Chapter 18
Hattie
I woke up in a great mood. Kipp had gone to work early, but he left me sore in all the right places and with a tender kiss that melted my heart a little more. I wasn’t sure it would amount to much between us, but I liked him even if he was a bit of an alpha-hole.
I loved the job that I’d chosen. It wasn’t so much a career for me, but a calling.
It had been a long day—long in the kind of way that wraps itself around the spine and refuses to let go.
I’d spent most of the morning retracing Allison Finch’s last known movements, the kind of quiet pilgrimage I’d done a hundred times for other cases.
Every time I started a case, I felt that inevitable settling in my stomach of potential that I could be walking along the last steps that someone took with their ghost following me, whispering in my ear.
We received a lot of new information from Leo, and I added it to our chat group about the bank account and the cam work.
Today, we should get the rest of Abby’s background on the Galloways.
Once I had that, I should be able to come up with an action plan.
We were going to have another meeting to talk about it.
The vista point was more desolate than I expected, a forgotten patch of concrete, and even though the map claimed that there was a view, there wasn’t much of one.
I couldn’t picture anyone stopping here and choosing to run anywhere from this point.
Where would they even go? There were woods to one side, but they were thick and seemed impassable due to the dense berry bushes.
The search records showed that the area had been thoroughly gone over, but I couldn’t see where she’d have gone from this point on her own.
“What’s up, babe? How’s the Wild West treating you?” My best friend Sydney’s face popped up on the screen just as I was pulling onto the gravel road toward the cabin.
“Hey, you.” My smile stretched wide. I met Sydney at a grief group a year after Jane had been gone. Her sister had been trafficked, and we were both in a destructive place, and we’d clicked right away. “What trouble are you getting up to? Anyone throw up on you today?”
“Not today. Don’t jinx me. That’s mean. There’s still so much of the day left, and with second graders, you never know what could happen. It’s a show-and-tell day. You know what that means.”
I laughed, just as she made a face at me. “Yeah, I do. Charlie brought his guinea pig?”
“Why does that thing always get out? It’s like a Houdini rodent. Then I end up spending an hour after class searching for the damn thing while his nanny stands there, looking down her nose at me. She’s such a …” She looked down the hall and then whispered into the phone, “bitch.”
“She’s just jealous, babe. Don’t you worry about her.” It was probably nothing but true. Sidney was adorable and way too good of a good girl, and if anyone looked down at her, then they should have their head examined.
“So, tell me what’s cookin’ … I listened to the pod. You sounded great. Where’s your head at?”
And one of the best things about our relationship was that Sidney was my willing sounding board for my work. Somewhere along the way, she became the all-around friend I never realized I needed.
“It’s a weird one.” I steered onto the small road that led to the cabins, grateful the service was good back here.
“I’m listening. I’m in the staff room on lunch, and I already peed,” she added.
“Good job, bestie.” I was always hounding her to use the damn bathroom. Sydney had had more bladder infections than she should have because she never had time to pee. Teachers seemed to be run ragged. They should get triple their salary plus hazard pay. “Talk to me. Tell me the goods.”
“Ok. So, everything points to the husband being an abusive dick, and the narrative they spun is that she took off.” I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I pulled the car up to the cabin and put it in park.
“But she bought stuff the day she disappeared, that doesn’t make sense.
If anything, it makes me wonder where her head was at.
Get this.” I leaned in to the phone as I told Syd what she bought.
“Whoa. Weird. I mean, that doesn’t mean she didn’t get murdered in the woods herself or run off, but if I were a cop, I’d be questioning someone buying that stuff.”
“Right? So, her husband bought almost the same stuff two months before she did. The woman at the hardware store gave me receipts.”
“Huh. Maybe Allison knew he was planning something and decided to get him first? Maybe it backfired?”
“Maybe. That list of stuff definitely has me wondering. It’s weird. She also had her own bank account in town that her husband wasn’t on. It was full of cash, but that might have been because she was working as a cam girl. Not that I’m judging her for making money—because we all gotta earn, right?”
“For sure, that’s the truth. I love my job, but some days I know I’m just out here just to pay my rent. Now tell me about the place you’re staying. I want to live vicariously through you.”
“Let me show you.” I turned the camera around and did a walk-through while she oohed and aahed about the cabin.
“Break’s over. Now, girl, don’t get sucked into your work and forget to go out and enjoy yourself. It looks like a nice place.”
Feeling centered now that I’d had a girl chat, I’d started pasting up my information, trying to organize it, but some of the details contradicted each other.
By the time afternoon rolled around, my brain felt fried, and my eyes were burning. I’d recorded a few voice notes, and then I’d sat outside on the porch, but given up. Finally, I’d admitted to myself I needed a break.