by Raven Snow
“She does,” said Peter. “But I’d like to think I have some desirable qualities, too.”
“Did you ever fool around with her?” asked Rowen.
“Of course not,” said Peter. He hesitated. Maybe he had just had enough of all the lying. “Maybe,” he said. “Yes. Once. It didn’t mean anything,” he amended.
Rowen wasn’t sure how much she believed that. Sleeping with a person like Debra had probably meant something to someone. “Did Jeana find out?”
“I told her,” said Peter.
“And how did she take that?” asked Ben, stepping in.
“She wasn’t thrilled,” said Peter. Rowen had a feeling that was putting it lightly. “She and her sister had a talk, I think.”
Ben looked back at Rowen. He didn’t have to say anything. She read him loud and clear. They needed to go talk to the sister.
“Am I, uh, under arrest or anything?” asked Peter, looking very small still sitting there on his boxes.
“You hindered a police investigation,” said Rose, raising an eyebrow at him.
Peter groaned. He looked like he might be sick then and there. “Am I under arrest?”
“I’m going to send some men around to take a statement from you,” said Ben. He turned suddenly, leading the way back to the car.
“Well, that wasn’t exactly how I thought that was going to play out,” said Rowen. She still couldn’t believe that what she had seen in her vision was Jeana McCormick and Peter Jacobi having kinky sex.
“At least we got something,” said Ben and got back into his car.
Rowen and Rose got in as well, Rose taking the front seat. “Did we?” she asked, sounding skeptical. “We still don’t know what happened to Jeana.”
“We know what Tina saw wasn’t a corpse,” said Rowen. “That’s something.”
“It is something,” Ben agreed. “I’m betting we get a few more answers before this day is over with.”
“And if we don’t?” asked Rowen. She hadn’t forgotten that Ben’s career was in a lot of jeopardy over this.
“You let me worry about that,” said Ben. “Doing my job is what comes first.”
Chapter Twelve
Debra lived in a little apartment downtown. When Ben knocked on the door, a dog started yipping. The door opened a few moments later, and Debra McCormick stood there with her robe clasped together and curlers in her hair. “Yes?” She was looking at Ben. When she scanned and saw that Rowen was with him, she scowled.
“Lainswich Police Department,” said Ben. “I would like to ask you a few questions, if that’s all right.”
Debra looked wary. She let go of the door only to lean down and pick up the fluffy little white dog still yipping at her feet. “What’s this about?” she asked.
“Just some questions about your sister,” said Ben.
“What’s she doing here?” asked Debra, nodding at Rowen.
“She’s actually the one who suggested coming to you,” said Ben. “I had a few questions. She said you were one of the more reliable sources she had ever interviewed. I know my officers didn’t give you much of a chance the first time you were interviewed.”
Debra stood up a little straighter. Apparently, Ben knew how to read people too. Even if it didn’t make a whole lot of sense, that explanation clearly appealed to Debra’s attention seeking nature. Rowen was impressed. Debra threw one more wary look at Rowen before opening the door a bit wider. “Come in,” she said.
Rowen had to give it to her. Debra’s house was capably decorated. It was quirky; there was no denying that. Silks hung from the ceiling. There were all sorts of knickknacks lining the walls. Rowen nearly knocked a Faberge egg over on her way to the sofa. Aunt Lydia would have loved this place.
Debra sat in the chair across from the sofa. She set her little dog in her lap and petted it idly as she waited for their questions. “Of course now you come to me,” she said, “when it’s probably too late.”
Rowen didn’t have the patience for this. Ben might have intended to pad her ego a bit before getting to the good stuff, but Rowen had had enough of this woman since their last interview. She was hindering this investigation as much as Peter had been, if not more. Rowen was willing to bet that she knew it. “We know you slept with Peter.”
Debra squeezed her little dog a little too tightly. He gave a yelp, bit her, and hurried off into another room. “I can’t believe you’re so… so…” She gave a noise of indignation as she rubbed at her injured hand.
“Peter told us,” Ben said, keeping his tone perfectly level and matter-of-fact. He didn’t have much choice but to follow Rowen’s lead in this now. “The two of you had sexual relations while he was still involved with your sister.”
Debra seemed to deflate a bit. She sagged in her seat. You could still see the gears turning behind her eyes. She was searching for a way out of this. For a likely explanation. Anything. She couldn’t find it. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” she said instead.
“It might have been pertinent to the investigation,” said Ben. “Did you and your sister have a falling-out over this?”
“They were only in a casual relationship,” said Debra. “They had no plans to take it any further.”
“Even so,” said Rowen. “I can’t imagine Jeana would have been comfortable sharing a lover with her own sister.”
“She wasn’t angry,” said Debra. “My sister loves me.”
“You had a falling-out,” said Ben, drawing his conclusion even if she was unwilling to admit it. “Then what?”
Debra gave a huff and looked toward the window, saying nothing. They would be lucky if she didn’t just order them out. She probably hadn’t thought of that yet.
“She would have been mad,” said Rowen. “She was mad at you, and…” she trailed off, trying to give this some serious thought.
“She was probably going through a lot,” added Rose. She spoke softly, like she was talking to herself.
Ben looked in her direction, prompting her to go on. It wasn’t like they were getting much of a response from Debra.
“Well,” said Rose, speaking slowly and uncertainly. “She went back to Peter and slept with him again. We know she slept with Uncle Norman too. She was probably feeling really conflicted. I remember her. I went to the library a lot. She was quiet, not like Tina. She kept to herself. She sort of reminded me of, well, me. I don’t know what she did, but I know what I would have done.”
“What would you have done?” asked Ben.
“I would have run away,” said Rose.
Debra looked up.
It took just a moment longer, but it hit Rowen. “That’s it.” She stood. “I know what happened. Jeana isn’t dead. She just skipped town.”
Ben looked skeptical. “She would have heard about the search,” he said. “She would have come forward.”
“Maybe she was really far away,” suggested Rowen. “Or maybe she was out of the country.”
“She would need money or a passport or both. We kept tabs on her bank account and passport activity. We would have noticed,” said Ben.
Debra scoffed.
Rowen wasn’t deterred. “I need you to check Debra’s credit cards for me.”
Ben stood. “Where are you going?” he called after Rowen.
“I have a feeling,” said Rowen. The feeling she had had earlier today returned. She knew where she needed to be. “I need you to check something for me. I’ve… I’ve got to go somewhere.”
Chapter Thirteen
The airport wasn’t very crowded at all. Almost no one came to the airport just outside of Lainswich. It was there for non-commercial flights mostly. Still, you could use it to take a connecting flight to most anywhere in the world.
It was so small that Rowen ran into Eric as she wandered the halls.
“Rowen?” Eric called. “Hey, Rowen!” He was standing with David and his parents. He broke away from them to jog over to Rowen. “What are you doing here?”
<
br /> “Solving a crime,” said Rowen, looking this way and that. “I’m trying to concentrate.” From the corner of her eye, Rowen glimpsed Mrs. Richardson approaching. “Can you tell your mother I’ll talk to her later? Sorry to be rude!” Rowen hurried off. She turned this way and that, following the direction the universe seemed to be pulling her in.
Eric caught up to her, moving at a jog. “Did you figure it out?”
“I think so!” Rowen threw him a sidelong smile. “Cross your fingers.” Suddenly, Rowen knew. She broke into a sprint and headed directly for the gate with the flight departing to Chicago.
There were a couple dozen people, all sitting around waiting. Rowen spotted the person she was looking for immediately.
“Jeana McCormick?”
The woman seated in the corner jumped. She was wearing a sun hat pulled low. She pulled it a little lower when Rowen took a seat beside her.
“I know it’s you,” said Rowen. “What are you doing here? You know everyone is looking for you, right?”
The woman heaved a sigh and looked up. “I found that out today. I was all ready to come home today, then… This has all been blown so out of proportion.”
“So, why don’t you go tell everyone you’re fine?” asked Rowen.
“It’s humiliating,” she said, looking down at the floor.
“So you’re just going to slip away again?”
Jeana looked over at Rowen. “That was the plan.”
“Where were you going to go?”
“Somewhere in Europe. Paris, maybe.” Jeana nodded to the gate. “This flight connects, so…”
“I was supposed to go to Paris,” Rowen mused aloud. “If you use your passport, people are going to notice.”
“I’ve got Debra’s,” said Jeana.
“You’ve got pretty much all her stuff, huh?” asked Rowen. “You’ve been using her ID and her cards.”
Jeana hesitated but nodded. “People don’t pay much attention. We look enough alike that I’ve never had anyone call me out on it.”
“Why?” asked Rowen. “And I mean that in the broad sense, not why did people buy that you were your sister.”
“I don’t know,” said Jeana, in the sort of tone that implied she did know. “I guess… I guess I just snapped.”
“Peter and your sister?” guessed Rowen.
“And your uncle,” said Jeana, giving Rowen a halfhearted smile. She still recognized her, apparently. “And then Tina walked in on me, and…” Jeana had started to cry, like this was all too much. She continued anyway, getting it all off her chest. “I didn’t think she thought I was dead. I thought she had seen me naked and knew what I was up to. It was humiliating.”
“I bet,” said Rowen. “What did you do?”
“I got in the car and headed home… Except, I don’t know. I just kept driving. I went to Debra’s house instead. I have a key. I took some things and left a note. I thought she would come and find me or call the cops. Something. I didn’t expect that she would milk it for attention.” Jeana shook her head. “I guess we’re both crazy.”
“We have breakdowns sometimes,” said Rowen, offering her a smile. “Sometimes we try to run away from our problems.” Rowen had considered doing that recently, in fact. “Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it’s a cry for help. Now, your sister… There might really be something wrong there. I think she has a pretty serious personality disorder.”
“I’m not sure how I can go back,” said Jeana. “What’s the town going to think of me?”
“Who cares what everyone thinks?” asked Rowen. “All that matters is what you and the people you care about think. Right now, there are people who miss you a lot. It would mean the world to them to find out you’re alive and healthy, and… Well, you can work on the happy part as you go.”
Epilogue
Rowen had another wedding not so long after the first. Despite being tempted to leave Lainswich behind, she did not. The town had its problems. The townspeople were likely to turn on them at the drop of a hat. It changed nothing. Lainswich was her home. The people could be annoying and judgmental, but so were people everywhere. She wasn’t going to let a few outspoken idiots run her off.
After Jeana had come forward, Rowen’s family had actually gotten a lot of support. The friend of the teenage boy who had thrown the chili dog at her even came forward to apologize. His mother might have made him do it, but it was still nice to get that kind of acknowledgment.
Jeana was doing well. She had gone back to her job at the library. She seemed happy there, even if people did whisper things on occasion. Peter and Debra had run into some legal trouble over recent events, but it seemed like most of it would be blowing over without jail time. That didn’t seem to bother Jeana. She wasn’t spending much time with either of those people. She was spending more time with Norman, but only time would tell how that would play out.
Jeana was actually at her wedding today. Rowen hadn’t wanted many guests, but they had come anyway—not that there was much room for them. Rowen had been right initially. A prison was a horrible place for a wedding.
Grammy couldn’t have been much happier. She sat right down in the front, beaming as Rowen walked down the makeshift aisle. With Aunt Lydia’s help, she had mostly managed to get the chili stain out of her wedding dress. Granted, she did feel more than a little overdressed for the wedding locale.
“You look amazing,” said Eric when she reached him. It sounded like he meant it. When he looked at her, it was in a way that no one else did.
This time, Aunt Lydia didn’t spend as much time with the whole spiel. “Most of you have already heard this,” she said, getting on to the ‘I do’s.’
While she waited, Rowen looked out across her guests. There was Rose and Ben with his arm around her. There was Margo and David. David had actually finished that book of his. So far, only Margo had read it, but she gave it very high praise. She gave most everything he did high praise lately.
There was Willow and Peony with Tina. There was Tiffany with Roland. (Rowen couldn’t help but wonder if there was something between those two.) There was Aunt Nadine with a grinning Grammy.
Everyone seemed so happy and so was Rowen.
Finally, Aunt Lydia got to the good part. “I do,” said Eric.
“I do,” said Rowen, almost before they had prompted her to say it as well.
“You may now kiss the bride,” said Aunt Lydia, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.
When Eric and Rowen kissed, she couldn’t imagine any wedding could have been more perfect.
Authors Note
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