Evidence of Life - By Barbara Taylor Sissel Page 0,90
a match.” He paused, then continued. “Abby, from the clothing and so forth, it appears there was one adult male and one young female inside.”
A sound came, a low moan. Abby flattened her hand over her mouth. Her eyes found Jake’s, who along with Hank and Kate had joined George. Kate brought her arm around Jake’s waist. Abby saw his shoulders heave and closed her eyes. Dennis was talking about the remains.
She interrupted him. “I want to see them.”
“You really don’t,” he said gently. “You shouldn’t.”
“There’s nothing to see, is there?”
“No. I’m sorry. It’s a long time now since the flood.”
She returned to the window, bending her head to it. As recently as last week, yesterday, in the minutes before Dennis’s call, she’d had hope, slim as it was. Now she had nothing. Just the endless agony of questions and the more agonizing reality that she would never see Lindsey again. Her beloved daughter, her darling girl, was gone. Abby’s heart shuddered. She clenched her teeth fighting the cry that rose. If she gave in to it now, if she allowed the enormity of her loss to overtake her, it would break her in half.
“The adult in the car is definitely male,” Dennis said, “and there is definitely only the one.”
Abby heard Dennis repeat himself; she registered the note of disbelief in his voice, but she didn’t hold on to it.
“If you need anything,” he went on when Abby didn’t respond, “you or Jake....”
“Thank you,” she managed to say. “We’ll be fine. At least it’s over. At least now we know where they are and we can bring them home.” Abby glanced at Hank.
Dennis explained what the procedure would be from here, and Abby picked out certain words like coroner and morgue. She got the impression there were legal obligations to be fulfilled. He made certain Abby had both his cell phone and office numbers in case she had questions and elicited a promise from her that she would keep in touch. He said, “I’ll let you know when the lab results are ready.”
She thanked him and ended the call quickly, set down the phone and cleared her throat. Composing herself, steeling herself. But Jake looked so beaten, so defeated and sad, it almost undid her. She went to him and held him, murmured things she would never remember, and then Kate came, and George, and the four of them huddled together, but Hank stood apart. Abby felt badly for him. “They didn’t find Sondra,” she told him. “She and Nick weren’t together, after all. We were mistaken.”
Hank didn’t say anything; no one did.
A frisson of unease snaked up her spine. “Oh, my God! Jake, I’m so sorry.” She took his hand. “I should have told you. I was going to, but you were so tired last night and I...When I was at the cabin yesterday, I found your dad’s jacket and I thought maybe he was—”
“I know.”
“What? How?” Abby looked at Kate. “You told him? That’s what all the whispering was in the kitchen, wasn’t it?”
Kate started to answer, but Jake talked over her. “I already knew, Mom. I heard you and Aunt Kate talking last night.”
Abby said she was sorry again, that she hadn’t meant for him to find out that way. “I thought your dad and Sondra were—I was wrong, though.” She laughed and put her fingertips to her mouth. Her relief didn’t feel right. She didn’t feel right. Her knees were weak. She wanted to sit down, but Jake was watching her with such—was it pity? Fear? Remorse? Something felt so off, so peculiar.
He said, “But if it’s Dad’s jacket—”
“It is.”
“Then how did it get there?”
“He knew Sondra,” Abby said. “She was working for Judge Payne when your dad filed the suit against Helix Belle, so I imagine they knew each other pretty well. He must have loaned it to her. It’s possible, isn’t it? Then I was thinking about when he came out here to Bandera last winter. Sondra might have come with him or met him there. I know Kate says she didn’t see her, but suppose when he mentioned the bit about property, he was referring to Sondra’s cabin? She told Hank she wanted to sell it, and maybe she hired your dad to look into doing that. She thought so much of him.” Abby stopped. She gave her head a slight shake. She wanted this to make sense, to come together, and it wouldn’t.
She glanced at Hank. He looked sick. Beyond hangover