“I just want to remind you that if you learn something that is important to the investigation, you’ll need to tell the authorities.”
She didn’t comment. She got out and didn’t care if Garrett followed her; he did.
She knocked on the door. A moment later a tall, broad-shouldered man in a T-shirt, jeans, and bare feet answered. The amazing smell of some sort of pasta and tomatoes hit Lucy and her stomach growled.
“Mr. Anderson?”
“Yes.”
She showed her identification. “I’m looking for your ex-wife, Erica. She wasn’t at home and her neighbors said she hasn’t been home much since she quit. Her former employer—the warden, Kathy Pine—asked me to check on her because she hasn’t been able to reach her.”
A fib, but bordering on the truth.
Bill frowned, then stepped out onto the small porch and closed the door behind him. “I don’t need the kids to hear this.”
“We just want to make sure she’s okay. When was the last time you spoke with her?”
“A couple days ago she called me to cancel her time with the kids. Again. This wasn’t the first time. She’s canceled all but one weekend with the kids in the last two months. I’m pissed. We’ve always gotten along, even after the divorce. Well, I guess you could say that we learned to get along after the divorce, and things were fine. We both love the kids, and we have a custody arrangement that works for us, and the kids adjusted. In two years she’s never canceled a weekend. Ever. And four in a row? It’s not like her.”
This would be the fourth weekend since Elise got out of juvie. Coincidence? Lucy didn’t think so.
“Did she say why?”
“The first time she had an excuse I didn’t quite believe—a job interview out of town. But I didn’t question it. Then she stopped giving excuses. And quitting—that’s another thing. Completely out of character. Erica is predictable. She likes routine and organization and a regular schedule.”
“So she didn’t tell you why she quit her job at corrections?”
“No, and it was the first fight we’ve had since the divorce was final. She has damn good benefits, the kids were on her plan. She said she’d cover them, but that’s just bullshit, you know? I’m self-employed. My insurance is crap.”
“Is she covering them?”
“Yes, paying through the nose for it, too, to keep the same plan through the COBRA program. I called her on it, but she just clammed up and said she was working on something.”
“And you don’t know where she is or where she’s working?”
“No. If she calls, I’ll have her call you, that’s the best I can do.”
“Does she have any other family? Someone who might know where she is or where she’s working?”
“No. She doesn’t get along with her dad, he’s in Indiana now, I think. Her mom is dead. She has half siblings she never talks to.”
“Did Erica say anything or can you think of any reason why she’s acting odd? Or why she quit her job? Was she seeing someone?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. She could be seeing someone, though we agreed that if either of us brought a regular person into the lives of our kids, we’d tell each other. Just so we have everything on the up-and-up, you know? And that’s worked for us. Quitting was out of character, canceling on the kids, me not being able to reach her.” He frowned, looked worried. “Is she in trouble?”
“No, but the warden is concerned, same as you, so I promised to track her down.” Lucy handed him her business card. “If she calls you, please give her my name and number and tell her I can help her with anything that’s going on. If she doesn’t want to call me, if you can just let me know if she reaches out?”
“Of course. Should I be worried?”
“I can’t say, I just need to talk to her. Did she tell you why she quit her job?”
“No. She was having problems with an inmate, but I thought she’d fixed it.”
Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. “Do you know which inmate?”
“Elise. A girl named Elise. I know Erica couldn’t wait until she aged out because she dreaded going in and seeing her.”
Lucy was so surprised she couldn’t hide her reaction. “She talked to you?”
“Not about why she quit, but she had been complaining about this girl for months. Then she stopped complaining, a couple months