Anna scrolled down the screen and continued reading: “‘Sally’s scheduled guest is a shrink who will talk about why certain single women go after married men. All this could change if there are any new developments in the case tomorrow. I hope this is some help.’” Anna looked up from the phone. “I sense a recurring theme here.”
George nodded. “Yeah, Sally sure has a burr up her butt about you.” He started toward the door. “Are you sure you can trust this Taylor?”
Walking alongside him, Anna shrugged. “Well, she says that she and her mama don’t get along. I believe her on that score. If she hadn’t warned me about tonight’s show, I never would have alerted you—and you wouldn’t be here right now.” She touched his arm for a moment. “For that I’m grateful, George. Thank you for coming over tonight—and helping me get through this. It would have been unbearable to watch that without you.”
He opened the door. “Well, if you need me, I’m here for you.” He paused and let out a sad, little laugh. “What a thing to say when I’m running out the door, right?”
“You got me through the worst part,” Anna said, managing a smile. She wanted to hug him, but couldn’t. “Go to your kids. They need you right now.”
George looked like he wanted to hug her, too. But he just nodded, turned, and headed down the dock.
Anna closed the door and double-locked it.
She stood in the front hallway for a few moments. She realized she was playing the self-sacrificing other woman role again—this time with George. “Go to your kids. They need you right now.” Well, it was true. It only made sense that they were his first concern.
Then Anna had another realization. Back when her mother died, she’d lost the one person who considered her more important than anyone else.
She could sometimes fool herself into thinking Russ felt that way about her, but if that was truly the case, he would have left Courtney for her a long time ago.
Or was she so important to him that he’d killed for her?
The phone rang again. Anna hurried into the living room and grabbed it off the coffee table. The caller ID showed it was George. She tapped the screen. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to give you a heads-up. There’s a patrol car parked near the gate to your dock. And just as I started down the street, I saw an ABC News van arrive. Sally’s show must be bringing the press out. Either that or something happened.”
“Well, if something happened, I think Russ or the police would have called me,” Anna said. “Do you think anyone noticed you?”
“I know the police saw me, but I don’t think anyone else did. At least, I hope not. Jesus, I can just imagine them getting video of me sneaking away from your place moments after Beebe’s fifteen minutes of fame. I don’t want to see that on The Sally Justice Show tomorrow.”
Anna had yet another realization. If she hoped to lean on George during any of this, it would have to be in secret. After tonight, he couldn’t afford to be seen with her.
The call-waiting signal sounded. “Just a second, George, I have another call.” She checked the caller ID: Det. K. Baumann.
“Oh God, it’s the police detective in charge of the investigation,” Anna whispered. “I better take this.”
“Text me later, okay?”
“Okay,” Anna said. Then she switched over to the incoming call before it went to voice mail. “Detective Baumann, is everything all right? Did something happen?”
“Have you heard from Dr. Knoll?”
“Yes, he called me about forty or forty-five minutes ago. Why?”
“May I ask what the two of you discussed?”
Anna hesitated. “We talked about people who might have been behind Courtney’s disappearance, people who might want to see her dead. I learned today about a woman in her old writers’ group—”
“Russ isn’t there, is he, Anna?” the detective interrupted.
“No,” she murmured, baffled.
“And he’s not on his way there?”
“No—”
“Did he say anything to you about going anywhere tonight?”
“He’s not in his hotel room?”
“He snuck out about a half hour ago. We have video of him in a dark sweater, leaving with a group of people through the hotel’s front doors. He must have merged in with them. We think he waited until someone exited the garage before he slipped in to get his car. We have him on security video in the garage, wearing the same sweater, only with the hood up. He was carrying an overnight bag. You sure he didn’t say anything to you?”
“Positive,” Anna said, suddenly short of breath. “He wouldn’t try to run away. It would be stupid. He knows how bad that would look. He’s innocent. Do you think he’s on his way here? Is that why there’s a police car and a news van at the gate to my dock?”
“I can’t speak for the news van,” Detective Baumann answered. “We haven’t shared any of this with the press. But yes, the patrol car is there in case Dr. Knoll decides to pay you a visit. Right now, he’s considered a person of interest, and his whereabouts are important to us. And you’re right. This doesn’t look good for him. I’ll ask you again, Anna. In this phone conversation tonight, are you sure Dr. Knoll didn’t say anything to you about leaving the hotel for any reason?”
“No, all we talked about were other suspects the police should be considering,” Anna said pointedly. “And Dr. Knoll also told me that I should look into getting myself a lawyer.”
There was a pause on the other end.
“I’d say that was sound advice, Anna,” the detective replied.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Wednesday, July 15—6:33 P.M.
The man in the hotel security video was unmistakably Russ. Wearing a dark sweater with the hood down, he blended in with a group of about a dozen people leaving the hotel lobby at the same time. They all seemed to know each other—except for Russ. Looking about rather suspiciously, he slipped though the double doors with the others.
In the video from the garage a few minutes later, he had on the same sweater, only with the hood up. There was little doubt it was the same person.
Anna had already watched both videos on the news twice. This time, Sally Justice was showing and analyzing them on her show.
“Talk about shifty-eyed, just look at him!” Sally said in voice-over as she showed the video a second time. “Well, Dr. Russell Knoll has been missing for twenty-four hours now.”
Anna stood in front of the TV in her darkened living room. All the blinds were down. She had the remote control in her hand.
The video ended, and Sally came up on the screen. Perched behind her judge’s desk, she had a photo of Russ on display in a box over her shoulder. “Dr. Knoll has left his girlfriend, former TV reporter Anna Malone, in the lurch,” Sally said—with a sneer. “If she knows anything about where he is, she’s not talking. No surprise there! What surprises me—no, enrages me—is that this low-life quack has taken it on the lam, and he’s so obviously guilty. Yet he still hasn’t been charged with his wife’s murder.” Sally threw up her hands. “What do the police want—a signed confession? A map to where he’s hidden her body?”
Anna muted it. She couldn’t take any more.
Turning away, she went over to the window that looked out on her back deck. She peeked through the blinds. It was still light out. Three medium-size boats bobbed in the water near her dock. On each vessel, there was someone on deck with a camera ready—just waiting for her to emerge from her house or open the blinds. She felt like the groundhog on Groundhog Day.
An hour ago, she’d been up in her bedroom loft. From the east-facing window, Anna had a view of the other floating homes on her dock—along with the gate. Through the trees on the shoreline, she’d noticed the crowd of reporters and onlookers—along with a cluster of news vans parked on the street.
Anna hadn’t talked to any of the reporters. She’d made a brief statement over the phone for her friends on the KIXI News team. �
��I have no idea where Dr. Knoll is,” she’d told them. “I’m as surprised as anyone else about his disappearance. I know he’s under a great deal of stress right now. I also know he’s an innocent man. He’s also been very transparent and cooperative with the police investigation. I’m hoping for his safe return.”
As far as she knew, all those reporters and news vans were still there, waiting for her to step outside or for Russ to show up.
She wished he would show up. How could he be so stupid? For once, she had to agree with Sally. His running away was like an admission of guilt. Anna was scared to death for him. She’d left several voice mails and texts. She prayed he’d phone back. At the same time, she didn’t want to be put in the position of knowing where he was—and not being able to tell the police. Didn’t he realize that he was just making things worse for himself?
Every time her phone rang or chimed, Anna ran to it.
And it had rung and chimed plenty of times. There were two calls and two texts from her coworkers at KIXI-TV News. George had phoned to check in on her. He was still living above his garage. Beebe wasn’t talking to him. And the kids, humiliated by their mother’s appearance on The Sally Justice Show, weren’t talking to her. And it’s all my fault, Anna thought.
She’d also gotten a text from Becky about Crazy Sandy:
I tried to e-mail Sandy and it came back as undeliverable. Her phone number isn’t working, either. But Margaret Freeman from the writers’ group may have a lead.
She agrees that if anyone wanted to see Courtney dead, it would be Sandy. Am waiting to hear from her. Great meeting U yesterday. U got a raw deal on Sally J last night! Screw her! Take care!
There was also an e-mail from Taylor:
Dear Anna,
New developments in the case (Dr. Knoll disappearing) have forced Sally to change the focus of tonight’s show. It’s mostly news-related now. But she will talk about you & the fact that you can’t remember much from Thursday night (she says it’s “awfully convenient” you have no memory of what happened). The therapist who was supposed to analyze the single-women/married-men situation is now out. The new guest is someone named Eddie Vaughn, who claims to know you. I’ll try to find out more. Hope this is some help.
Sincerely,
Taylor
PS: I had to get all this info about the show from one of my mother’s assistants. My mother is still mad at me for deserting her yesterday & she’s not talking to me.
Terrific, thought Anna, more people not talking to each other because of me. She had no idea who Eddie Vaughn was. She went online and didn’t recognize any of the Eddie Vaughns that came up on her Google and Facebook searches. She even dug out her high school and college yearbooks, but didn’t find anyone named Eddie Vaughn.
Now she was curious. If not for this Eddie Vaughn person, she wouldn’t be subjecting herself to another episode of The Sally Justice Show.
One of the three boats by her floating home, the nicest one—it looked like a small yacht—finally pulled up anchor and started to sail away. They were giving up. Anna hoped the other two boats would soon follow. She hated this. She wanted to open the blinds—if only just for a while. It felt so claustrophobic in her house, like she was living in a cocoon.
She glanced back at the TV and saw her official KIXI News portrait in a box over Sally’s shoulder: her in a blue sleeveless dress, her smile and hair looking perfect. It was a bit too airbrushed for Anna’s taste, but it was still a good shot. She was stunned that Sally was actually using a flattering photo of her for a change.
With the remote, Anna unmuted the TV and started toward the set.
“. . . Our next guest probably knows Anna Malone better than anyone else,” Sally was saying.
A gaunt, thirtysomething man with shaggy, dirty-looking grayish hair appeared on the screen. Sitting in front of some ugly lime-green curtains, he obviously wasn’t in Sally’s studio. He was talking to her remotely from somewhere else. Dark circles hung under his eyes, and he had a neck tattoo. He looked like a drug addict.
“Who is this creep?” Anna murmured to herself.
Squinting, Sally’s seedy-looking guest scratched his head. It was obviously a nervous tic. He sort of winced, and the dimples showed on his unshaven face.
“My God,” Anna whispered. She stopped dead in front of the TV. For a second, she couldn’t breathe. She hadn’t seen her brother in sixteen years.
Anna sank down on her knees and almost reached out toward the TV screen.
“You call yourself Eddie Vaughn, but that’s not your real name, is it?” Sally asked him.
He shook his head and smiled shyly. His teeth looked awful—a sign of crystal meth use. “No, my real name is Stuart Malone. But I changed it about sixteen years ago when I ran away from home at age eighteen . . .”
The TV went to split screen—with Sally and Stuart in discussion.
Anna watched with tears in her eyes. Her once-handsome, sweet, funny brother looked emaciated and ravaged.
“You’re Anna Malone’s older brother,” Sally said. “Isn’t that right?”
Nodding, he scratched his head again. “Yeah, I’m three years older.”
“Can you tell us where you are right now?”
“I’d rather not.” He squirmed in his chair. “I can’t explain, but it’s just not a good idea to let on where I am.”
“Fair enough,” Sally said. “Can you tell us what your sister was like when you were growing up together?”
He smiled again—with those awful yellow-gray teeth. Anna thought about how he used to have such a winning smile. “Well,” he said, “I used to call her Anna Banana. She was kind of spoiled, because she was younger and all that. She was like daddy’s little girl.”
“Your father was a very rich and powerful man. Would you say he favored Anna over you and doted on her?”
“Yeah, sure,” he replied vaguely. Then he let out a little laugh. “When it came to the old man, she got away with a lot. I mean, for example, he used to bring his scotch and water to the dinner table before we sat down to eat. Then he’d always go wash his hands. He was like a clean freak. And sometimes, Anna would hide his drink—like in the breakfront or behind the curtains or someplace. The old man would return to the table, and then go back to the kitchen, looking for where he left his drink. And you could tell he thought he was losing his marbles.”
Stu started to laugh, and for a few seconds, Anna saw her sweet brother again in that waste of a man. She’d forgotten about those dinners at home when Stu would egg her on to tease their dad.
“Then my father would realize Anna was messing with him,” Stu continued. “And he’d laugh like he thought it was really cute. But the thing is, I couldn’t have done that. If I ever tried to mess with him like that, he would have started yelling at me or maybe even smacked me in the face.”
Wiping her eyes, Anna nodded at the screen. She realized Stu was probably right. For a moment, she felt like she was back in their family room, sitting on the floor in front of the TV—just as she was now.
“Like I said, she was his little princess. She could do whatever she pleased. Me, he was always jumping on my case about every little thing I did.”
“You got into trouble a lot, didn’t you?” Sally asked quietly—as if she were his therapist.
He frowned. “Yeah, I never caught a break.”
“After you ran away from home, your father was imprisoned and committed suicide. Then your mother was killed in a car accident while driving drunk.”
Anna shook her head. It bothered the hell out of her that Sally kept accusing her mother of driving while drunk when she’d died.
“All of this happened after you left home,” Sally continued. “Do you sometimes feel that you shouldn’t have left your parents alone with your spoiled little sister?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Anna muttered.
On the split TV screen, Stu just shrugged.
“You’ve had your share of struggles, haven�
��t you, Stu?” Sally asked. “May I call you Stu? I know that’s not the name you go by now, but . . .”
He squinted, scratched his head, and nodded.
“Tell us about your struggles.”
“Well, after I ran away, I took on a lot of menial jobs to survive. I traveled a lot—all over. Mostly, I hitchhiked. I really liked New Mexico. I lived there for a while. But I always came back to Washington State.”
“Your sister was a TV personality in Spokane for a few years before she became a reporter with a Seattle station. Were you following Anna’s career?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I saw her on TV a lot.”
“Did you ever try to contact her?”
“Yeah, about two years ago,” he said. “I—I’d fallen in with this crowd, and they were all into drugs. It’s because of them that I got hooked on crystal meth. And I had some scrapes with the law. Anyway, I was trying to quit meth. I needed help. I mean, I really needed help.” As he spoke, something to one side of the camera seemed to catch his attention. “So I called my little sister. I figured, she was a big local TV star now. And she—she always did these sweet, heartwarming stories on the news, stuff about families and reunions and people helping each other. But when I reached out to Anna for help, she didn’t want anything to do with me. I know I wasn’t the best brother in the world, but you don’t do that to your family. I called her several times and e-mailed . . .”
Anna could tell he was reading off a cue card.
“She e-mailed back and told me to leave her alone, so I did.” Stu shrugged and shook his head.
“Didn’t Anna understand that you were in trouble?” Sally asked.
“Yeah, I told her everything. I told her that she was the only one who could help me.”
“And she turned you away.” Sally’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Do you still have a drug problem, Stu?”
The Night She Disappeared Page 21
