“Mom?” Roxie says from the living room. I see the number is local but I don’t recognize it. I answer as Rox appears in the doorway with a concerned look. I make a waving gesture telling her I’m fine and she raises her eyebrows at me and then goes to the fridge for a soda.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Bennett?” a man’s voice asks.
“Uh, yes. Who’s this?”
“This is Detective Morrison from the Cloverhill Lakes Police Department.”
I freeze. I try to speak but I choke on my words and have to clear my throat and try again.
“Sorry, hi. Yes. What can I— Did they find Tia?” I think to quickly ask because that’s probably what a non-guilty non-psychopath person would ask.
“No, ma’am. I’m just calling because I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Me? I...” I stutter.
“Just standard stuff. If we can find a time to meet, that would be great. You were one of the last people to talk to Tia, we’ve been told, and we want to get a general statement from you,” he says, and then silence hangs in the air between us.
“Of course,” I say.
“Great. I’ll stop by, then. At your house after the community search party finishes.”
“The what?” I ask.
“Some of Tia’s family have coordinated a search party tomorrow morning.”
“Oh.”
“I think Ray is coordinating it,” he says, a little uncomfortably. “I guess speak to him if you’d like to pitch in and help.”
“Yeah,” I say before hanging up the call. I feel a fist of pain in my chest and a wave of nausea as I immediately poke at Ray’s number to call him. Being left out of the town goddamn search party will not be a good look, and he didn’t even tell me.
“Hello?” he answers, and his voice is small and hollow, so I quickly remember he’s a victim and not a hated ex-husband in this immediate scenario. As I’m about to reflexively yell at himabout not including me in this event, it hits me like a punch to the throat that I’m the reason for it all—for the entire town searching for Tia, for Ray’s pain, for this whole sickening, devastating horror show.
“Ray, hi. I just— Um, I heard a group of volunteers are getting together tomorrow, and...”
“And what?” he says impatiently.
“I didn’t know about it. I’d like to help.”
I hear him scoff. “Well, you already are. I gave them permission to search our property, so expect a crowd tomorrow.” I’m suddenly so lightheaded I have to sit down in the kitchen window seat.
“Sorry?” I croak out.
“Tia’s mom coordinated most of it. We’re meeting at the top of the lake in the town square. Half the folks will be combing the woods down the west side. The plan is to search the mile of dense trees surrounding the lake all the way around and all the properties in between. I’m heading up the search on the east side including our house, and everyone else in the area is cooperating.”
I just sit in stunned silence, because how could I not “cooperate.” Even if I wanted to look like some pariah in the situation and say no, I’d have no choice. Ray’s name is still on the house because of a long, drawn-out divorce that ended in him not buying me out and waiting to cash out until I sell, like it’s an investment or something, because of course he doesn’t need the money. He bought a house across the lake. It was better for me financially after it all shook out, but now he has a say, and a mob of people will be digging around the property tomorrow. I could vomit.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know, Andi. I might be a little preoccupied. It’s not like they’re going inside, for God’s sake. Why? Do you have something you need a heads-up about? Anything to hide?”
“Jesus, Ray,” I say, standing, feeling tears prick my eyes.
“Sorry,” he says. “I’m just—”
“Of course, sorry,” I say, cutting him off. “How—how can I help? Is there anything else we can do to help?” I stutter. I hear silence for a moment, then a sob that he stifles and tries to quickly recover from. He can’t speak.
