No Place to Vanish

by Jaden Skye

  “There may be a good reason why Sean’s in a daze,” Olivia added. “There’s lots of stuff he could be blocking! Miranda also mentioned to me that she thought Dupris liked Olivia.”

  “Liked her? In what way?” Wayne looked startled.

  “Miranda wondered if Olivia and Dupris weren’t somewhere together right now?” Olivia added, hesitantly.

  “What? This is huge.” Wayne was all over it. “You think Raine’s been cheating on Sean left and right?”

  “I didn’t say that,” said Olivia.

  “But it’s possible, isn’t it? You can’t deny it.” Wayne seemed stung by the suggestion. “I’ll get investigators looking into it immediately. Is that how Raine was getting her debt paid? Sleeping with Dupris?”

  “Hold on.” Olivia was upset. “I wasn’t suggesting that.”

  “But Miranda was,” said Wayne.

  Olivia wanted to backtrack fast. “I wouldn’t put that much stock in Miranda’s observations. She seems edgy and nervous, like someone who would say whatever came into her mind. Miranda also cast suspicion on Sloane.”

  “Sloane? Which one is that?” Wayne was listening intently.

  “Sloane’s the bride-to-be,” said Olivia. “I met her briefly twice and had a completely different impression of her than what Miranda said.”

  “These girls are good at hiding,” Wayne spoke slowly. “You see one thing about them one minute and something very different the next. Look at Raine, for example.”

  “You’re referring to her fling with the stripper?” Olivia asked, wondering if Wayne was holding that against her.

  “That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Wayne replied. “A gambling addiction like the one Raine has is serious. It opens you to all kinds of trouble, including blackmail, drugs, you name it.”

  Olivia suddenly felt deeply sad for Raine, wondering how she’d fallen so far down this slippery slope.

  “Gambling addictions affect the entire family,” Wayne continued. “I know firsthand. My brother Len had a rotten gambling addiction. It drove my dad nuts, consumed him.”

  “That’s awful,” said Olivia, fascinated to learn more about Wayne’s personal life. “What finally happened to your brother?”

  “It took a long, long time, but my dad finally got him into serious rehab. Len’s clean of it now.” Wayne smiled. “In fact, he just got married to a terrific gal.”

  “Congratulations,” said Olivia.

  “Thanks.” Wayne smiled as the delicious, steaming quiches arrived for both of them. “I have three brothers who are all married now. I’m the only bachelor left in the family. People are beginning to give up on me, too. Everyone tells me I’m a lost cause.”

  Olivia laughed as she bit into the quiche. “Well, you’ve got plenty of company who are lost causes,” she replied. “In fact, you’re looking at one.”

  Wayne smiled back. “Lost causes or not, we’re doing good work. And, next step is that I’m getting ready to have all the women down to Key West to be officially interviewed at the station.”

  “Great,” Olivia jumped in. “I just want to speak to Sloane alone first before they all get together.”

  “Fine with me,” said Wayne. “Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll call them all down there.”

  Olivia and Wayne looked at each other silently. “It’s good working with you.” Wayne was the first to break the strange silence.

  “Good working with you, too,” said Olivia. “Do you think we’ve got a shot?”

  “A shot at what?” Wayne looked startled.

  “At finding Raine alive and well?” Olivia replied.

  “All bets are off right now,” Wayne replied quietly. “Time is passing and nothing is solid yet.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  As Olivia expected, Sloane was still at Raine’s house the next morning when she called. Sloane picked up the phone immediately.

  “I need time to talk to you as soon as possible.” Olivia wasn’t mincing words and Sloane sensed the urgency.

  “Why? Something’s happened? You have new developments?” Sloane’s voice got shrill.

  “Every minute that passes there are new developments,” said Olivia, “though we’re not aware of what they all may be.”

  “Okay, I get it. Time’s running out.” Sloane calmed down. “Come over in an hour. I’ll be ready then.”

  *

  When Sloane opened the door and Olivia walked into Raine’s house, it was unnaturally quiet and dark. The sense of gloom had definitely deepened. Sloane reflected it too, standing there dressed in loose slacks and a tight shirt with her hair messy.

  “Rough night?” Olivia asked.

  “Rough night, rough morning, rough everything.” Sloane ran her hands through her hair. “Hope is dwindling here. Raine’s mom’s going nuts, her boyfriend is here and Raine’s father refuses to come over.”

  “Doesn’t sound pleasant,” Olivia commented.

  “That’s an understatement if I ever heard one.” Sloane rubbed her hand over her face. “I’m now basically the one taking full care of Clea.”

  “At least you’re a stable, solid presence around,” Olivia added.

  “I don’t know how stable I am, but I’m here,” Sloane murmured.

  “Is your fiancé around too?” asked Olivia.

  “He’s been here once or twice for a few minutes.” Sloane looked at Olivia strangely. “It’s not like him to be overly concerned about anything. He takes it as it comes. Always has, always will.”

  “Overly concerned? This is a life-and-death situation!” Olivia was startled.

  “I know, but that’s how he is.” Sloane shrugged. “By now I’ve accepted everything about him.”

  Olivia wondered if indeed that was true. How could Sloane accept her fiancé being absent at a time like this?

  “Listen, we’re not here to talk about my fiancé.” Sloane obviously wanted to change the topic. “Let’s go into the side den and talk. We’d be better off not going into the main room. We don’t want Raine’s mom to run into you. She’s half off her rocker by now. She’ll talk a blue streak about nothing. She thinks they’re all out to get each one of us, keeps wondering who’s next.”

  “How about Sean?” Olivia asked, wondering how he was surviving this. “I haven’t seen him for a while.”

  “He’s out now,” Sloane said abruptly. “His search teams are moving into two more counties and Sean’s in charge of it.”

  “How’s he handling things?” Olivia asked.

  “Hanging in,” said Sloane, as she started walking to the side den. “Sean’s still convinced Raine’s alive. So, I guess that’s helping him get through the days. After everything, he’s still in love with her.”

  Olivia sensed the pain that caused Sloane. “And you?” she asked as they walked into the small, dark den, filled with books, old family photos, and two small sofas.

  “I have no idea if she’s alive or dead,” Sloane said. “I mean this was supposed to be the most joyful time of my life, wasn’t it? And Raine’s ruined it. It’s all about her now. But it always was. She never knew how good she had it. Always wanted more and better. Looking for her next high.”

  Olivia could see how tired Sloane was as she rambled on.

  “I’ve had enough. I have to say something now,” Sloane burst out. “Raine’s got the greatest guy that anyone could want, and how does she handle it? She runs to Key West all the time! And not just to gamble!”

  Olivia began to get chills running up and down her arm. “What did Raine go there for? You have to tell me.”

  Sloane stood up and walked threateningly to Olivia. “Listen,” she said in a hoarse tone. “Olivia went down to Key West regularly because she has someone there. Not just a stripper, or one-night stand. She has a real lover on the side. I even know who he is and where he hangs out. I also happen to know that the two of them had a huge fight right before the bachelorette party. That same night.”

  “How do you know all th
is?” Olivia jumped up.

  “I can’t tell you how I know everything,” Sloane whispered, “but I even heard both of them yelling at each other that night. Raine was giving him an ultimatum of some sort. He’s not the kind of guy who does well with that.”

  “You have to tell me how you know this!” Olivia insisted.

  “No, I don’t, I don’t have to do anything. I’m giving you this information out of the goodness of my heart, but I don’t have to tell you anything else.” Sloane wouldn’t budge an inch.

  “Does Sean know about this? Did you tell him?” Olivia insisted.

  “In my way I tried to suggest it a few times.” Sloane’s eyes were flashing. “But he’s too stupid to catch on. And he won’t listen. He can’t. If he listened to a word of what I said, his whole world would come crumbling down. He would have to make all kinds of changes. So he listens to what suits him. And no more.”

  Like all of us, thought Olivia. “Why did you even try to tell him?” Olivia was curious.

  “Because he’s a good man and he doesn’t deserve this!” Sloane began to grow angry. “He deserves someone who cares about him! Not someone who constantly disses him behind his back!”

  Olivia looked at Sloane with great intensity. “He deserves someone like you?” Olivia asked sharply.

  Sloane swayed a moment and then regained her footing. “Sure, why not? Someone like me!” she answered boldly. “Someone who’s here for him in times of trouble! Is there something wrong with that?”

  “Nothing wrong except he’s married to Raine!” Olivia answered unsparingly.

  “This is not a marriage,” Sloane shot back fiercely. “It’s a horse-and-pony show. They look great together, have a gorgeous house and beautiful baby. But Raine runs away regularly and then returns. Sean keeps it quiet. He made all kinds of excuses to himself. But maybe this time she ran too far, for too long. Maybe she even forgot the way home?”

  Olivia took a painful, craggy breath. Had Raine just run away again for longer than usual, without telling anyone? Even though Sloane was personally involved, she was smart. It was clear, though, that Sloane couldn’t stand Raine and wanted Sean for herself.

  “Did you hope Sean would find out about Raine one day, and turn to you?” Olivia asked Sloane then.

  “You’re bright, you’re sharp, but it doesn’t matter what I hoped,” Sloane replied. “You get what you get in life. I was ready to finally get married. I was even looking forward to it, and then Raine went missing!” Sloane’s eyes filled with tears.

  “Will you give me the contact information for Raine’s lover and exactly where I can find him?” Olivia asked.

  “Yes, I will.” Sloane seemed suddenly delighted by the thought of it. “His name is Victor. I’ll get you the name and address of the club he hangs out in down in Key West. Go talk to him and you’ll find everything I said is true.”

  “I don’t disbelieve you,” Olivia answered.

  “But you don’t like me, either.” Sloane flung her head back. “You probably think I have ulterior motives for being here with Sean now.”

  “You said that, I didn’t,” Olivia replied.

  Sloane laughed at that. “How’d you get so smart? You’re not a real detective, are you? I heard you’ve just started doing this after your own fiancé was killed.”

  The sudden memory of Todd felt like a cold knife thrust at Olivia. It stung.

  “That’s right,” Olivia realized, “I’ve just started doing this work, but everything in my life has prepared me for it.”

  Sloane walked closer. “And everything in my life has prepared me also, for staying here with Sean. If life suddenly presents a U-turn in the road, I’m not going to keep walking past it, am I?”

  Olivia wondered where that U-turn was going to lead, and if they’d ever find Raine on it.

  “I need the contact information for Victor, now,” Olivia said to Sloane, crisply.

  Sloane gave Olivia the club Victor could be found at in Key West, and a crumpled photo of him. Victor was a tall, surprisingly surly-looking guy in his late thirties with thick black hair, an uneasy smile, and a long tattoo on his right arm. Olivia shuddered. She couldn’t imagine that he would be someone Raine would be drawn to.

  “He’s tough, but he’s fun,” Sloane commented. “Raine said she feels like herself with him, doesn’t have to pretend to be someone she’s not.”

  “Did you ever ask Raine to tell Sean about him?” asked Olivia.

  “I did,” Sloane replied, “but, of course, she wouldn’t. Raine said what Sean didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. It was all a day’s fun.”

  *

  After Sloane left the den to care for the baby, Olivia stayed a few moments more. She wanted to check Raine’s Facebook page to see if any photos of Victor appeared anywhere. She also had to give this information to Wayne immediately, so they could check Raine’s cell phone records and other social media to see if anything from Victor appeared.

  As Olivia sat scrolling through the Facebook pages, Raine’s entire life rolled out in front of her eyes. Beautiful friends, wonderful photographs that Raine had taken and was selling. There were also photos of her and Sean at charity balls, along with a few pictures of Raine holding her daughter, as if she were the best mom in the world. Nowhere at all did Olivia see a glimpse of Victor haunting the pages. In a sense that was to be expected. Raine’s presentation to the world was streamlined and edited for the perfect audience. But the darker truth of her life, which was bubbling up to the surface to be seen now, had stayed carefully hidden for years.

  Olivia closed the computer quickly and sat there in the dark room. She would go back down to Key West soon to talk to Victor. Wayne would also be calling the girls to come down soon. Other than that, where was the case going? Was Victor the missing link? Olivia felt uneasy, as if there were something else she was missing; something that was there right in front of her eyes. What was it? She was both uncertain and sure of it at the same time.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Olivia immediately called Wayne and told him about Victor. To her surprise, Wayne took it in stride, though. It didn’t seem to surprise or bother him as much as it did Olivia.

  “We see this all the time,” Wayne said flatly. “Wives cheat, husbands cheat. It’s a tough world out there. A solid marriage these days is as rare as a shooting star. Maybe you can count them on the finger of one hand.”

  Olivia felt saddened both by Wayne’s words and by Raine’s behavior as well. Was that why Wayne hadn’t ever married? It seemed like he’d grown bitter, seeing too much of the dark side of life.

  “It’s a good idea for you to come back to Key West, though, and talk to the lover,” Wayne agreed. “I’m headed down there as well. Why don’t we take the next flight down together?”

  Olivia liked the idea. She called Sean to let him know she’d be leaving Miami shortly.

  “You’re doing a phenomenal job, Olivia,” Sean replied. “I’ll always be grateful to you for it.”

  Olivia wondered exactly what Sean was referring to, and how he even knew what she’d been doing. They’d hardly been in touch.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I’m definitely trying.”

  “That’s all we can do is try,” Sean staunchly replied. “The rest is out of our hands. It’s in God’s hands. Our entire church is praying for Raine constantly.”

  Olivia was glad that gave Sean comfort, but the nervousness in his voice belied his calm words.

  “Keep in touch with me from Key West,” Sean said then. “It’s good you’re going back down there.”

  “Why?” asked Olivia.

  “Because that’s where Raine was when she disappeared. That’s where she went frequently. If she’s hiding out somewhere, you’ll find her there.”

  “Where could she be hiding, Sean?” Olivia asked immediately.

  Sean suddenly laughed strangely. “If I knew I’d be there in an instant myself, swoop her up and carry her back to our home, no matter how
much she kicked and screamed.”

  “Why would she kick and scream?” Sean’s words jarred Olivia. “Wouldn’t she be grateful to be found and taken home?”

  “I would hope so, I really would.” Sean’s voice constricted.

  “You would hope so, but you’re not sure?” Olivia quickly asked.

  “I didn’t say that.” Sean was quick on the trigger. “I said I would really hope she’d be grateful. In fact, I’m sure she would.”

  After the conversation, Olivia hung up feeling both sad and odd.

  *

  The plane ride down to Key West was quick and easy and neither Wayne nor Olivia spoke much at first. As the plane lifted off, Olivia felt a wave of exhaustion. Time and hope were definitely running out. She even began to feel as though at this point it was possible that they were just going through the motions of finding her friend. There was nothing definite as yet to hold onto.

  Wayne seemed to be having the opposite reaction. “I was just thinking, maybe we should slow down and turn down the heat on the case a bit,” he suggested. “We have no direct evidence that anything has happened. And, given Raine’s impulsive nature, right now it’s entirely possible she’s run off with someone of her own free will.”

  Olivia wondered who he was thinking of. “Dupris?” she asked.

  Wayne raised his eyebrows. “Him or a host of other characters in her life. The important thing to remember is that there have been no calls for ransom, no physical evidence or body found.”

  “Thankfully,” breathed Olivia, wondering why Wayne was having this change of heart. Was it because he heard that Raine had a lover, Victor?

  “As I said,” Wayne continued, “there’s no evidence that Raine just didn’t just ditch her life and go somewhere to start over. You’d be surprised how often it happens. Especially when there’s a lover in the picture.”

  “I would be surprised,” Olivia replied.

  “You keep finding out things about people you could never imagine when you do this work,” Wayne remarked. “You’ll see for yourself.”