Since She Went Away(38)

“It seems like there’s a but coming.”

“It’s all a long shot. The guy didn’t threaten you or anything.”

“He said my name.”

“Did you reveal something personal about yourself?” Naomi asked. “Something that would make him think you are who you are?”

Jenna felt like a fool, remembering. “We talked about Celia, of course. That’s all we talked about. I think I gushed a little too much. I know I told him once that it was emotional for me to talk about. That was early on. I think I might have mentioned having a son too.”

“He took a shot in the dark, and now you’ve let him know he was right.” Naomi held up her hand. “I’m not blaming you. I’m just saying the guy got under your skin a little, and he knows it now. Mission accomplished as far as he’s concerned.”

“Ugh.” Jenna raised her hand to her head and rubbed her eyes. “I shouldn’t talk to anyone. It just makes things more complicated.”

“You had a rough couple of days. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” Naomi’s face looked placid, calm. She’d seen it all and didn’t let any of it bother her. “I have a psychologist friend. She says when we make a mistake and then beat ourselves up over it, we hurt ourselves twice. Kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. Too much sense. But this guy mentioned that Celia might be alive. He said he doesn’t think there’s a connection between Holly Crenshaw and Celia. He seemed so certain.”

“Everyone seems certain online,” Naomi said.

“Do you believe any of those sightings? The ones where people claim they’ve seen Celia?”

Naomi looked thoughtful. She lifted her hand to her chin. “There’s a drawback to all this information circulating about a missing person case. It means everybody knows everything. So everyone suddenly decides they’re seeing the victim somewhere. If I thought any of them were truly credible, I’d hop on the next plane myself. But we’ve looked into the ones that did seem credible. Nothing yet.” She cocked her head. “You told me the other day she wouldn’t run away from her life. Why are you asking me this now? Did something change?”

“No, it didn’t. But I’d rather she ran away than accept the alternative. I’m trying hard not to accept the alternative.”

One of the uniformed officers appeared in the doorway. He informed Detective Poole that they hadn’t found anything unusual outside. No signs of break-in, no tracks in the mud. “Do you want us to do anything else?”

“Are you assigned to this sector tonight? Do you mind keeping a closer eye on things here for me?”

“No problem, Detective.”

When the cop was gone, Jenna said, “I should tell you I saw Ian Walters today. We had lunch together.”

Naomi’s voice remained steady. “How did that come about?”

“I went to see him. After I talked to you this morning, and you asked about him, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why hadn’t I seen or talked to him since Celia disappeared?”

“Why hadn’t you?”

“I don’t know. It’s always been a little weird between him and me. Like we were competing to see who could be closest to Celia. He was always going to win that one. He and Ursula. It’s pretty tough for an outsider to break into a tight family unit like that.”

“That’s what you think they are? A tight family unit?”

“They seemed that way to me,” Jenna said. “Is that why you were probing me about the affairs this morning?”

“And you really didn’t know about them?” Naomi asked.

“I didn’t.” Her voice was sharp. Jenna leaned back, resting her butt against the top of the desk. Her carrots and dip still sat by the laptop, but she didn’t feel hungry anymore. Even the odor of Jared’s grilled cheese hadn’t tempted her stomach. “I had no idea.” She picked at a loose piece of skin on her thumb. “I told you Celia and I weren’t quite as tight as we once were these last few years. She had new friends. Different friends. But you know how it is with a best friend. You don’t need to talk every day or know every detail about their life.” She stopped picking. “Clearly I didn’t know every detail.”

“No one did.”

“Why were you asking about it now?” Jenna asked. “Ian seemed to think you got a new tip or something.”

“Not exactly,” Naomi said. “More than anything, we just like to go over old leads and see if anything new turns up. Sometimes a second pass reveals something different.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Now that you have that little piece of news, do you have any new light to shed on their marriage?”

“I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon,” Jenna said. “I’m still processing it. I’ve been thinking about Ursula a lot, the effect the affair must have had on her.”

“Naturally.”

“Ian told me the guy, the dentist, isn’t a suspect.”

“He’s not.”

“But if she was having an affair, doesn’t that make it more likely she’d run away?” Jenna asked.

“Without the guy she was having the affair with? Why would she do that?”