Chapter Twenty
AS THE TWO OF THEM walked to the house, she held onto his hand and the fragile promise to herself more than she should have.
She followed Rachel’s instructions and positioned herself beside the white door with its arched glass top while Laredo rang the doorbell. She felt as if she was in some action movie, the script of which she didn’t know. But then, she hadn’t been writing the script of her own life, either.
Until now.
Would she dare change it all?
A woman answered the door. From the description the Port Sunshine business owners gave, this must be Noah’s wife, Jill, a conventionally attractive woman, indeed. But today Jill’s eyes and nose were swollen as if she’d spent too much time crying and not enough time sleeping. Her long blonde hair hung matted to one side and stuck out on the other side. Her bare feet poked out beneath stained sweats, and a stale scent of alcohol drifted to them. Huh. Diana wasn’t the only one to try to drown her sorrows.
Would Jill be too drunk to talk?
Diana was no one to judge, but she needed information from this woman. She stepped forward and took off her sunglasses. “I’m Diana Medina, the daughter of Dr. Clifton Gutierrez and Sasha Gutierrez, and this is my friend Laredo Lawrence. My parents know your in-laws. I’d like to speak to your husband, please.”
Jill scoffed. She didn’t invite them in. “I’d like to speak to him, too.” Her speech wasn’t slurred, she didn’t sway, and her eyes were relatively clear, even if tear-reddened. So, unless she lied, her information should be trusted. Then she blanched as recognition flashed in her eyes. “Are you... are you Adam’s wife? I mean, widow?”
Diana staggered, but Laredo’s hand found her just in time. She wanted to shrink away because she was the one ashamed instead of the other woman, but Laredo helped her stand still and stand tall.
“Yes, I am.” She firmed her voice. She even managed to keep her head high despite the urge to look at the ground and avoid the woman’s gaze where guilt mixed with pity.
“Did you know about...?” Jill looked away. And she still didn’t invite them inside.
As much as Diana hated being sitting ducks on the porch, she didn’t force her way through. They were strangers, and yet their lives were interconnected in a way neither of them wanted. She loathed to step inside a house Adam most likely visited when Noah hadn’t been home. “Yes. I know.”
A car motor rumbled far away, and they all glanced in that direction, Jill probably on reflex, but Laredo and Diana with concern. Diana tensed. Could it be someone dangerous?
A white minivan rounded the corner and parked, and soon, a family with little twin girls in pink parkas filed out. A tall man, likely the dad, unhooked a fir tree from the roof, and though the smell of pine needles couldn’t have traveled this far, Diana smelled it from the memory of Christmases when Grandma was still alive. Children squealed out their excitement as they bustled toward the house. Maybe because they anticipated decorating the tree or because the blonde woman in a light latte-hued coat—most likely, their mom—carried bags with presents.
The next moment, another reason why the twins were so excited became clear.
“Cocoa! Marshmallows!” They screamed before they disappeared inside the house. “Christmas movies!”
That family couldn’t be a threat, and since no call came from Rachel, she clearly didn’t think so, either. But the idyllic scene stirred a whirlwind of longing in Diana’s heart. Her parents hadn’t bothered with a Christmas tree or cocoa with marshmallows or holiday movies or driving around the neighborhood in the evening looking at Christmas lights. Many years ago, she’d promised herself that, when she grew up, got married, and had children, she’d do all those things.
Look at her now. She’d grown up but continued spending Christmas alone without a tree or fun family time, and the only marshmallow thing in her life seemed to be her na?ve, trusting heart.
She looked at the man with whom she wanted to spend not only this Christmas but also all the Christmases in her life.
“When did you find out?” Jill’s question brought Diana back from her impossible future to her painful present instead.
“Just recently.” She resisted the urge to grind her teeth. Bile rose. Answering those questions somehow turned a knife inside her.
Laredo stepped forward. “Ma’am, we need to talk to your husband. If he’s not at home, do you know how to find him?”
Diana sent him a grateful gaze. She needed to explain the urgency of their search and that she wasn’t here to cause a scene—or even to tattle on Jill. “The person he traveled to Port Sunshine with is my best friend. She’s disappeared without a trace, and I’m desperate to find her. Your husband might be the last person who saw her. We must talk to him.”
“We know your husband took a leave of absence at work and none of his colleagues have seen him since he returned from the trip,” Laredo added.
“He’s not going to be my husband for much longer,” Jill whispered. “I honestly don’t know where he is. He packed his bags and said he was going to file for divorce. I tried to call him, but he’s not answering his phone.”
Diana’s heart sank onto the cold, hard porch. “His phone is probably turned off. When did he leave?”
Jill named the date. Laredo and Diana exchanged glances. Noah had left soon after Marina talked to him. Had they spooked him?
“Can you take a guess where he can be? A friend? A relative?” Laredo leaned forward.
Jill waved off the question. “I called everyone I could think of. Nobody heard from him.”
“Still, would you please text me a list and their contact information?” Diana rattled off her phone number while disappointment ripped through her.
Jill nodded and hung her head. Blonde strands fell around her face like a dirty curtain. “I’m sorry.” Then she turned around and went inside the large, beautiful house where impenetrable stone walls hid painful secrets.
Just like Diana’s own home. The home Adam had bought and furnished according to his taste.
She dragged her feet to the SUV. Then she stared at the cul-de-sac near the next house. “Another dead end.”
Though Rachel’s car was right in front of them, it would be best not to give away their acquaintance. So Diana climbed into her black rental.
“Bad news, huh?” Tex frowned. “I’ll call my wife. She’ll need to know in order to decide what to do next.”
Deflated, Diana just nodded, then relayed the conversation. She was even more fatigued now. Helpless. Ashamed. So many emotions mixed inside her. She used to help people heal, but how could she heal her aching soul?
“I’ll stay on the stakeout in case she lied and Noah is at home,” Rachel said on the speakerphone once her husband called and related the newest details. “Marina will do her best to find Dr. Jamieson.”
“My last hope is that she’ll find something valuable from Pat’s neighbors.” Diana rubbed her throbbing temples. “I don’t mean to keep you all waiting without food, though.”
“Don’t worry about that.” Laredo touched her shoulder. “Though I hate you going hungry.”
“I’m fine.” Diana couldn’t push food past the lump in her throat, anyway.
Then an incoming text pinged her phone.
Her eyes widened when she opened the text. “That was fast. This is from Jill. I’ve got the list of Noah’s friends and relatives.”
“Would you like to divide it between us?” Laredo was as considerate as always. “We can get through it faster that way.”
Resisting the urge to reach out to him, she shook her head. “Thank you, but no. I’ll get better results if the calls come from me.” Not that she was going to ask for pity, but she, like Noah, was the wronged party. At least some of these people must know about Adam’s affair. They and Adam ran in the same circle.
She started calling those on the list and explaining the situation. She didn’t need to infuse tears into her voice because they were already there. Her eyes prickled, but she managed to keep her tears at bay. Barely. She got nowhere until the third call.
Dr. Casey Silvers was a surgeon and Noah’s friend, and the name was familiar. Diana knew Dr. Silvers, though not closely. They weren’t exactly friends but amicable enough. He worked in Diana’s hospital for a while before transferring to the hospital where Diana’s father and Noah worked. Where Adam had also worked seemingly around the clock. Adam had been such a dedicated, selfless doctor. Or so she’d thought.
“I’m sorry, Diana.” Dr. Silvers’s voice dipped.
Why did everyone keep saying sorry? Okay, she knew why, but she didn’t want to hear that. “You knew Adam was unfaithful to me, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I’m sorry,” he said again.
“Anything you know that might help me find Pat or Noah?” She spoke drier than she’d intended.
“I doubt this will help to find them. But still, you should know...”
When he paused, sharp pain ricocheted inside her. More secrets?
“What’s that?” Her voice sharpened, as well, when he didn’t continue.
“Noah said he wanted to spend some time alone to think over things, and...” Dr. Silvers paused again. “Noah told me he overheard Adam arguing with your father. Noah said they sounded very angry.”
Her jaw slackened. “My dad arguing with Adam? No way! My father thought the world of Adam. Dad said Adam was the son he never had.”
“Noah said Adam accused your father of some kind of irregularities with drugs at the hospital and threatened he’d tell the authorities.”
Her father and drugs? No, it couldn’t be. Diana couldn’t breathe and could barely think. Finally, she got air into her starved lungs. “What did Dad say?”
“I’m sorry, Diana,” Dr. Silvers said for the third time.
“What. Did. Dad. Say.” She pushed through clenched teeth.
“Your father yelled back that he’d tell everyone about Adam’s affairs.”
Dad knew? And never mentioned it to her? It hit her like a general anesthesia, nearly knocking her out. Her parents might’ve been cold to her, but she’d always thought them honorable people. She’d thought—or told herself—they loved her in their way.
Was all that an illusion, as well?
Hold on.
Oh no. There could be even graver implications from that conversation. Her insides went cold.
No, no, no.
She gripped her phone, terrified to ask the next question, eager to stop what was going to happen next. But it seemed as impossible to stop as a freight train at full speed. She trembled as if she were standing in front of that train and yet unable to move.
“When... when did that happen?” Diana didn’t recognize her own voice.
Dr. Silvers sighed. “Two days before Adam died.”
The phone slipped from her hand.