more: the vision of Windermere in all its glory or the knowledge that Paisley used to spend time here. A lot of time. But before I can dwell on either point, Caden surprises me again.
“We were engaged,” he says. “Most people don’t know that.” He stares down into his drink. Jake lets out a very human-sounding sigh and readjusts himself on the stable floor. “I’m getting tired of guarding our secret. And you’re not from around here, so.”
“I won’t tell,” I promise.
“I like you, Anna. I’m sorry about last Friday. I didn’t expect you to look so much like her. And those cookies …”
“What about the cookies?” My grip on the can tightens, and I’m glad to have something to hold on to.
“It was Zoe’s signature recipe, peanut butter with all sorts of fancy jellies and jams. She used to bake all the time.”
“Paisley suggested them,” I breathe, thinking of the pink index card among its yellowed companions in the Bellamys’ cream stone box. Zoe’s recipe.
“Sure, makes sense. I overreacted.” He reaches out to tap his can lightly against mine in a belated cheers. “No harm done.”
“So you were engaged?” I ask, steering the topic away from my witless blunder and back to Caden’s secret. A secret even Martina Green didn’t seem to uncover.
“Since the summer after high school,” he says. “Only my mother knew, and Zoe’s little sister, Aster.”
“We’ve met,” I say. “She was hanging out with Martina in town last week.”
Caden nods, then leans his head back against the stall door. A cloudy, unfocused look steals across his eyes. “It wasn’t like we didn’t want to tell people. After I proposed, after she said yes, I wanted to tell literally everyone. I thought I might explode with the secret. But we knew what people would think. We were so young, we still had four years of college ahead of us. We weren’t planning to get married until after we graduated. But still, we knew people would either judge us for it or place all these expectations on our relationship. So we kept it private.”
“Makes sense,” I say. “Is it hard now?” I flinch and grip the can until the metal dents. “Sorry, that was a brainless question. Of course it’s hard. What I mean is, do you wish people knew?”
“I think it’s better,” he says, the cloudy look gone from his eyes. He tilts the can back and drains the rest in one long gulp. “I’ve already been cast as the grieving boyfriend or the most likely suspect, depending on who you ask. If people knew we were engaged, it would only raise the stakes, aim even more attention my way. It’s like everyone’s sure she’s dead.”
“But you’re not?” I strain to keep my voice neutral.
“It’s just a hunch,” Caden says. “I don’t know any more than anyone else, no matter what Martina thinks. But we were together for a long time. I don’t have the first clue where Zoe went, or why. But if she were dead, I’d know. I’m sure of it.” Jake’s ears train back toward Caden, but he keeps his muzzle pressed between his paws.
There’s a sharp insistence to Caden’s words that cuts through the heartache. I drop my eyes to the stable floor. I want to believe him. That Zoe is still alive. That her disappearance is as much a mystery to Caden Talbot as it is to everyone else. I raise my eyes again, search for his, but he’s not looking at me anymore. His eyes are closed and his jaw is set in a hard line. A muscle in his left cheek twitches once.
TRANSCRIPT OF MISSING ZOE EPISODE FOUR: FAMILY TIES
[ELECTRONIC BACKGROUND MUSIC]
YOUNG MALE VOICE: The cops? Nah, never heard from them.
OLDER MALE VOICE: From the beginning, the police were nonchalant. They should have started looking right away.
YOUNG FEMALE VOICE: Maybe she has a whole new life, somewhere amazing.
[END BACKGROUND MUSIC]
MARTINA GREEN: Today, we’re back with the fourth episode of Missing Zoe. Sorry I ghosted you for a few weeks there. To say that arranging the interviews for this episode has been a challenge would be an understatement. I have so much respect for the Spanos family, and I absolutely understand their reservations about speaking in a public way about Zoe’s disappearance and the police investigation. But I’m glad they decided to participate in this conversation, and I’m so excited about what I have to share.
Today is Tuesday, March twenty-fourth, and it’s been twelve weeks to the day since Zoe disappeared.