The Last Thing She Ever Did(58)

She led them to the living room. She could barely look at her visitors.

“You mind if I put on some clothes?” she said. “Lost track of the day.”

“That’s fine,” Esther said.

The detectives surveyed the room while Liz disappeared into the bedroom. The living room was fairly neat. Esther couldn’t see any reason why Liz would have felt it was in disarray. Esther was only an indifferent housekeeper and would have considered the Jarrett home perfectly fine for receiving company. A denim-blue camelback sofa faced the river, its back against the river-rock fireplace, which, judging from the black soot on the lintel, got plenty of use in winter. Over the mantelpiece was a painting of a group of skiers. Family photos adorned the shelf. Off to the side, near the dining room, was a set of free weights—thirty pounds each.

When Liz returned, her hair was in a loose ponytail and she’d put on a pair of jeans and a dark blue V-neck T-shirt. She caught Esther’s gaze as it lingered on the weights. “My husband does curls while he watches TV.”

Liz reached for the coffeepot and offered the detectives a cup, but both declined.

“I don’t know how I can help you,” Liz said, filling her mug and looking straight ahead at the wall of cupboards. “Like I told you, I wasn’t home when it happened. Drove up to Beaverton early that morning. Didn’t get home until late.”

“Yes, that right,” Esther said. “Let’s focus on what you might have seen in the days leading up to Charlie’s disappearance.”

Liz sat, set down her cup, and folded her arms. “You think he was kidnapped? That’s what I think too. I think someone came and snatched him right out from under Carole.”

“We really don’t know what happened,” Esther said.

“Has there been a ransom demand?”

“No,” the detective said. “Let’s focus on what you can tell us.”

Liz leaned forward, steadying herself with a hand placed squarely on the armrest of the old morris chair. “I didn’t see anything.”

“Maybe a car out of place?”

“There are always cars out of place around here. We’re overrun by tourists this time of year.”

“What about Charlie? Did you see him with anyone in the days before he went missing? Maybe talking to a stranger?”

“Oh, no,” Liz said. “Not at all. He was a very well-behaved little boy.”

Esther glanced over at Jake. She wondered if he had noticed the same thing she had.

“I know you are good friends with the Franklins,” Esther said. “You and your husband both. Right? You are close.”

“We are,” Liz said. “Nearly from the time when they first moved here.”

“Right. I know this might be hard to do, but we need to know if there’s been any trouble between the Franklins. As far as you know.”

Liz shifted in the chair. “I don’t want to gossip about people I care about.”

“Of course not,” Esther agreed. “I get a sense that you and Carole are especially close.”

“David’s pretty busy with the restaurant. Carole and I have had a lot more time together. She’s helped me prep for the bar. I’ve helped her get her studio in order.”

“Good friends.”

“Very.”

“Sometimes good friends confide things to each other. Has Carole ever confided anything to you about her marriage?”

“Like what?”

“You know what I’m talking about, Liz. About her marriage to David.”

“None of this has anything to do with their marriage,” Liz said. “Some freak came and took their kid. That’s what happened.”

“Probably. But we need to know if that freak, as you say, might have been someone that knew them. Maybe someone from David’s restaurant. Or someone from Carole’s past.”

“Carole doesn’t have a past. She worked her ass off at Google and married David.”

“What about David?”

“I don’t know what you’re getting at. Really, I don’t.”

“Has David been faithful, as far as you know?”

Liz bristled a little. “Look, there was a time when he wasn’t,” she said. “I think. It was before they moved here. Carole told me about something, but I really didn’t pay it any attention. She complained about her husband the same way I complain about mine. He’s too busy. Too distracted at times. I wouldn’t know if he’s played around behind her back here or not. She never said so.”

Esther looked over at Jake again, giving him the signal to ask a few questions of his own.

“You live next door,” he said. “You must have seen something.”

“I don’t know what you mean. I told you I wasn’t home.”

“Not that. I mean before.”

“Oh,” Liz said. “I still don’t know what you mean.”

Jake clarified. “A stranger. Something or someone that just seemed out of the norm. Something that maybe you look back on now and can’t quite make sense of.”

“I wish I did,” she said. “I wish you could bring him home right this very minute. I just can’t help you. I hate to chase you out of here, but I have an appointment that I need to get to. I’m already late for it now.”