came almost to a stop. Seeing this, Sarah’s hands shook heavily, and she felt a chill go down her neck.
Please, continue. Please, just keep going.
The truck lingered for a few seconds behind her like it was checking her out, then revved the engine a few times before it finally began moving again and disappeared down the street. Sarah breathed, relieved. She felt her heart rate come down as she stared in the direction of where it had gone. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the same truck.
I need to get out of here. I need to find a good place to hide.
Sarah walked with long strides, moving down Park Avenue as quickly as possible without actually running, and as she reached almost the end of it, she decided to cross it. The second she did, a set of bright headlights came to life behind her in one of the parking spaces. An engine roared to life, and seconds later, she heard tires screeching. She gasped, then turned to look as the red pick-up truck jolted toward her.
Chapter 38
My best friend Melissa came to the house the next day and took me out for lunch. She grabbed Owen in his car seat when I had parked outside of Juice ‘N Java, my favorite lunch place in town. We sat at the tables outside, and Melissa went in to order us a couple of sandwiches. I also asked for a cinnamon bun. They had the best cinnamon buns here. I figured if I was being healthy and eating a spinach wrap with turkey, then I could indulge in a little sweet afterward and not feel too guilty about it.
It was all about balancing it out, right?
Melissa came back out and sat across the table from me. Angel and Owen were both heavily asleep after the car ride there. Even though it was only a few minutes, it was still enough to make them doze off. It worked every time, and it gave me a little time to breathe.
“I see you have your hands full,” Melissa said and handed me my coffee. I hadn’t slept much the night before since the two rascals had taken turns waking up, ganging up on me, making sure I didn’t close my eyes even once. Matt slept downstairs so that he could get enough rest for work today. He had come back late from his mother’s, and we hadn’t had time to talk.
“You and Matt are quarreling?” Melissa asked.
I gave her a look, then sipped my coffee.
“How did you know?”
She shrugged. “I saw his clothes and a blanket on the couch downstairs, and then I could tell from your face. I’ve known you all my life. You don’t have any secrets from me.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “I’m not buying that. He called you, didn’t he?”
She smiled. “All right. I did talk to him last night. He said he was upset because you insisted on keeping an extra baby at the house, plus—and I got the feeling this was what he was most upset about—you were helping Scott Benton with some case? Scott Benton, Eva Rae? Really?”
I blushed. “His girlfriend is missing. You know I can’t just not try and help.”
“But she’s done it before,” Melissa said. “Disappeared without a trace, leaving her family and friends behind.”
I stared at her, mouth gaping.
“You’re well informed.”
“Yeah, well, Matt needed to talk last night, and I met up with him down at Coconuts. We had a beer and a chat.”
Melissa, Matt, and I had been friends since preschool. Our little group also included Dawn, but we didn’t see her much lately since she had moved to Merritt Island. It wasn’t odd that Melissa and Matt talked and met up for a beer, even though I did feel a pinch of jealousy at this moment. Still, I would rather have him confide in her than in anyone else in the world, to be honest. Melissa was probably the one person I trusted most. And there weren’t many of those around, except for my sister, Sydney, of course, the movie actress. She was busy running a shelter for trafficked girls, and usually, I would be helping her, but now, I was a baby mama.
“Don’t you think you might be in a little over your head?” she asked as our sandwiches arrived, and we dug in. I took a massive bite of the spinach wrap while my eyes lingered on the cinnamon bun that was waiting next to me.
“I can do it. It’s just until Amy comes back. I know she will. We just need to give her a little more time.”
“That’s not what I was talking about, and you know it,” Melissa said.
“Then, what were you talking about?” I asked, even though I knew very well the answer to that question.
She tilted her head in that annoying way that she knew I hated. “I meant Scott. Of all the people in the world, how on earth did you end up helping him? Wasn’t there a drug dealer or a child molester somewhere you could throw your compassion to?”
I chuckled. I knew Melissa and Matt both hated Scott, but they didn’t know him as I did.
“He’s not a bad guy,” I said, trying to close the conversation here. I didn’t want to talk to her about Scott anymore.
She leaned forward, her eyes growing wide. “Not a bad guy? Don’t you remember high school? He was the worst. We all hated him. And he was mean to everyone, not just us—the rejects. Don’t you remember how he beat up his girlfriend once, that Hannah girl, who was also homecoming queen? She said he hit her because she wanted to leave him and that he even tried to run her over with his car. That’s not a good guy in my book. He’s bad news, Eva Rae, and you know it.”
I sighed. I had a piece of lettuce stuck between my teeth that I tried to get out by using my tongue. “We only have her word for that happening. He said she made it up because she got jealous.”
“And you believe that? You?”
I shrugged again. “Sure.”
“That’s very unlike you.”
“Li
sten, you don’t know him the way I do,” I said and washed the rest of the wrap down with my coffee.
She gave me a concerned look. “Wow, Matt really was right. I didn’t believe him when he said it, but you are completely blinded by Scott. Matt said it’s like he holds some sort of spell over you, making you unable to see him for what he really is—scum. What is it with you two?”
I leaned back with an exhale. I was tired of this conversation.
“It’s nothing. I just felt bad for him; that’s all.”
She looked me deep in the eyes, then gasped lightly. “Oh, dear Lord. You two had a thing in high school, didn’t you? Without any of us knowing it?”
I could feel my face turn red.
“No, you’re wrong.”
“Yes, yes, you did. Oh, my God, that’s why you’re all flushed now and why you dropped everything when he showed up.”
“I am helping him find his girlfriend who is missing,” I said. “There’s nothing more to it than that.”
She shook her head. “Nope—not buying it. But what I wonder is why he’s got this hold over you. What did he do to you? Did he break your heart? Was he the one that got away? And you never could get him out of your head again, huh?”
“You’re being ridiculous. Of course not. It was always Matt and me. We knew we were meant for one another.”
“How did this happen without me knowing about it?” she asked, completely ignoring what I had just said. “That’s what I really want to know. I thought we told each other everything.”
I looked down at the table.
“We…we kept it a secret.”
“You snuck around? Behind our backs? Because he was dating Hannah, oh, my. Eva Rae, he used you. Don’t you see? And now, he’s using you again. I bet he killed his girlfriend, and now he just wants your help to look innocent. Or even better yet, maybe he’s keeping her somewhere in a basement, tormenting her so she won’t leave him like Hannah did.”
That made me laugh, but it sounded awkward and nervous. I grabbed the cinnamon bun and bit into it.
