My Wife Is Missing(39)
Harvey didn’t bother leaving the room to make his call to the FBI. He spoke in a stentorian voice while sending telling looks Michael’s way, as if to say, This is how a man handles a crisis, how a real father protects his family.
Michael knew how Harvey could be, which was one reason why he had dreaded coming here to break the news. He wasn’t a puppy. He didn’t need his failings shoved in his face like a mess on the carpet. And besides, he knew Harvey’s FBI contact would give him lip service and nothing more. Michael had done his homework, and despite what Harvey thought, he’d already made the right calls to the right people.
While Lucinda poured the tea, Michael asked the question that had been on his mind all day.
“Can you think of anyone Natalie might stay with? An old friend of hers when she was young, someone maybe not in her current circle?”
Lucinda shook her head no before handing Michael his cup of tea. Her hands trembled, creating tiny waves that rippled across the steaming water. He thanked her dutifully as he would have at any other visit.
“Nobody I can think of off the top of my head,” she said. “But I’m not thinking clearly, so maybe a name will come to me. Let’s get the post up.”
Harvey took a slice of the lemon tart before taking his phone to another room, while Lucinda busied herself with her own phone. It pained Michael to see his mother-in-law’s hands continue to shake so uncontrollably, and was reminded of how he’d been when he first realized his family was gone.
He imagined what Natalie might be saying about him to the children, tried not to go there, but he couldn’t help it.
Dad doesn’t want to see you anymore.
It’s better for all of us this way.
Your father has done some terrible things.
That last one wouldn’t have been a lie.
As if reading Michael’s thoughts, Lucinda said, “The children must be so confused and frightened. It’s just not like Natalie to do something like this.”
“Of course it’s not,” said Harvey, his booming voice carrying as he stormed back into the room. “What I want to know, Michael, is what really happened. Did you hit her?”
Michael’s eyes flew open wide.
“Harvey, God, no! I’d never.”
Harvey had seen his fair share of charlatans and liars through his legal practice. Michael’s strong denial didn’t appear to appease him.
“Let’s work on the post, okay?” Michael said. A focused task might keep the accusations to a minimum, and hopefully would help him hold his anger in check.
We both know what happens when you lose control of your temper, Michael, said the devil.
Lucinda, who kept her attention on her phone, perked up when she found a family photo to use. It was of the four of them taken last summer on a whale watch boat out of Gloucester. The sun was at its magic hour, giving everyone that radiant, healthy glow.
“This is a beautiful picture,” Lucinda said. “I always hate the ones people choose for these things—bad news, deaths, missing persons. They always look so sickly and sad in their photos. This is just the opposite. Everyone will want to share this.”
Michael took one look at the photo that might soon travel the virtual globe, and fear gripped his chest.
“No,” he said adamantly. “Let’s use this one instead.”
Out came his phone. On the display was the same picture he had passed around in New York, the one of just Natalie and the kids taken by the entrance to the hotel.
“That image is too dark,” Lucinda said, offering a dismissive wave of her hand. “The one on the boat is perfect. I’ll get my laptop and we’ll do the post from my Facebook account. I’ll ask the garden club, my book group, and the church to share it. That will get it started.”
“No,” Michael said, putting too much force into his voice, but he couldn’t help himself. “We can’t use that picture.”
Harvey took notice of Michael’s modest outburst. A dark cloud seemed to pass over his eyes as he stormed across the room. He took Lucinda’s phone so he could study the image himself before sending Michael a scathing stare.
“This photo is perfect. Use it,” he demanded.
A stare down ensued, sort of a high-noon moment between Harvey and Michael. They’d never raised their voices to each other, but this was unchartered territory.
“Harvey, no,” repeated Michael. “We need to be a team here, and this isn’t the right image. The focus has to be on Natalie and the kids. That’s it. Just of them. And in my photo, they’re wearing the same clothes they had on when they disappeared, so it might help with identification.”
“Yeah, that’s a good point, I guess,” Harvey said with a grumble. “Luce, let’s use the photo Michael suggested instead.”
Michael breathed a silent sigh of relief. He couldn’t be in any picture that risked going viral, and certainly couldn’t tell his in-laws why.
CHAPTER 18
NATALIE
BEFORE SHE DISAPPEARED
Michael’s car wasn’t in the driveway when Natalie arrived home just before eight. She made her way up the walkway with a slight spring in her step, thinking the only good to have come from having seen her husband at McDonald’s with Audrey Adler was that she was no longer exhausted. In fact, she couldn’t recall a time when she’d felt more awake. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins. She wished she could experience this energy at will, though without the heartache of her hurtful discovery.