He cocoons me in his grip, lifting my feet off the floor and kissing me back until I’m breathless…tempted to cancel my plans to get lost in this blissful high for hours. Every time we’re together in an intimate way, the connection between us runs a little deeper.

  When he slides me onto the cool counter top the way I like because it gives me a position of power when looming over him, I grasp his head and hook my legs around his waist. My heart drums to a frazzled beat that quickens with the feeling of his fingertips slipping beneath my bra straps. It’s far too easy to get lost in him.

  I eventually wiggle free and shake my head. I’ve already wasted too much time. I’m afraid Kabe will be gone by the time I arrive downtown. “I have to go.”

  “Sure you wanna leave?” Theo rasps, dragging the tip of his nose down the sensitive skin on my neck.

  “Don’t let dinner burn,” I say in a husky tone while sliding down from the counter top. “Things will get hot enough once I return and teach you the mechanics of rompers.”

  I feel a pang of guilt when I leave him breathless and flushed, eyes in a lust-driven haze. But I’ll be back soon enough. More than anything, I want to see what kind of vehicle Elroy Kabe drives.

  Beth tops off my glass of Moscato a second time as I continue watching Kabe and his wife from afar. They’re notable a strange couple, especially because they almost look as if they could be siblings. They’re both tall and sinewy with sharp noses and square jaws, thick black glasses, and narrow eyes. The biggest difference is her raven hair worn chin-length doesn’t show a single inconsistency in color while his is peppered with gray. They’re not overly cozy as Beth had suggested on the phone, but they do touch each other often in a non-sexual way as they carry on an animated conversation.

  “He honestly gives me the willies,” Beth says with an exaggerated shiver. “Both of them, really. They’re almost…robotic looking.”

  “Jackie…uhhh, I mean, K.C. said he reminded her of that Pee-Wee Herman guy.”

  “I can totally see that.”

  As I’m studying the couple, the wife’s eyes suddenly snap onto mine.

  “Oh my god,” I say, lowering my head and jerking my gaze back in Beth’s direction. “The wife just caught me staring.”

  “Careful or she’ll vaporize you with her robot eyes.” Laughing wickedly, Beth rests her elbows on the bar top in front of me. “So I hear things are getting pretty hot and heavy with the grumpy carpenter. Are you some kind of a sadist?”

  “Stop calling him that,” I whine with a little smile. “His name is Theo. He’s actually a really great guy. I was hoping you could formally meet him one of these days, but not if you’re going to insist on labeling him like that. You’d like him.”

  “You’re right, I’m sorry.” She pours a tap beer for another patron at the bar, sighing dreamily. “Deep down I’m probably just jealous that you’ve only been in town for a hot minute and already you’ve snagged one of the only good ones around.” She hands the beer off and throws a towel over her shoulder before heading back my way. “Don’t look now, but the robot lady is on her way into the bathroom. Now’s your chance to talk to her alone.”

  “What do I say?”

  “You could try to catch her off guard by asking straight out if she thinks her husband is into little girls.” She leans forward to whisper, “Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn they’re in on it together.”

  Head tilted, I roll my eyes her way before chugging the rest of my wine. “If I’m not back in ten minutes, send a rescue party.”

  “Ten-four,” she replies with a smart salute.

  I enter the women’s bathroom just steps behind Kabe’s wife and wash my hands while she occupies one of the stalls. With the sound of the toilet flushing, I grab a handful of paper towels right as she steps out.

  “Hi,” I say to her, offering a cordial smile. “I’m sorry I was staring earlier. It’s just…I swear your husband looks familiar. I feel like I know him from somewhere.”

  Her narrow face softens as she returns my smile. “He was a sixth grade teacher at one of the elementary schools here in town for a handful of decades.”

  “Roosevelt?” I ask.

  “Yes, that’s right.” Her doubtful gaze flickers down to my romper and back to my face before she begins washing her hands. I’m starting to understand why Beth insisted on comparing the woman to a robot. Every movement she makes looks unnatural. Her wrists are stiff as she runs her hands beneath the water. “Did you go there?”

  “My older cousins went to Roosevelt—Diane and Jackie Tanner. I must’ve recognized him from one of their yearbooks or something.”

  The smile evaporates from her face. “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” She stops the faucet with her elbow and stands with her wet hands held up like a surgeon. Water dribbles down her arms, pooling at her elbows as she sighs. “I’ll never forget when we heard that your cousin, Jackie, had been reported as missing. We were in The Cities, taking our son and daughter to see the Globetrotters. My husband was distraught, said he’d seen Jackie leaving a school assembly less than an hour before we’d left.”

  The alleged timeline catches my interest. If I’m truly seeing Jackie’s memories correctly, that assembly was several hours before Jackie met J.R. at the park. Maybe Kabe’s alibi for that night really was air-tight, like Chief Nielsen said.

  I tap my chin as if still trying to place her husband. “If I remember right, there was a search for her the day after she went missing. Maybe that’s where I remember seeing him.”

  “That’s not it.” She reaches for the paper towels and gives a regretful shake of her head while wiping her hands dry. At last her wrists finally become mobile with the motion. “I’m sorry, but he wasn’t able to be there. We’d left the afternoon she’d gone missing and spent the next two nights at a Holiday Inn, celebrating our son’s birthday with friends and family. I know Elroy would’ve liked to have helped in any way possible. He was pretty shook up that one of his own students had gone missing.” She tosses the used towels into the garbage and briefly touches my arm. “I’m so sorry they never found your cousin. You have my sympathies. My husband’s too.”

  “Thank you,” I say with a small nod.

  I wait a beat to follow her back into the restaurant. Elroy stands beside their booth, rifling through his wallet.

  “Well?” Beth asks as I return. “Did she try to shock you with her robot arms, or reveal what she looks like beneath her Scooby-style mask?”

  “None of the above.” Flashing her an apologetic look, I drop a twenty dollar bill on the bar and throw my handbag over my shoulder. “I have to run. I’ll fill you in on everything later.”

  I remove my phone from my handbag and start after the couple when they exit through the front door. Although I’m parked in the lot out back, I stick close to the shadows the street lights cast, following them down South Riverfront with my eyes focused down on my phone in case they turn and notice I’m behind them.

  From the corner of my eye, I watch as they veer toward a silver Jeep Cherokee parked at the curb. The wife slips in through the passenger’s door, and Elroy climbs into the driver’s seat.

  While it’s still possible they own a second car, something about my conversation with Elroy’s wife makes me think he can safely be moved to the bottom of my list—maybe even crossed off entirely.

  22

  STERLING - 2018

  The following evening I swing by my house after work to pick up Theo and we head to a nursing home on Stadium Road. I’m constantly watching over my shoulder on the entire drive, paranoid that I’m once again being tailed. I still haven’t mentioned the navy blue sedan to Theo, although I have good intentions to at some point.

  The receptionist at the nursing home, a robust woman with bright eyes and round cheeks, greets Theo with a dazzling smile. I’ve noticed he seems to have that effect on all women. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Davies,” she tells him as he’s signing the visitor’s log. “Diane hasn’t had anyone come visit in a while. She’s having a good day—I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you. She’s still in room one-oh-seven.”

  “Thank you,” I reply on his behalf since he’s suddenly gone mute. He hasn’t had much of anything to say since K.C. called this morning to let us know the nursing home was okay with Diane having visitors. It’s understandable that being around her would stir up too many painful memories for him, making it difficult to endure.

  I take his hand and coax him down the sterilized hallway to room 107. The prevalent odor that nursing homes carry thickens around us along with the faint sound of distant conversations and the canned laughter from sitcoms. When I knock softly on 107's cracked door, we’re greeted with a faint, “Come in.”

  Opening the door with the palm of my hand, I suck in a deep breath once discovering Jackie’s big sister hunched in a wheelchair by the window. It’s jarring enough to take in her snowy white, shoulder-length hair considering she’s still in her forties, but she appears frail enough to break at any moment. Her chin lifts slightly as she regards us, her expression blank. It’s as if we’re witnessing an animated corpse at a theme park.

  “DeeDee,” I whisper, my throat tight. I drop Theo’s hand and race over to kneel beside her, grasping her cool, bony hand in mine. Searching her beautiful blue eyes for a trace of the spirited big sister Jackie had known, I’m only met with a dull sheen of emptiness. “Oh, DeeDee, what’s happened to you?”

  Confusion settles in her gaze. “Jackie?” she asks, her other hand trembling as it reluctantly reaches out, as if wanting to touch my face. I guide her hand to my cheek and her skeletal face lights with a smile. “Jackie, where have you been?” She lovingly rubs her thumb along my cheekbone. “I’ve been so worried!”

  Does she somehow sense the presence of her sister the way I do, or is her brain merely too confused to understand reality? Tears blur my vision when I glance over my shoulder to where Theo watches on from the doorway with hesitation.

  Nodding in encouragement, he lumbers over to rest his hand on my shoulder. “I’m here too, Diane—J.R. It’s good to see you.”

  “You’ve finally found her,” she says to him with tears rolling down her cheeks. Her thumb continues stroking against my skin. “You found our Jackie.”

  “Not yet,” he says quietly before bending down to whisper into my ear. “This is a waste of time. She’s clearly not having a good day.”

  I reach up to touch his bearded face. “Let me talk with her for a little bit,” I whisper back, panicked by the idea of having to leave her so soon. “Maybe she’ll remember something if she thinks I’m really Jackie.” I don’t imagine he’s down with the charade, and I feel a tremendous rush of guilt for even asking, so I add, “You can wait in the hallway if it’s too much.”

  Jaw clenched, he bobs his head in surrender before bending to drop a kiss in my hair. “I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”

  I throw him an appreciative look before he slinks out of the room, gently pulling the door closed behind him. I slide the armchair out from the corner of the room, positioning it between her wheelchair and the simple hospital bed. The room is depressingly stark with the exception of a worn quilt folded at the foot of the bed and a framed picture on a nightstand of a preteen Diane embracing Jackie as a toddler. They’re considerably younger than in my dreams, but their matching grins and bright blue eyes are unmistakable.

  “My baby sister,” Diane sings, taking a lock of my hair between her slender fingers. “Do you remember how Mom used to crank up the radio and dance with us? Those were the good days. We were all so happy back then…before she quit coming home at night and left us to fend for ourselves.”

  I nod somberly. “She liked the oldies.”

  “Sometimes it was random stuff, like The Oak Ridge Boys and Crystal Gayle.”

  “I loved it when Crystal Gayle was on The Muppet Show,” I recall from Jackie’s conversation with J.R. about the show.

  “You always loved that stupid show,” she says, scrunching her nose. Then her shoulders drop and she looks on the verge of tears. “I never should’ve picked on you for that. I shouldn’t have picked on you over a lot of things.”

  “I still knew you loved me,” I assure her, even though I’m suddenly reminded of some of the awful thoughts Jackie had when she feared Diane would steal J.R. from her. I wish someone would take her next so I’d never have to see her again. I gently tighten my fingers around her delicate hand. “Diane, what do you remember about the day I went missing?” I half expect to be struck down by lightening for impersonating her sister, but I suspect if she truly believes Jackie has returned, it could be the first bit of comfort she’s felt since 1986. “J.R. tells me you were reluctant to call the police at first.”

  “I was starting to think Mom was involved in something illegal. I knew she’d be pissed if the cops came digging around. There was this creepy guy who kept stopping by, asking for her and wondering when she’d give him his money. One time she was actually home and he threatened to ‘take the payment out’ on me instead of her. Mom freaked, told me to hide under my bed if he came by again.”

  A shudder rips through me. “Why don’t I remember this guy?”

  “He didn’t come over until after you met J.R. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to scare you. But I started hanging around with you and J.R. more to make sure you were safe from that guy.” Her bird-like features tighten in anger. “Where the hell did you go, Jackie? Do you know how much trouble you caused?”

  “I didn’t leave willingly, Diane. I would never have done that to you.”

  Her gaze hardens. “We were better off when Mom never came home, like before. She was a totally different person after you left. I didn’t know it was because she was on drugs until J.R.’s dad arrested her for making a fool of herself at that search party the cops arranged for you.” With every word she utters about the past, a glimmer of the spunky sister Jackie had known slowly resurfaces. She sits a little taller when she continues and begins gesturing with her hands. “I’ll never forget the time that guy came back and I heard them arguing. I snuck into the hallway to spy on them right as Mom slapped him and asked how he could say such a cruel thing when one of her babies was gone.” Her teeth flash beneath her tense lips. “He looked her dead in the eye and said she better come up with the cash or he’d take the other one, too.”

  I let out a stilted breath. Was he claiming responsibility for what happened to Jackie? “Did you tell the police what he’d said?”

  “Are you nuts?” she snaps. “When I first met him, he pointed a gun at me, threatened to shoot both me and Mom if I ever told anyone about his little visits. He told me he’d done time in prison for dealing and if they tried to send him back, he’d know I must’ve ratted him out. And he said if they locked him up, he had a powerful friend on the outside who would do anything he asked.”

  There’s a deep ache in my heart knowing that she had to endure the man’s threats all on her own. It was maybe even one of the factors that started of her mental decline. Although there doesn’t seem to be an obvious connection between this lowlife dealer and the other girls who went missing, he clearly had the means and motive to do something unspeakable to Jackie.

  I lovingly rub my fingers across the back of her hand, wishing there was a better way to offer her something of more comfort. “Do you remember the man’s name?”

  “No. Mom only referred to him as ‘that bastard’. He always had a cigarette dangling from his lips and I never saw him without a cowboy hat or boots, so I called him the Marlboro Man.”

  “That’s good, Diane. You’ve been really helpful.” Even without a name, it’s possible Chief Nielsen could locate someone in the system from that timeframe who’d dressed like a cowboy and was on parole for dealing.

  An orderly knocks on the door before entering. “Time for your meds, Diane.”

  As I reach out to embrace the broken woman who has lamented the loss of her little sister for too long, I shed a tear for them both. “I’ll come back to visit again soon,” I tell her, meaning it with all of my heart.

  It’s pitch dark when I park my BMW in my driveway. Theo remains still in the passenger’s seat, staring at the lights reflected on the closed garage door. We’d grabbed fast food on the way back, but our greasy bags remain untouched on the console between us, and the call I placed to Chief Nielsen the moment we left Diane has yet to be returned.

  Theo had listened intently on the drive back as I reiterated my conversation with Diane, but he wasn’t equally convinced the drug dealer could’ve had anything to do with Jackie’s disappearance. I sense seeing his old friend in such an advanced state of decline has messed with his head, so I bend over the takeout to kiss his bicep. “Come on, big guy. Let’s eat, then take a hot bath together with that bottle of Prosecco my aunt sent back with us.”

  As I reach for the takeout bags, Theo’s strong fingers clamp around my wrist. “The lights were off when we left,” he says in a voice that’s edged with caution. “I know for damn sure because I double checked.”

  I scan the house to discover he’s right. Every single light inside has been turned on. My pulse pounds with urgency against my eardrums as I turn to survey the street. Although I don’t see the navy sedan anywhere, it could still be parked among the deep shadows from the row of massive oak trees lining the curb.

  “Should we call the police?” I ask, attempting to keep my voice even.

  “Not yet.” His demeanor remains calm as his eyes fixate on the house. “Pop the trunk and give me the keys to the front door. If I’m not back out here in five, you can call them.”

  Every last one of my instincts plead me to tell him it’s ill-advised to go inside alone, but I remind myself he trained with the military, and acquiesce with a small nod. As he silently exits the vehicle to dig around inside my trunk, I type 9-1-1 into my phone’s keypad, prepared to hit the green phone icon with the slightest hint of trouble.