Mean Streak(45)
In a small voice, she asked, “Have you told them about us?”
“God no. Hell no. I owned up to the fight Emory and I had on Thursday night, but… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but it seemed to me that they read more into it than it actually was. Knight even had the gall to ask if our fight had turned physical.”
“It’s their job to be suspicious.”
“Grange certainly is. He pounced when I mentioned packing a bag before leaving Atlanta, asked if I had counted on staying a while.”
“Did you explain how fastidious and persnickety you are about your wardrobe?”
He took that as a rhetorical question. “The two of them also have this good cop/bad cop routine that’s so transparent it’s almost funny.”
“Except that it’s not funny, Jeff. None of it. Your wife, my friend, is missing.”
“Yes, she’s missing. She’s missing because she went to a place where she—or any woman—should never have gone alone. I should have kept my mouth shut about it. Trying to talk her out of this trip only made her more determined. You know how strong willed she is. Now we’re all suffering the consequences for her bad choices.”
“Jeff,” she chided softly.
“I’m sorry. That sounded terrible. I’m not myself.”
She was quiet for a time, then, “These two detectives said there was no indication that she’d been accosted.”
“Not where her car was parked, anyway.”
“Which doesn’t rule out something dreadful happening to her while she was running, either foul play or an accident that impaired her.”
“That’s what I keep harping on to them, but…” He hesitated, debating whether or not to bring this up, then said, “They posed another explanation for her disappearance.”
“What?”
“It’s absurd, but they suggested that Emory met someone up here, a man, and that she’s on a lover’s getaway. Knight asked me outright if she was unfaithful.”
“Do you have reason to suspect that?”
That wasn’t the reaction he had anticipated, and it caused him to sputter a laugh. “Jesus, Alice. Not you too? What’s good for the goose?”
Apparently she was thinking precisely that. The extended silence at the other end was weighty with implication. Finally she said, “Knowing Emory—”
“It’s out of the question.”
“I was about to say that it seems highly unlikely.”
“If she has another love interest, it’s her damn marathons. Not a man. But to her, running is just as orgasmic as f*cking. More so, if you want to know the truth.”
“I don’t want to know. I told you from the beginning, Jeff. We can talk about anything, no subject is off-limits, except your personal life with Emory.”
“Alice—”
“I never want to hear how wonderful, or lousy, or mediocre the sex is. I don’t want to hear about it at all.”
“All right! I heard you!” Jesus! Wasn’t anybody on his side?
Suddenly she was contrite. “I apologize. The last thing you need is for me to lash out at you.”
“Look,” he said brusquely, “I need to go.”
“Jeff.”
“You shouldn’t have called. I’m glad you did. But we’ve talked too long. If anyone checked my phone I’d have to explain this call. I’ll be in touch when I can. Good-bye.”
“Jeff, wait.”
“What?”
“Have you considered…”
“Spit it out, Alice. What?”
“Maybe you should have an attorney present when you talk to them.”
Again, not a comment he had anticipated from her. “That’s all I need. A lawyer advising me not to answer their questions. That wouldn’t appear at all suspicious.”
“I just think it would be wise to—”
“No, it would be stupid. Because if these two detectives have got into their pea brains that I’m culpable, retaining a lawyer would seal it. No, Alice. No attorney.”
“I’m only trying to help.”
“Which I appreciate. But I’ve got to handle this my way.”
“I understand. But please don’t shut me out. What can I do?”
He thought about it, then said coldly, “You can stop calling me.”
*
“Labor? She told me she’d lost the baby.”
He spoke in a hush, but his alarm was apparent. Keeping her voice low, Emory said, “She has.” Taking a deep breath, she organized her thoughts into an explanation.
“Lisa estimates that she conceived four and a half months ago. But two weeks ago, she miscarried. Being at least sixteen weeks along, she should have consulted a doctor, who would have prescribed medications that cause and accelerate the elimination of tissue.
“It may require several weeks for the body to rid itself of it. Often, if the pregnancy is as advanced as Lisa’s was, a D and C is performed. It can be a heartbreaking, even traumatic, time for the patient, but there are no residual health issues.”
Apparently uncomfortable with the subject, he pushed his fingers through his hair. “But she didn’t see a doctor.”