Fraser sighed. “We had just hoped that maybe you could talk to him and maybe ask him about her. Maybe he’ll open up to you.”
Lynn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I am sorry, Detectives. I can’t do that. But, as always, if I do hear anything that causes concern in any of my patients, concerns for their own or other’s health, then I will make sure to get in touch.”
The detectives looked at one another, disappointed. They got up.
“Thank you for your time.”
They left and closed the door behind them, while Lynn just sat there, staring into thin air, unable to calm her beating heart.
Chapter 36
“I was certain that there was a connection between the murder of Tommy Carlson, Sarah Abbey’s old boyfriend two and a half years ago, and her recent disappearance. It’s so frustrating, and now we’re back to square one.”
I took the chicken out of the oven and placed it on the counter. I had asked Matt to carve it up for me. It smelled heavenly. Olivia was looking after the babies in the living room while I cooked, something that hadn’t happened a lot lately. We had eaten so much pizza I could barely say the word without someone making gagging sounds. So tonight, I had made a real homecooked meal with chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans.
“But the guy was dead when it happened. He died four years ago,” Matt said while finding the knife in the drawer. “And that’s where it ends.”
I poured the potatoes into the bowl and started to mash them, then sent him a look. “It sure hasn’t ended for Sarah Abbey.”
He shrugged. “Maybe you’ve got it all wrong from the beginning. What if she just left without a word? Didn’t you say that she left her family and boyfriend without an explanation some years ago?”
I nodded while mashing and letting all my frustrations out on those poor potatoes.
“Sure. But back then, she at least called her brother to say she was all right. She told him not to look for her. That hasn’t been the case this time around. As a matter of fact, she told Scott to look for her if she disappeared. She said that two months ago. She must have had a feeling it could happen. That makes me think that something awful happened to her—that she feared for her life.”
“Maybe she’s just nuts,” Matt said and cut off a thigh, then placed it on the plate before moving on to the breast part of the chicken.
I grunted while mashing, then stopped.
“Excuse me?”
He continued to cut and wasn’t looking at me.
“What kind of an argument is that? She is just nuts?”
He shrugged. “Some women are like that.”
I lifted both my eyebrows. “Was that meant for me?”
He shrugged. “You have been a little…lately.”
I stared at him. I had completely stopped mashing the potatoes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He looked up. “How about taking in Amy and now caring for her child? Refusing to let the authorities take over?”
“That’s nuts to you?” I asked, surprised.
He didn’t look at me but continued to carve the chicken, putting the pieces on the plate with swift, angry movements.
“Kind of. It’s not normal, at least.”
“Wow.”
“What?”
“Nothing. We’re just farther apart than I thought.”
He scoffed. “You won’t even hear what I have to say. It’s like I don’t exist—like I don’t have a say in the matter. I keep telling you it’s too much for you, that you need to let go. It’s not only your life that is disturbed by this. It’s all of us. When is the last time you had time alone with Alex, huh? He’s getting more and more loud and annoying while begging for your attention. Do you know what Christine is doing in the afternoons? Because she hasn’t been coming home straight after school, I can tell you that much. I bet you haven’t even noticed.”
“Christine hasn’t been coming home after school?” I asked, puzzled. “She’s probably just been practicing with the school orchestra.”
Matt scoffed again. “She stopped playing the double bass weeks ago and dropped out of the orchestra.”
I let go of the masher in my hand, and it plunged into the potatoes.
“She what?”
“I told you. You have been missing out on what goes on. The kids need you, Eva Rae. And frankly, so do I. Two infants are too much.”
“And just how long have you known this about Christine and not told me anything?” I asked, wiping my hands on a towel.
“Don’t make this about me,” Matt said, raising his voice. “Don’t you dare make this about me. Not when you’re out there doing only God knows what with that Scott guy. When are you going to tell me what is going on between you two? Don’t you think I can sense how smitten you are with him? All I have to do is mention his name, and your entire face lights up. Don’t you think that hurts me?”
I shook my head, my eyes avoiding his.
“I don’t do that.”
“Yes, you do, Eva Rae,” he said and put the knife down on the counter. “And I am sick of it. We’re about to get married, and how do you think it makes me feel, seeing the way the two of you look at one another?”
I stared into the potatoes, then grabbed the masher and continued, hoping that Matt would leave this alone.
“Hey, where are you going?” I asked when he grabbed his phone and car keys. “We’re about to eat?”
He shook his head. “I’ll eat at my mom’s tonight.”
“What? Why? I made this entire dinner so we could eat it all together. As a family.”
“It’ll have to be without me.”
I exhaled. “Matt. Come on. There’s nothing between Scott and me. I promise.”
“I hear you say the words, but I don’t believe them, Eva Rae,” he said and opened the door.
I stepped toward him. “Matt, please. Let’s talk instead. Don’t leave.”
But it was too late. He had already slammed the door shut, and a second later, I heard his cruiser start. Alex came running up behind me, pulling my arm.
“What are we having for dinner?”
I sighed. “Chicken.”
He made a face. “Aw. I really want pizza.”
“Of course, you do,” I said and kissed his forehead. “But not tonight, sweetie. Tonight, we’re having chicken and mashed potatoes.”
“Yuck,” he said, then took off toward the stairs. In the living room, the babies had both started to cry.
Chapter 37
She waited until he was done with his sandwich. He was standing underneath the streetlamp, eating it, while his girlfriend tugged on his arm, telling him they needed to go, that they were late. Covered by the darkness of the alley she was standing in, Sarah watched him throw the remains in the trash bin next to him. As he left, she moved closer, then peeked inside the open metal bin. The sandwich was still wrapped and was lying on top of something, a box, barely touching it. She looked around, then stuck her hand in and reached for it.
So, this is what it has come to, she thought, as she stared at the spinach wrap with chipotle chicken inside it. The guy had barely taken three bites of it. Sarah broke off the end piece, then closed her eyes and bit into it.