Evidence of Life - By Barbara Taylor Sissel Page 0,96
even slept for a few hours on the sofa in the den. She didn’t bring Nick’s jacket inside until the next morning and it was when she was hanging it back up in the hall closet that she saw Lindsey’s pink-and-green striped hair ribbon, the one she’d tied at the end of her braid last April, lying on the closet floor.
Chapter 22
Abby ran the length of taffeta through her fingers. It was the same ribbon, wasn’t it? It was wrinkled as if it had been tied, then come loose and slipped off. Lindsey often lost her ribbons that way. But how had it come to be here, in the closet of all places? Abby parted the collection of jackets and sweaters; she fished through the assortment of shoes and boots on the floor. She didn’t know what she was searching for. She’d already done this once when she hunted for the checkbook that was in Nick’s jacket. If the ribbon had been here, she would have found it then, wouldn’t she?
The phone rang, the landline, and her head came up. Her heart hammered in her ears as she raced to the kitchen to answer it. But it was Joe, according to the Caller ID.
Still, she said hello, as if she had no idea who it was, and studied the ribbon in her hand.
They exchanged pleasantries, and then Joe said, “Abby, listen, there’s been a development, something I thought you should know, although I’m sure it’ll be all over the news shortly, if it isn’t already.”
Abby straightened. He was going to tell her Nick had done it; he’d stolen the money from those injured children. The sense of this snaked through her mind, vicious and cold. She closed her eyes.
“Adam Sandoval’s been found.”
“Dead?” Abby said and caught her lip because she wished it. She wanted it to be true. She couldn’t have said why.
“No, alive. He’s in jail, in Amsterdam. They didn’t like the look of his passport there when he went through customs, so they detained him. Then when they searched him, they found he was carrying nearly a quarter million in undeclared cash.”
“The money from the settlement.”
“Minus a few thousand, but, yeah, it’s mostly there. And it’s good, too, because eventually, it’ll come back into the fund to support those children. Nick’s winning that case, all his hard work, it won’t have been in vain after all, Abby.”
She pulled out the desk chair and sat, pressing her knuckles to her mouth.
“Abby? Did you hear me?”
She swallowed. “Yes, thank you, Joe. Thank you for letting me know.”
“No problem,” he said.
“Joe? Was Adam alone when he was arrested?”
“A woman was with him, his wife, I think.”
Or Sondra, Abby thought. Was it possible?
“Listen, we should get together soon. We’ll need to address the probate of Nick’s will and his equity share in the partnership. You’ll probably still want to consider working, but I think together with his life-insurance benefits, you’re going to be in a good position financially.” Joe paused.
He sounded so satisfied. Abby sensed he was waiting for her to voice her satisfaction, too, even her gratitude. It was as if what Nick had left was better than the man himself, as if he was worth more dead than alive. Abby toyed with the ribbon. Was it the one she had tied onto Lindsey’s braid? She held it up. She guessed it could as easily not be the one. She was going to have to watch herself, the tricks her mind might play.
“Well, I guess that’s it,” Joe said. “You’ll call if there’s anything I can do for you?”
Abby said she would; she thanked him again and hung up. She thought he probably knew about her trip with Hank into the Hill Country, why they’d gone, what they’d discovered, even though she hadn’t mentioned the circumstances. Abby imagined Nina would have found out about all of it somehow. Maybe, Abby thought, she should ask Nina how Nick’s jacket had managed to make its way to Sondra’s cabin. Maybe Nina had the answer.
But what difference did it make? Whether Abby ever knew or didn’t? It wouldn’t bring Lindsey or Nick back; it wouldn’t make the house payment, either. Resolutely, Abby stowed Lindsey’s ribbon in a desk drawer. She would have to find a job, and soon, but she couldn’t call on Hap again. Chances were he’d forgive her, but only after she explained, and she was sick of that. She felt as if the entire world knew her business.