She's Not There (19 page)

The guest list for Thanksgiving dinner had grown exponentially. Who’d have thought so many people had nowhere to go? Lisa kept busy planning the meal, and Eric hired a second security guard for the weekend. Her schedule was minimal due to the holiday, so she was able to immerse herself in culinary concerns.

Lisa was alone in the kitchen when TJ came in on Tuesday night.

TJ hadn’t looked her in the eye. She had her back to Lisa and was hanging up her coat.

Lisa asked, “Hi, what’s up?”

“Wish I knew.”

“Anything you’d like to talk about?”

TJ sat down at one of the kitchen stools. “Got any coffee?”

“No, how about tea?” TJ made a face but accepted a cup of the green tea Lisa was fond of and stared into it without sipping.

Lisa poured herself a cup and sat next to her. “Did you have a good time last night?”

“Something real interesting happened last night.” TJ told Lisa about the conversation with Susan Jaster. “We’re gonna need to go back to that place with a picture of Jamie and see if anyone else saw her. Could be a great lead.”

“It could, I suppose. But why the mood? Isn’t that good news?”

TJ sighed heavily. “Might be time for me to come see you for therapy.”

Lisa laughed. “Ok, what’s going on? It has to be serious if you’re thinking about therapy.”

“It’s Jeff.”

“Jeff? What about him?”

“You know.”

“Are we going to play twenty-questions?”

TJ stood, carrying the tea she still wasn’t drinking, and walked over to the window. With her back to Lisa, she said, “I’m startin to get feelings for the guy. Well, lust anyway.”

Lisa held back what would have been her first response. “How do you feel about that?”

“I could give you a buncha reasons why it’s bad. Let’s see, he still misses his wife, we’re even more opposite than they were, I ain’t good at relationships; and he’s too goddamn white!”

“White? Conlin’s white. Since when does that matter to you?”

“Not that kind of white. I mean vanilla-white. The guy goes to church every week. He’s an engineer. He likes old movies. And what would he want with someone like me?”

Lisa walked over to TJ and turned her around. “TJ we can’t help who we’re drawn to. You and Jeff have spent a lot of time with each other and gone through a lot together. Being drawn to one another is understandable. But Jeff is very vulnerable right now. Your friendship has been good for him, but I’d hate to see you get hurt. He still has a lot to work through before he can get involved with someone again. And what’s this ‘someone like me’ comment? I’ve never known you to have an ego problem.”

“I know. An’ don’t even know what I want anyway. Guess I‘m just confused.”

Lisa said softly, “Maybe Jeff has some qualities you wish Richard had.”

TJ didn’t comment.

“Do you want advice?”

“Sure. You’ll lay it on me anyway.”

Lisa smiled. “Don’t let it go any further for now. He isn’t ready. But he needs your friendship. Talk to him about it. There’s no reason you can’t go on being friends. If there is a chance of something more developing between you, remember it has to happen slowly. For both of you, not just Jeff.”

TJ wrinkled her nose. “Don’t usually put things off; if I want it, I go for it, you know? Don’t like waiting. But, you’re right. We need to talk. Course if he doesn’t feel the same way, I’m gonna feel like an idiot.”

“Do you think he feels the same way about you?”

TJ stood up and emptied her cup in the sink. She grinned. “Yeah.”

Teresa used leftover beef roast to make beef sandwiches and a pot of soup for dinner Tuesday night. After Eric invited them to stay she’d insisted on cooking for them until she decided what she was going to do. She had a brother in Florida and was contemplating moving there.

Lisa, Jeff, TJ, and Eric gathered in Eric’s office later that night to go over the information they’d gathered so far and placed on the white-boards..

Each of the fifteen women on their short list had her own column with her photo posted at the top. So far the only things the women had in common were their attractiveness and the 911 calls.

TJ had added, “Possibly seen at the Sombrero Club the night she disappeared” in Jamie’s column. Everyone shared her excitement about the lead, and they discussed how they were going to proceed with the interviews at the club.

Jeff wanted them to act on it immediately. “Why are we waiting to go over there?”

TJ cut him off. “Called there today, and found out this week lots of the regular help is off because of hunting season and the holiday. Makes no sense to go now. The manager is checking their records so he can let us know just who was working that night.”

Jeff wasn’t giving up easy. “Well what about Tina’s father? What are we doing about him?”

Lisa pacified him with, “Got Shannon working on that. What we know from Teresa is that he stays with friends, so it’s hard to locate him. I did call Maggie today and let her know what’s going on. She told me Teresa has to go to the MPD and get him picked up for taking Tina.

TJ looked at Jeff. “Think we should talk to any other women from Jamie’s office?”

“It didn’t sound like anyone else saw Jamie. But the Jaster woman seemed kind of flaky. There is one woman I know that Jamie worked with and went to the gym with. I’ll call her and see if she was at the club that night.”

Most of the women on their list were computer literate, and one of the avenues they were working on was to find out if any of them made a habit of meeting men online. Some of them frequented the clubs, some worked out, and some cheated on their husbands. They weren’t finding any commonalities, but had a lot of people to talk to in each woman’s circle of friends.

Jeff left the room and called Amy Hayes, Jamie’s friend from the office. When she answered, he explained how he’d run into Susan Jaster and what Susan had told him about seeing Lisa the night she’d disappeared.

“Sorry, Jeff, I wasn’t there that night. I usually go with them on Fridays, but I had a date. The day the police were at the office they talked to everyone. When we compared notes later, the girls that were there that night said they hadn’t seen Jamie and weren’t at all sure about Susan’s powers of observation. They said she’d been drinking a lot. That’s why no one brought it up to the police.”

Maybe the great lead was going to be a total bust after all. Jeff exchanged a little small talk with Amy and answered a few of her questions about Jamie.

Just as they were about to hang up, she said, “Wait. I just remembered something. You know Jamie and I used to do that aerobics class together, but then I quit going for a while. She mentioned meeting a new guy at the Y—not that she was interested in him—she just said he was new and seemed friendly, but I don’t think she’d really talked to him, you know? She said he was real good looking too. At the time I thought she might have made him up to get me to come back.”

When Jeff came back and gave them the news, TJ volunteered to go to the gym to see if she could find someone in Jamie’s aerobic class who might remember the guy and point him out.

Lisa said, “You know folks, I think we have to make a list of just what kind of things we’re going to research from these women’s lives.” She pulled out an easel with large sheets of post-it paper and began recording.

When they ran out of ideas, they spent some time fine-tuning the list, weeding out any that were unnecessary or repetitive.

TJ complained. “Shit! Gonna have to start from square one with this list!”

Lisa said, “It might seem like a lot, but with this list we’ll have a better handle on what to ask their friends. You just never know what may be a link between them.”

Finding a link, if one even existed, was looking like an insurmountable task. The group was discouraged.

Lisa was certain she’d never again have a good nights sleep. She got out of bed and went downstairs for some of her ‘Forty-winks Tea.’

She found Eric sitting at the island eating a sandwich, the day’s paper spread out around him.

“Did you go back to work?”

“Yes. Three new cars came in today, and we’re having some problems with the website. Bad night for sleeping?” 

Lisa laughed, looking down at her robe and slippers. “How could you tell? And I think I’ve lost a dog—Phanny hasn’t left Tina’s side since she arrived.”

Lisa put on a kettle for her tea and sat down next to Eric.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t sleep.”

Lisa thought he looked tired. “It’s been hard to lately with everything that’s been happening.”

“How are things going with Teresa and Tina? Are they comfortable staying here for the time being?”

“Of course. Teresa was thrilled with your offer to stay.”

“Tina’s going to be ok, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’s doing better by the hour now that she has her mother.”

“Thanks to TJ. Did she ever tell you how she managed that?”

“Yes. She said don’t ask and she won’t tell.”

“That’s what I thought.”

They sat for a few minutes without talking. Then Eric turned to her and said, “I’ve always wanted to ask you something. Haven’t you ever been at all uncertain about Jeff and me?”

“You mean about the possibility one of you killed your wife? After I had a couple sessions with Jeff there was no doubt in my mind that he had nothing to do with his wife’s disappearance. And I respected TJ’s opinion of you.” She’d already admitted to herself that his being a pain in the butt didn’t make him a murderer. Lisa hadn’t told anyone that she had moments of distrust for the man, despite their getting along better.

“I wish the rest of the world agreed with TJ’s opinion.”

“Is that why you’re no longer practicing medicine?”

“More or less. When I got out of jail I found out my name was anathema in the medical community. My privileges were revoked at the hospital. I still have my license to practice, though.

“There must have been somewhere you could have worked.”

“Sure, if I wanted to live in a desert or a jungle and travel by camel. But seriously, I enjoy what I do. When I was still practicing I made some very wise investments that have allowed me to live this way. I’ve been fortunate.”

Lisa pushed herself away from the counter. “I think I’m finally feeling sleepy.”

Before she could get up, he covered her hand with his, gave it an affectionate squeeze, and said, “It was nice talking with you.”

As she went up the stairs, the hand that he’d touched felt warm, and Lisa had to shift her thoughts to something else before she started to reflect on her sudden attraction to Eric Schindler.

The following morning Teresa came into the kitchen to start the first pot of coffee. She scooped out the coffee, stewing about her daughter. Tina’s nightmares were probably normal under the circumstances but Teresa worried about the girl. It had taken nearly an hour to get her back to sleep after the last one. Teresa couldn’t find the bear Jeff had given Tina, which had made matters worse. The girl loved it.

While the coffee did its thing, she looked around for the bear, stopping at the closed door to Eric’s office. Eric had warned her not to let Tina go inside, but you never knew with kids. Teresa entered the room, flicking on the overhead light.

She froze at the sight of the whiteboards spread out in a semi-circle in the middle of the room, photos of women’s faces heading them. Fifteen pairs of eyes stared at her. Teresa wanted to run but stopped in her tracks. “Madre de dios!”  Locked in place, she crossed herself. The fourth woman from the left was Diane Jadzewski, a woman she used to work with. She scurried from the room, praying for Diane’s soul. She’d heard enough of their conversations to know—these women had all been murdered.

Jeff wandered into the kitchen, lured by the smell of the strong brew. Teresa stood at the stove, her arms tight about her abdomen. When she saw Jeff, she burst into a string of Spanish. He had no clue what she was saying, but knew by her hysterical speech, it wasn’t good.

“Slow down.” He took her shoulders and sat her down. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

She wrung her hands. “The pictures!”

“What pictures?”

She pointed to Eric’s office. “In there. I was looking for Tina’s bear.”

“Couldn’t you find the bear? Is that what’s wrong?”

“No, no! Not that. It’s Diane—she’s one of them!”

Jeff breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Lisa walk into the kitchen. She’d do a much better job of handling Teresa. He told Lisa what had happened.

Teresa grew silent as Lisa explained to her that right now, they really had no idea what had happened to her friend. “We talked to her parents and they think Diane ran away because of her husband. She may be perfectly fine; we don’t know for certain what happened to any of those women.”

Teresa pressed a tissue to her face.

“Teresa,” Lisa said softly, “what can you tell us about her?”

“She was my boss. But nice person, we talked sometimes. About our men.”

“Did she tell you anything about her husband?”

Teresa sniffled into a balled-up Kleenex. “Yes. He hurts her. We talked about it sometimes. But last time I see her, she was happy. She met someone and was getting divorce.”

“Did she tell you anything about him?”

“No. Just that he very nice.”

Lisa’s hopes sank like a wet tea bag. “Anything you remember would help, Teresa. Did she say what he looked like?”

“Oh yes! I forget—she say he very handsome. Tall, big shoulders. Nice body.”

“Anything else she might have said about him? How he dressed? His car? Any tattoos? Glasses?”

Teresa hugged herself, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Nothing else.”

“Thank you, Teresa. You’ve been very helpful. We’re trying to find your friend. And all those other women. If you remember anything else, just let us know.”

Teresa sniffed, obviously relieved that the questioning was over, and went to give Tina her breakfast.

Lisa looked up. Jeff had left the room.

Once more filled with an anxiety that wouldn’t let her drift into sleep, Lisa got out of bed and walked into the living room of the small apartment. Was fear keeping her awake? There was no other answer for what was happening to her tonight. Loneliness swept through her, bringing with it Tyler’s face.

An excuse to call him popped into her mind—the flowers. She’d never acknowledged his gift. Forgetting there was good reason for her oversight, she opened her phone.

Tyler’s voice, thick with sleep, answered. “Hey.”

“It’s me.”

She heard the rusting of bedclothes. “Lisa.”

“Yeah.”

His response came lightening fast. “I miss you.”

“Me too.” Her pride, what little remained, wouldn’t let her be the one to suggest they meet. And she couldn’t invite him to Eric’s, didn’t want him to know she wasn’t staying at her own house.

He was waiting for her in the doorway when she pulled up at his house. They grabbed for each other the minute the door closed. His mouth met hers, hungry on lips that opened to welcome him.

They made their way to his bedroom without breaking the embrace, leaving a trail of clothing in their wake. Every ounce of her being became one with him, every compartment of her brain closing off to everything but the thrilling sensation of his body melding with hers, her eagerness to feel him inside her.

Moving together with the sweet familiarity of long-time lovers, they made love with a passionate urgency. Her climax, when it came, left her with a peacefulness that had been missing in her life for weeks.

As she drifted off in his arms, she told herself it would only be for a minute. When she awoke and saw it was nearly 4:00 a.m., she leapt out of bed. Tyler didn’t wake up. Filled with a rush of guilt, she dressed hurriedly and ran out into the night, the dangers of being alone forgotten.

Lisa flinched at sound of the garage door opening, praying no one heard it. She opened the doorway leading to the apartment quietly, carefully disarming the alarm and resetting it behind her. She moved stealthily up to her quarters and opened the door.

Eric was sitting on the couch, a bottle of scotch on the coffee table in front of him. The room reeked of cigar smoke.

He stood, picking up the bottle, his dark eyes angry. “I was about to call the police before I saw that your car was gone.”

She wanted to ask why he’d come up here looking for her, but thought better of it. “I’m sorry if I worried you.” Inadequate, but what could she say? She’d been lonely, horny? “I couldn’t sleep. I felt like I needed to get out, so I went for a drive.”

Eric moved toward her. When he spoke, he was close enough for her to smell the scotch on his breath. “A drive? Honey, I know what a booty trip looks like.” He snorted. “Or should I say—smells like.”

Unable to deny his words, Lisa’s face heated with embarrassment. “I said I’m sorry.” She sniffed the air and muttered, “Surprised you can smell anything.”

“You’re sorry. I worked late tonight because I spent the morning at Danielle’s funeral. You know, the woman who was murdered in place of you?  But you must have forgotten about that in your rush to see your young stud.”

“Eric, I know you must be hurting—“

He cut her off. “You don’t know shit! And don’t start throwing your psychology bullshit at me. All that therapy crap ever did for me was cost me thousands of dollars and Kayla was still fucked up. It didn’t stop them from sucking up the money though, even when it did nothing for her.”

When her tears came, Lisa had no idea why. For Eric, Danielle, Kayla, herself?

Eric’s face reddened in a burst of fury. “Oh sure, cry now. “He turned from her, walking to the door.

Lisa grabbed his arm. “Please, let’s talk about this.”

He pulled away from her. “You disgust me,“ he said, slamming the door behind him.