Four
Elijah
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pena, but it’s been six weeks of us searching and we haven’t been able to locate your husband’s body.”
Throat clogging up, I clench my fists at my sides. “What do you mean you can’t find him? Where the hell else would he be? Are y’all even really searching?”
The cop, whose name I don’t care to learn, pinches the bridge of his nose while releasing a drawn out sigh. “Of course we have. Maybe you remember everything wrong. Are you sure he was with you that night?”
“Yes. It was his idea. Ask the man who rented us the boat. Hank was his name. He works down on the docks at the lake.”
“That’s the thing. We went to the docks where you say you rented the boat and no one seems to know a Hank. In fact, you’re the only person who saw your husband get on that boat. There are no other witnesses.”
“What are you implying?” My voice echoes with a hint of anger.
Sighing, he flexes his fingers out on the desk. “Explosives were found around the wreckage. Someone intended for that boat to blow up, and your husband going missing at the same time as the accident comes off as a little suspicious.”
“What the fuck are you saying?” I slam my fist on the desk. “Why would I hurt my own husband?”
“I don’t know, Mr. Pena. There are many reasons people murder their spouses. Another person in the picture or insurance money.” His eyes sharpen on me.
“That’s ridiculous. There was no one else, or any money.”
“Actually.” The man holds my stare. “There is. The money at least. Your husband left you quite the sum. I believe over a million dollars. When his grandma passed away two years ago, she left everything to him.”
I grip the chair, my breath caught in my throat. He didn’t tell me. He did come up with the other half of the money for the bookstore fairly quickly. Why keep this from me? I was there at the funeral with him when his grandma passed from a bad stroke, and he didn’t mention anything about her leaving him money. Did he not trust me? Shaking my head, I lean back in my chair. No, that can’t be right. He was a modest person and didn’t like upstaging me. It happened anyway, by accident.
“Mr. Pena?” He blinks hard in my direction.
“I’m sorry, I need a moment to register all this.”
“Which part?” He rests his elbow on the desk, his fingers tightening around his pen and his chair moves side to side.
“All of it,” I say, my words strained.
“So, you didn’t know about the money?”
“No. He never told me.” I raise my voice.
“That’s kinda strange, don’t you think?” He leans in closer. “Why would someone keep something like that from their husband?”
“I don’t know.” My blood boils and I’m struggling to contain my anger. “He had his reasons, I’m sure.”
“Oh, I’m sure he did,” he says mockingly.
Fuck this guy. “Look. I didn’t know anything about the bomb on the boat. It wasn’t until we got to the lake that I found out about my husband’s plans for us. He wanted it to be a surprise. If you’re saying what I think you’re saying, then that means my husband might have been murdered.”
“And you’d happen to know firsthand, wouldn’t you?” He spins around some more, tilting his face.
Quickly jumping to my feet, I lean over the desk, digging my nails into the wood. “If you’re not going to help me then I’ll find someone who will. If I’d killed my husband, I wouldn’t have assembled three search parties or been in here every other day asking where the fuck he is.”
“What’s going on here?” a man from behind me asks. He doesn’t look anything like the cop I’ve been dealing with for the last hour. He’s older, with silver sprinkled in his dark beard and hair, and dressed in a suit instead of a regular cop uniform.
“I’m trying to find out what happened to my husband, and instead of doing his job properly, this jackass wants to waste time accusing the wrong person.”
“Ah, you must be Mr. Pena.”
“Yes.”
He glares at the other man who’s shrugging his shoulders like the smug shit he is.
“I’ve been waiting for you to come in. I wish someone had told me you were here,” he says between clenched teeth. “Please follow me. Let’s talk in my office.”
I do as he says, not giving the other man the satisfaction of glancing back at him. We reach his office and he closes the door behind us.
“Have a seat, Mr. Pena. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Do any of them include whether or not I killed my husband because if they do, then—”
He holds his hand up, adjusting the bottom of his jacket as he lowers himself in his chair. “No. None of that. I only want to get the truth of what happened that night. I know you’ve told us everything you thought of at the time, but maybe there are some things you’ve missed.”
“Such as?”
He gestures his head toward the other chairs. “This will be a lot easier if you sit down.”
Huffing a breath, I take my seat, not getting too comfortable. “There. I’m seated.”
“Since circumstances have changed based on evidence, so have the questions.”
“Okay, please do go on.” I rest my chin on a closed fist.
“Your husband . . . did he seem off to you at all that night?”
“No. Not at all. He was the happiest I’d seen him in a while. We were celebrating.”
“That’s what you said last time. I’m trying to figure out why he’d rent a boat from a man who conveniently disappeared after the accident.”
“I don’t understand either. He said he got the guy’s name from someone at work.”
His eyes widen with interest. “Who? Did he give you a name?”
Pausing for a moment, I think long and hard, not remembering him ever saying who the person was. “No. He just said a customer. Sounded like a regular, maybe.”
He scribbles down notes in a small notepad. “Anything else you can think of?”
“No. I wish I knew more. If we had his phone, we might—”
“We do, actually. Did Officer Robinson not tell you?”
I look toward the door and back at him. “No. He did not.” Asshole.
“Well, we do. It’s in evidence, but we haven’t looked through it yet. I wanted to speak to you first.”
“You have my full permission if that’s what you need.” A thought hits me and I jump a little in my chair. “Hank. Landon said he made reservations over the phone.”
“We’ll see if it’s on there. If you think of anything else—”
“I’ll call you right away.”
“Good. I know it’s been a hard month for you, Mr. Pena, and we want to find your husband, we do, but if we keep coming up empty these next two weeks, we’re going to have to call the search off. Chances are he was either moved or his body was destroyed in the explosion.”
“But I saw him before I was hit. He was right next to me. What if there are areas being overlooked? What if—”
He holds his hand up. “I know it’s hard not knowing what happened—”
“Do you? Because I really don’t think you do. What if it was your wife out there? Would you stop looking?”
His lips press into a thin line and he folds his hands over his desk. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Then don’t expect me to.” I get to my feet so fast the chair almost falls back. “Let me know what you find on his phone and if you can figure out who rented my husband that boat.”
He opens his mouth and closes it, giving me a curt nod. “Sure thing.”
I leave the office without another word and hurry to my car. They actually considered me being the reason my husband is dead. There were no issues in our marriage. If they took the time to speak to our friends and family, they’d know that. I get in my car and wait until my hands stop shaking to drive home.
On the way there, I keep thinking about the last time I saw Landon. How he smiled at me before leaning in for a kiss. Maybe I should care more about why he didn’t tell me about the money, but it’s not like knowing will help bring him back. Nothing will. But if he was murdered or there’s any sign of foul play, I won’t let the people who were involved get away scot-free. They don’t get to go on with their happy lives while I’m burying an empty casket. They don’t get to enjoy the company of their family and friends while I’m having to go without mine. Landon was my everything. Every night since the accident I’ve gone home to nothing.
The accident.
It’s hard to believe it was something more than that. How could someone want to hurt Landon? What’s there to gain?
Instead of turning onto my road, I head to the lake instead. It was his favorite place to go every summer. He’d go for a swim, begging me to jump in with him, but I’d sit on the dock watching instead. I can’t feel him at home anymore. Will I be able to at the last place we were together?