Molly glanced down at her outfit.“Oh no, not really.I’m taking bereavement time.I just thought that spending the day in sweats or pajamas would make me feel even worse.By dressing like I have a purpose, I’m hoping it gives me one.”
Jessie admired the mentality.She doubted that if Ryan or Hannah were killed, she could keep it together like that.Once they got inside, Molly led them into the modest living room and pointed them to the small couch.She sat in a high-backed chair across from them.
“Do you have new information since we spoke last night?”she asked eagerly.
“I’m afraid not,” Karen told her.“We’re following up on multiple leads but so far nothing has been that promising.”
Molly shook her head and sighed heavily.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her tone quavery.“I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that you are looking for leads in the murder of my big sister.I’m trying to keep pushing forward so I don’t break down, but it’s hard.”
“We understand,” Jessie said.“And we’re very sorry for your loss.We want the same thing that you do: to find out who did this and get justice for Lauren.”
“Okay,” Molly said, her voice a little stronger now.“That helps to hear.What can I tell you?I want to help in any way I can.”
“We appreciate that,” Karen said.“Let’s start with this.When was the last time you spoke to Lauren?”
“Yesterday morning,” Molly answered.
“What did you discuss?”Jessie asked.
“We were thinking of going to a movie,” she explained.“I mentioned going this weekend but she said that Jason would be in town and she wanted to maximize her time with him.So, we were tentatively shooting for early next week when he’d be out of town again.We were debating what to see.”
“Did you talk about anything else?”Karen asked.
“No, not really.We talk just about every day so sometimes the conversations aren’t all that exciting.If I had known it would be our last, I would have treated it with more significance.I’m not even sure I told her that I loved her when we hung up.”
Her eyes welled up and she inhaled sharply to get control.
“That’s very helpful,” Jessie said, giving her a moment to regroup.“Even hearing about the normal, day-to-day stuff gives us a sense of what was on her mind.It sounds like she didn’t express any anxiety over anything specific when you spoke.”
“No,” Molly confirmed.“She was looking forward to us having a sisters’ night out.We hadn’t done that all month.And she was really excited that Jason was going to be back in town for four consecutive days, which was a lot for him.”
“Let’s talk about that a little bit,” Jessie said.“When we spoke with Jason, he wasn’t especially helpful on the daily routine of Lauren’s life.He admitted that being away so much made that hard and sounded remorseful about it.Was his absence of a source of tension for them?”
Molly sat with the question for a moment.
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘tension.’She told me she knew what she was getting into when she married him.But she also said that he’d mentioned easing back on the travel sometime soon and that she was excited by that prospect.Truthfully, she was so smitten that she treasured any time they had together and was loathe to complain.”
“He does seem to be a charismatic guy,” Jessie said, both telling the truth and fishing a little.
“Right?”Molly agreed.“It’s really something.I don’t think I’ve ever met a more magnetic guy.At the wedding, I thought our mom might try to jump him.”
“Forgive the question,” Karen said, “but do you ever have that desire?”
Rather than take offense, Molly smiled at the question.
“I can see why you might think that,” she allowed.“And I will confess that the first few times I interacted with him, there were a few stirrings.But truthfully, after a while I came to a realization about him: he’s almosttoomuch.At a certain point, feeling that overwhelmed by another person’s charm can become exhausting.There’s no emotional down time.”
Jessie understood what she meant.Just a short period in that interrogation room with Mannix had worn her out.For a brief moment, she wondered if her most recent lusty encounters with Ryan were a residual effect of her time with Mannix.But then she remembered that they’d been going at it like bunnies since well before she ever met Mannix.Before she could ask another question, Molly went on.
“That’s why, as weird as I found their marriage, I could see why it worked for them.”
“What do you mean?”Karen asked.
“I just think that if he was around all the time, it would be emotionally draining,” she explained.“Then again, as you may have seen in Lauren’s videos, she’s no shrinking violet either.So in that way, they were well-matched.I mean, she didn’t get all those views online because of the houses.It was because people were drawn to her.”
That reminded Jessie of the question she’d wondered about yesterday.There was no better person to ask.
