Stalker Problems - Chapter 42 - TOP SECRET #2
“The police got involved that night. They brought out sniffing dogs and made a whole scene of searching the entirety of Central Park. The news picked up the story. The whole city was searching for my sweet, beautiful sister. I’d been so hopeful those first few days.
With so many people involved, how could we not find her?
But as no clues turned up, the public lost interest. And then the police did too.
I think the case is technically still open, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a file in some database.
I doubt any cop has thought about Rosalie in years. ”
The look on Marty’s face told me I was right.
“I haven’t forgotten about her, though. And I still go to the lake every year on her birthday.
My stupid ex-husband would come too. We’d eat her favorite cupcakes and I’d sit around telling him all my favorite stories about her.
Even if she was gone, telling the stories made it feel like a little part of her was still with me.
And then when the sun had set and my voice was hoarse from talking so much, we’d leave one cupcake for her and go home. ”
“Maybe when you go tomorrow she’ll be there waiting for you,” said Tanner to try to cheer me up. It was a nice thought - and that idea was partially why I went back every year - but nothing was going to stop the tears running down my cheeks. It felt like it had just happened yesterday.
“Do you remember…” started Marty, but Tanner cut him off.
“I think that’s enough for today,” said Tanner. I’d never heard him sound so stern.
“No,” I said, sniffing back the snot threatening to run down my face. “I want to answer all his questions.” I needed to be strong for Rosalie. I turned back to Marty. “What do you need to know?”
“Was Rosalie acting strange at all before she disappeared?”
“Not really.” I blotted away my tears as quickly as I could. “She’d been distant for a few weeks, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. Depending on how wrapped up in her art she was, I wouldn’t hear from her for weeks. And then she’d call me every day for a month.”
“Had anyone new come into her life recently?”
“Yes, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you who. She was always getting new roommates and dating new boys. Every time I talked to her it seemed like she had a new boyfriend.”
“From a dating app?”
“Uh. I know she was on Tinder at one point. But then she got tired of that and tried another. And then she claimed to give up dating apps altogether, but her endless stream of suitors continued.”
The questions continued like this for at least another hour.
I tried to get a read on if my information was helping at all, but Marty was a brick wall.
His face betrayed nothing. But his questions gave me hope.
There were at least three times when he pulled some obscure detail out of my brain that I had never thought was important.
“I think that’s everything I need,” said Marty eventually. “As soon as I have conclusive evidence, you’ll be the first to know.” He grabbed his TOP SECRET folder and left as quickly as he’d come.
I let out a deep sigh. Reliving all that had been so draining.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that,” said Tanner.
“Marty wasn’t that bad. I’d go through his questioning a million times over if it will help him find Rosalie.”
Tanner laughed. “I meant Rosalie disappearing. But yeah, Marty can definitely be a little insensitive.” He handed me another tissue. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help make tomorrow a little less painful for you?”
I shook my head. Having him see me ugly-cry for the past hour had been horrifying enough. I couldn’t deal with him seeing how much of a mess I’d be tomorrow.
“Okay. Well if you change your mind, just…”
“Actually,” I said. “There is one thing you could do.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Anything.”
All my instincts were telling me not to ask. I’d already pushed my luck enough by making out with him. But he’d offered… “I wouldn’t mind going out to dinner tomorrow night.”
He stared at me.
Oh shit. Was he about to freak out? I couldn’t handle that on top of everything else.
“You know…to work on the launch party,” I added.
“We need to take advantage of every second we can get if we’re gonna pull this thing off.
And I could use the distraction.” Of you. I could use the distraction of you.
“You got it,” said Tanner. “I’ll pick you up at your place at 8?”
“Sure. My address is…”
“I know your address.”
“Of course you do. Stalker.”
“I mean…what do you expect when I have Marty working for me? He’s very thorough.”
“I’d like to change my answer. Going to dinner tomorrow will be nice, but it would really cheer me up if you admitted that you were the one stalking me.”
“So you want me to lie to you?”
I slapped his arm. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Maybe. But at least I’m not a stalker.”
I laughed. Even though he hadn’t admitted his stalkery ways, he’d still managed to cheer me up. And he’d agreed to go on a date! This was freaking huge. It was going to be our first real date outside of the Society.
Tomorrow was going to be rough. But tomorrow night was going to be everything.