Forgive Me(11)

Nadine’s legs felt heavy on her way up the front stairs. Ricardo unlocked the outside door and she followed him into a dark foyer with Stephen close behind. The floor was covered in tile with inlaid geometric patterns. Nearby a wood staircase snaked up into the darkness.

Ricardo unlocked a door at the end of a narrow first floor hallway. Nadine didn’t notice a sign for a photography studio, but that didn’t mean anything. Studios could be anywhere, even in apartment buildings like this one.

She still wasn’t feeling herself when she followed Ricardo into the apartment at the end of the hall. It was a relief to see a camera set up and some kind of a lighting rig. But it was also just an apartment with a leather couch, some IKEA-style furniture, and a kitchenette. A short hallway led to a bathroom, with a bedroom off to the side.

“You okay?” Stephen asked. “You look a little funny.”

“I think I drank too much vodka,” Nadine said.

Stephen Macan did not look surprised. “Look, I have some work to do nearby. Ricardo can do the shoot after you take a nap. There’s a bedroom, nice and comfy. You need to feel fresh and perky for the camera.”

Nadine’s head was buzzing. She needed to feel better than this, that was for sure. “Is this a studio?” Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, swollen, and she could hardly understand her own question.

“Yeah, it’s one of them.”

Ricardo escorted Nadine to the bedroom. Shades were drawn. It was dark at first, but Ricardo turned on a light.

To her relief it was a nice-looking bedroom. It had a small TV, an area rug, and a couple well-cared-for houseplants. Hanging on the walls were framed posters of pretty girls with the words Macan Entertainment at the bottom—publicity shots, she assumed, like they were going to do for her.

Ricardo lowered the futon and got a blanket and pillows out from the closet. Nadine was so tired she wanted to vanish beneath that blanket and sleep for days. She slipped off her backpack and went right to the bed.

Ricardo covered her with the blanket. “Sleep it off,” he said as he closed the door behind him.

Nadine was going to do just that, but after she checked those Facebook messages once more. She wanted to see if any more people missed her, not that it would change anything. She wasn’t going home until she had a reason, until she was somebody. But it still felt so good to know she was missed.

She unzipped her backpack and rummaged through the contents, looking for her phone. Her hand felt around the main compartment. Her journal and pen were there, some clothes, but not what she was looking for. Then she checked all the zippered pouches. Panic welled up. She emptied the contents on the floor. Nothing.

Her phone and her wallet were gone.





CHAPTER 5



Angie had spoken with Greg Jessup by phone, which completed a piece of the puzzle. She had asked all the questions of him she had planned to, except for the one that troubled her the most. Why didn’t you take the time to drive down from Philadelphia to Virginia and meet with me in person?

He’d said he would do it, of course he would, but something came up at work and, well, he just couldn’t seem to get away. He’d made it sound as if Nadine needed a wake-up call. He said it would build character for her to learn how hard life on the streets could be. She was always coming down on him for never being around, but that was because she didn’t understand what it meant to have a work ethic. She’d come home, he believed, a changed person.

Angie didn’t deny that, but she doubted it would be changed for the better. It took restraint not to call Greg Jessup an *, but speaking the truth would do nothing to help Nadine. Over the years, Angie had been exposed to all sorts of dysfunction. It never got easier to understand or accept.

Disgusted as she was with Nadine’s father, Angie didn’t press the issue. If it were absolutely necessary, she would drive up to meet Mr. Jessup in his home, where he was living with his new young wife and printing money thanks to a new corporate executive job. But it wasn’t necessary, at least not yet. And while it was comforting to know Greg’s checks would clear, Angie cared a hell of a lot more about finding the missing girl.

Bryn Mawr was a very affluent village and home to many of Philadelphia’s business leaders. Angie figured Greg Jessup was nesting, getting ready for Family 2.0. That could have contributed to Nadine’s feelings of abandonment and her decision to run away. Daddy’s lack of compassion aside, Angie trusted her radar. She didn’t get a creepy vibe from Greg. That didn’t mean he had never sexually assaulted his daughter. It happened plenty of times, in plenty of cases. Any evidence of it would turn up in Nadine’s bedroom, in a journal, on her computer. Angie didn’t get a list of Nadine’s closest friends because Daddy was too out of touch with his daughter to know them.

From elementary school right through college, Kathleen DeRose could list everybody Angie had been close with, including the posse who’d hung out with Sarah Winter before she’d disappeared. Being a good parent took more than just a checkbook. It took caring enough to ask questions and get involved even when your kid couldn’t think of anything worse you could do.

Carolyn more than compensated for Greg’s deficiencies. Her drinking problem aside, Nadine’s mom compiled a list of her daughter’s closest friends, boys and girls, including Sophia Kerns, who was apparently the best friend. Angie had names, addresses, and phone numbers. She would speak to each kid on the list. But first she had to go through Nadine’s bedroom.