Since She Went Away(98)

It was her life. The swirl around her belonged to her.

“I don’t want to let this girl go, Naomi.” She kept shaking her head and spoke through hands still cupped over her face. “I had a couple of chances with her. Once when she was here and again when Jared hinted at some problems. And then I saw her, Naomi. She came to me in the parking lot at work. Why didn’t I just grab her by the arm and not let her go?”

“Because you can’t just do that to somebody else’s kid,” Naomi said. “And I don’t have a degree in psychology, but you can’t save every girl in the world just because your best friend disappeared and you hold yourself responsible.”

Jenna took her hands away from her face. She studied the odd little woman on her couch. “Do you charge for this therapy?”

“Your tax dollars at work.” She checked her watch. “If she goes into the system locally, they’ll keep her in the area. You can both stay in touch with her no matter where she goes.”

“But if she goes back to Nebraska to live with relatives, I’m going to have a teenager with a shattered heart.”

“I think you already do.” Naomi stood up. She smoothed her knit pants around her thighs. “I’m going to call them. It’s Saturday now, so they’ll be moving slower. It will give the kids a little time to say good-bye.”

“Good.”

“I don’t want to leave her here without protection, so I’m going to stay until they show up. Unless you want me to take her to the station with me.”

“No, I wouldn’t want that.” Jenna shivered. “But please, some extra protection would be nice. If that maniac is out there . . .”

“I’ll be here. And there will be extra patrols.” Naomi was starting to look even more tired. “I forgot to tell you. Benjamin Ludlow is finally sticking to one story. He’s saying he didn’t just find the earring the day he tried to sell it at the pawnshop. He said he’s been carrying it around for almost two months. Almost as long as Celia’s been gone.”

“What does that mean?”

“He says he was out looking for cans, like he said before, but he saw a man throw the earring into the field where Ludlow found it. A young man, but he couldn’t give much of a description. He says it was dark.”

Jenna waited for Naomi to add something, and when she didn’t, Jenna asked, “Does that help us?”

“A young man. Who knows? But no description and an unreliable witness.” Naomi shrugged. “I’ll let you know what I hear.”

“I guess it’s not William Rose.”

“Probably not. If Ludlow is telling the truth.”

Then Jenna asked, “This whole thing with William Rose, though. If he really hurt Celia . . . and Ian hired him. Ian put him onto her.”

“He may have.”

“Was Ian really forthright with the police about it?” Jenna asked. Her mouth felt dry, her chest tight. “I know you’ll just tell me I can’t know, but I have to ask. Was he honest with you?”

“In my opinion,” she said, “he was. He directed us to Henry Allen right after Celia disappeared. We didn’t find anything. We don’t know if William Rose was in town then. As far as we can tell, he came and went a lot. We’re still piecing together his movements at that time. Remember, Natalie started school here in Hawks Mill just about a month ago. When Henry Allen turned up dead, we looked again. William Rose’s name came up, of course, but he’d already committed that murder. He was long gone.”

“Thanks.” But Jenna didn’t feel much better. She felt sick.

“Ian’s got a lot to live with, I’m sure.”

“Thanks, Naomi. By the way, I met someone tonight. Domino fifty-five.”

“The Internet troll? He came here?”

“The man himself,” Jenna said. “He showed up claiming to have a photograph of Celia. Said she’s staying up in northern Indiana where her grandparents used to have a place.” Jenna read the interest on the detective’s face. “I saw the photos. They’re not of Celia. Just a woman with brown hair. He’s a lonely old crackpot who likes to hang out on message boards and try to solve crimes.”

“He should get a cat.”

? ? ?

Jenna made a lot of noise as she went out to the kitchen. She walked with a heavy tread and cleared her throat once or twice.

But she found the two kids sitting side by side and holding hands. They both looked as though they’d been crying, and they both wiped at their eyes when she came to the doorway. She felt as though she was intruding, so she looked down at her feet and waited while they collected themselves.

“I think we’re all tired,” Jenna said. “It might make sense if we slept. I don’t know if I’ll be able to, but I might try.”

“I am tired,” Natalie said. “I haven’t been sleeping much.”

“Did Detective Poole explain everything to you?” Jenna asked.

“She did,” Natalie said. “It’s about what I expected.”

“You can stay here as long—until—”

“Until they take me away,” Natalie said. “I appreciate that. Thanks.”

“You’re safe here,” Jenna said. “Detective Poole is going to sit right in the living room, and there are extra patrols in the neighborhood.”