The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs (19 page)

In that moment, she knew why she had brought Polly here in the first place. She needed someone to tell. It was time to dig that plastic bag out from her sister's closet, open it and tell someone what she had done.

twenty-one

When Caroline heard Tom's voice from somewhere in the house, she rolled over and wrapped her arms around her pillow. Pulled the other pillow over her head to muffle the sound. Why did he have to be so loud in the morning? Couldn't the man sleep in for once in her life?

Then it hit her.

“Tom?”

She looked across the room to Polly's empty bed.

Caroline dressed quickly and made her way downstairs. She found Tom in the kitchen engaged in conversation with her mother.

“What are you doing here?”

“It's nice to see you, too,” he said, stepping across the room to hug her. Tom looked tired. Tired eyes. Uncombed hair. Wrinkled shirt.

“Seriously,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“You didn't answer your phone all day yesterday, so I canceled my appointments for the next couple days and drove up.”

“You drove all night?”

“Actually, I went to bed early, got up at two in the morning and pulled into your mother's driveway just before nine. No traffic if you travel at the right time.”

“It's nine?” Caroline asked, looking to the clock on the wall for clarification.

“Nine forty-five,” her mother said. She was standing at the stove, laying strips of bacon into a sizzling pan.

“Where's Polly?”

“I assumed she was still sleeping with you,” her mother said. “She's not?”

“No, and the bed's still made.”

“Maybe she made it before she left,” her mother said.

“Polly's never made a bed in her life,” Tom and Caroline said in unison.

“If she didn't sleep in the bed last night, where did she sleep?” Tom asked.

“I don't know,” Caroline said.

“I'll check the bed,” her mother said. “I'll be able to tell if she made it or not. Watch the bacon, Tom. I don't want a grease fire.”

Caroline waited until her mother had left the kitchen before speaking. “I can't believe you drove all this way. You didn't need to come.”

“I thought you might need me.”

She had expected Tom to chastise her for her sudden and unprecedented disappearance. Now she felt bad for doubting him. “I'm fine. Really.”

“Can you tell me what's going on?”

“It's going to sound stupid,” Caroline said. “But at the time, it made a lot of sense.”

“Okay.”

She explained the events of the previous day as she poured coffee and sat down across from Tom at the small kitchen table.

“I can't believe I never told you about it,” Caroline said. It didn't feel like much of a secret anymore. She felt foolish for not telling anyone sooner. “It was something Emily did in high school. A long story. I hadn't spoken to her in years, but then something came up, and I felt like now was the right time to confront her. I know. It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud.”

“Mary Kate Dinali,” Tom asked. “She's the something that came up?”

The problem solver at work.

Caroline leaned across the table and kissed him. “Yes, Mary Kate was part of it. But there's more.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“She didn't sleep in that bed last night,” Penelope said, reentering the kitchen. “There's no way in hell that Polly made those hospital corners.”

“I don't understand,” Tom said. “Did she stay with a friend?”

“She doesn't know anyone in town,” Penelope said.

“Where could she be then?” Tom asked.

“I'll call her,” Caroline said, pulling her phone from her pocket. “Did you check Lucy's room?”

“Yes, and the attic too,” her mother said. “Did you see her at all after she stormed out last night?”

“Stormed out?” Tom said.

“No,” Caroline said, avoiding Tom's question. “Did you?”

“No,” her mother said. “I went to bed around ten.”

“She's not answering,” Caroline said.

“I don't understand,” Tom said again. “If she doesn't know anyone in town, where could she be?”

“I said I don't know.”

“You said she stormed out of the house,” Tom said. “When did that happen?”

“At dinner. Around six.”

“So Polly's been gone since six last night?”

Panic formed in the pit of Caroline's stomach. “God, where could she be?”

“There's no one she could've stayed with?” Tom asked. “No one at all?”

“She knows George and Spartacus,” Penelope said. “She doesn't know where they live, but she called them yesterday to invite them to dinner, so she might still have their phone numbers. Let me phone them. I have George's number in my office.” She headed down the hallway toward her office.

“Who are George and Spartacus?” Tom asked.

“I'll tell you later,” Caroline said. “You should try calling Polly. She was pissed at me when she left yesterday. Maybe she'll pick up for you.”

Tom pulled his phone from his pocket. “Why was she mad at you?”

“I let her down. It's part of my long story. Is it ringing?”

“Yes. She's not picking up.”

“George and Spartacus haven't seen her since she left last night,” her mother said as she returned to the room, and for the first time, Caroline could hear fear in her mother's voice, too. It frightened her. She turned to Tom. “What should we do?”

“I'll call Dino,” her mother said. “He'll know what to do.”

 

 

Officer Dean “Dino” Dugan was a thick, hairy man who chewed gum like he hated it and wanted to make it suffer. He was wearing his uniform when he stepped through the front door. The sudden appearance of his badge and gun somehow made Polly's disappearance feel real—and much more serious.

“So there's no custody issues of any kind?” Dugan asked.

“No,” Tom said.

“And the last time you saw your daughter was when she left the house in the middle of dinner?”

“Yes,” Caroline said.

“And she doesn't have a boyfriend or any friends that you know of in Blackstone? Or anywhere around here. Correct?”

“We've only been here for two days,” Caroline said. “She doesn't even have a boyfriend back in Maryland.”

“Not one that you know of,” Dugan said. “Wasn't she here last summer?”

“Yes,” Penelope said. “She was. She stayed with me for about a month. That's right. You met Polly. Didn't you?”

Dugan nodded. “Yup. Nice girl. I knew I was going to have to put Buster down, so I came here first to make arrangements. Your daughter was a real sweetheart.”

This made Caroline like the man a little bit more. It made him feel less like a badge and a gun and more like a human being.

“More important,” Dugan continued, “it means she could've met someone when she was here last summer. A boy, even. I assume you didn't have her under surveillance twenty-four hours a day, Penny?”

“No. In fact, she had the place to herself for the weekend when I went to the Mohegan Sun with my friend Lisa.”

“So it's possible that she stayed with a friend, either because that's what she planned to do all along or because she was so pissed off at you that she didn't want to come home.”

Caroline had underestimated Officer Dugan.

“So what should we do now?” Tom asked.

“Hold on,” Dugan said. “We're not done. Has she been out of your sight since you arrived yesterday?”

Caroline thought for a moment. “She walked back here yesterday after we visited Emily.”

“Why?” Tom asked.

“She was pissed at me. Refused to get back in the car. I know. It sounds like all we've done is fight, but things were actually going well.”

Dugan shook his head. “If we wanted to, we could probably label every teenager in the world bipolar and lock them up in the psych ward until they're old enough to vote,” Dugan said. “Might be better for everyone involved. One minute they love you. The next minute they never want to speak to you again.”

Caroline smiled.

“I have two myself. A girl and a boy. Most days they drive me crazy, but I'd run through fire for them if I had to.”

Caroline liked this man.

“So where does this Emily live?” Dugan asked.

“Over by the high school. Emily Kaplan. I mean, Emily Labonte.”

“Oh,” Dugan said, smiling. “Emily and Randy. You visited them yesterday?”

“Yes. And Emily's daughter, Jane, took Polly to that place across the street from the high school.”

“The Spot,” Dugan said. “So it's possible that Polly met someone there, too. That place is lousy with kids after school.”

“I guess so,” Caroline said. “I hadn't even thought of that. But it's not like Polly to make friends easily.”

“You have a picture of Polly?” Dugan asked.

“Yeah,” Tom said. “Lots of them. On my phone.”

“Good. E-mail a couple of them to me.” Dugan handed Tom a business card. “Send it to that address, and I'll forward to the department. There's only six of us, but Blackstone isn't that big a place, and we know most everyone. We'll get the word out. Honestly, though. She's probably fine. Just a pissed-off kid trying to make you crazy.”

“What should we do?” Tom asked.

“Keep calling her. If she hasn't come back by six, we'll meet again. And one of you should go over to the Labontes' house and see if their daughter knows anything. She'll be in school right now, and I'd rather not have a cop show up and pull her out of class to ask a few questions. She's more likely to be candid without me there. At least at first. Besides, I can't legally talk to her without her parents' permission. But Emily can go over to the school and get her out of class for a few minutes without starting any rumors. What's her name again?”

“Jane,” Caroline said.

“If they were at The Spot together and Polly met someone, Jane will know it. And she might've told Polly about some of her hangouts, too. Places where she and her friends go. Polly could be holed in one of those places, too. When I was a kid, my friends and I hung out at Harris Pond or High Rocks, but there must be a hundred places in town where kids hang out. See if Jane mentioned any of them to Polly. If you feel like Jane is holding back on you, I can question her after school if Emily gives me consent.”

“Anything else?” Tom asked.

“Try not to worry,” Dugan said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, a kid disappears for a day or two to blow off steam. But eventually they get hungry or cold and come home with their tail because their legs. Your daughter's a smart cookie. Treated me real nice when I was going through a rough patch. I'm sure she's just being her stupid teenage self right now. They can't help it.”

“What about the other one percent?” Tom asked.

“We don't have those in Blackstone,” Dugan said.

Officer Dugan shook Tom and Caroline's hands, gave Penelope a bear hug, and left, promising to call back as soon as he heard anything.

As soon as the door closed, Tom said, “I'm going to try Polly from the house phone. Maybe she'll pick up if she thinks it's her grandmother.”

“I doubt it,” Penelope said. Then she turned to Caroline. “Looks like you're going to have to make nice with your old friend after all.”

twenty-two

Emily was dressed impeccably in a cashmere sweater, silk scarf, True Religion jeans, and leopard-print ballet flats. Even her hair was done up in a perfect French twist. Had Caroline ever answered the door looking this good?

Emily's smile evaporated upon seeing Caroline. “Seriously?” Emily said, taking two steps back into the house. “Aren't we finished already?'

“I'm sorry to bother you—”

“Sorry to bother me?” Emily interjected. “You had no problem ambushing me in front of a bunch of strangers last night. You call this a bother?”

“I didn't know it was happening last night,” Caroline said. “Polly planned the whole thing. I was just as surprised as you.”

“You're blaming your daughter now?”

“She's missing,” Caroline said, hoping to detour the argument. “Polly never came home last night.”

Emily blinked. “Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.” Then just as quickly, she seemed to steel herself once again. “But she's not here.”

“No, I didn't think she would be. But the police suggested that I speak to Jane. She might know something.”

“Why would Jane know anything?”

“Polly could've met someone at The Spot yesterday. Or maybe Jane mentioned some place in Blackstone that the kids like to go. Polly doesn't know Blackstone all that well, so unless she slept on the street last night, she had to hook up with someone at some point or be given an idea about a good place to hang out. I'm hoping Jane knows something.”

“Jane isn't home,” Emily said.

“I know. The police suggested … well, I was wondering if you would pull her from class for a few minutes so I could talk to her. They—the police, that is—said it would be better than sending a cop over to the school to question her.”

“Not to mention that would be illegal,” Emily said, any empathy now completely gone from her voice.

“I don't know what's legal and what's not,” Caroline said. “I just want to find Polly.”

Emily folded her arms over her chest.

Caroline took a step forward. “Look, I know what happened last night wasn't good. I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know it was happening until all hell broke loose.”

“But isn't that why you came to Blackstone? To confront me?”

“Yes,” Caroline admitted. “But once I actually saw you … after we talked … well, I decided to forget the whole thing. It was a stupid idea. But I made the mistake of telling Polly about it, and she refused to let it go.”