What just happened?
She went back into her house, closed the door, leaning back against it, stifling a sob, numbed by the sense of violation. She looked at the spray can then withdrew the scissors.
Get a grip. It’s over. He’s gone.
After taking a long moment to regain her composure, she texted Alicia, then got into her car, intending to meet her for coffee.
Still shaken, Laila took several more deep breaths as she drove through her neighborhood of Cardinal Hill, which bordered Trailside Grove.
She was unaware that Zoran Volk was following her.
Twenty
Buffalo, New York
“I’m scared to death,” Liz Miller said, tapping a curled knuckle to her lips and looking at April Kent.
They were at Liz’s house getting ready to join the growing number of volunteers in the ongoing search for Jenn.
“It’s frightening,” April said, reading news updates on her phone.
The discovery of Jenn’s car had intensified the investigation. Areas to be canvassed and searched had been widened, encompassing more neighborhoods, schoolyards, parks, and forests. A page offering a reward fund for information to help find Jenn had been established online. Social media posts of support increased along with rumors and speculation about her disappearance.
Liz continued tapping her knuckle to her lips, glancing around her house, pushing back tears.
“I feel so guilty because the last anyone saw of Jenn was here—in my house, in my living room, right there, in that chair!”
Outside, the hammering of an approaching helicopter rose as April looked at the chair, remembering how she had sat beside Jenn. The helicopter’s thrumming grew louder, pulling her back to their book club meeting.
They’d been discussing Crime and Punishment before taking a break to dig into the cheese, crackers, veggies, and pastries Liz had arranged on her kitchen counter. April and Jenn were the first to return to their seats with theirs while the others were still making selections and talking at the counter.
“These raspberry tarts are incredible, Liz!” Jenn called out, holding her plate close as she bit into a tiny pastry.
Jenn was wearing a mauve turtleneck and blazer. When she reached for her drink, her cuff receded and April saw the bruise. Then Jenn brushed at her hair and April saw a second bruise on her neck, peeking from the edge of her collar.
Concern swirled in April’s heart.
How many bruises did Jenn have?
As a retired nurse, April had seen this so many times. She was skilled at identifying the signs of domestic violence; knew it was far more prevalent than most people realized.
Jenn caught her staring.
“What is it? Do I have food on my face?” Jenn asked.
“I like your outfit.”
“Oh thanks. I love your shirt and that necklace.”
April smiled, acknowledging her compliment, then glanced to ensure the others were still out of earshot.
“What happened, Jenn?”
“What happened? What do you mean?”
Ensuring no one was near, April touched her own neck and wrist area.
“Oh.” She blinked fast, chuckling. “It’s funny. I was playing football in the backyard with Greg and Jake, and Greg tackled me and Jake piled on. Too many boys in the house and I bruise so easily. I’m such a marshmallow.”
April glanced to the others, who were breaking from the table.
“Jenn,” April said, keeping her voice low, “if ever you’d like to talk in complete confidence, just call me.”
Jenn shut her eyes and let out a breath.
“I love you, April. Thank you. But don’t be silly.”
The helicopter had passed over them and now sounded like distant thunder.
“We have to find her,” Liz said. “We just have to. I can’t bear to think of the agony Jake must be going through.”
“He’s such a sweet boy,” April said.
“And Greg,” Liz said. “He looked traumatized. He must be going out of his mind, that poor man.”
That poor man?
April said nothing, prompting Liz to look at her until a memory surfaced.
“When Greg talked to us, you seemed a little reserved,” Liz said.
“Did I?”
“Yes, a little cool to him, I thought.”
“Did you see the scrapes on his hands, Liz?”
“Yes. Why?”
“They looked, well, fresh, and I was wondering how he got them.”
“Likely from his work as a carpenter, contractor, you know.”
Liz’s phone rang and she answered it while April returned to her phone and the news stories and social media posts on Jenn. The whole time she scrolled, she couldn’t subdue her unease about Greg’s scrapes and Jenn’s bruises. As far as April knew, no one else in the club had spotted them.
“That was Basha,” Liz said. “She and the others will meet us at one of the new search sites—the Empire Heights School in West Trailside Grove.”
“All right.”
“Basha said the police are arranging to talk to her some more. This time it’ll be the detectives who are now in charge of the case because she was actually the last person to see and talk with Jenn. Basha said the detectives will likely talk with us, as well.”
“Good,” April said.
Twenty-One
Buffalo, New York
Why is that guy familiar?
Kat watched the man moving among the volunteers at the Empire Heights School, greeting people with a consolatory look on his face.
He was a handsome man.
Kat tried to place where she’d seen him before. Yes, he was at the previous search in Ripplewood, but that wasn’t it. Kat had definitely seen him somewhere before that—but where?
“We can’t go through this again, Kat.”
She turned to her father and saw the anguish in his eyes.
“We can’t lose another member of our family.”
Kat put her arms around him.
“It’s going to work out, Dad.”
Kat and Vince had come to the school to take part in the day’s search while Greg stayed home with Jake, awaiting police who—as Kozak put it—“would go through the formality of executing a warrant” to take the phones, tablets, and computers from the house for analysis. It left Greg scrambling to get replacements so he could continue communicating with his family, friends, and work crew.