Stranger in Town

CHAPTER 11





I dropped Maddie off at the hotel and unfolded a map of the town, spreading it out over the steering wheel in front of me. In months past, I’d thought about getting a GPS, or even using the map application I had on my iPhone. But ever since my grandfather had taught me how to use a printed map, I’d never been led astray. Besides, what people said about old habits was true—and most of mine were alive and well.

One sixty-eight Pinecone Avenue was the easiest house on the street to locate given the large green ribbons wrapped around a cluster of pine trees in the corner of the front yard. At the base of the trees photos, candles, and even a few weathered and worn teddy bears stood as a reminder that Olivia may have been gone, but she was not forgotten.

The shrine in Olivia’s yard reminded me of a trip I’d taken to Ground Zero a few months after nine eleven. Maybe I should have been scared to fly there, with the nation on high alert and all, but I wasn’t. I’d been afraid of few things in my life, and dying wasn’t one of them. The chain-link fence surrounding the area where the twin towers had once stood offered visitors a view of heaping dirt piles and broken concrete. The fence, an attraction of its own, had been covered with everything from flowers to poems written by compassionate people from all walks of life. But that wasn’t what I’d noticed most. It was the silence. The eerie, chilling silence—the kind of quiet hush that makes a person feel like they’re not alone in a room, even when they are.

“Can I help you?” said a female voice from behind me.

I turned to see a woman in a yellow dress. A knitted shawl was wrapped around her arms. The wrinkles around her eyes gave the appearance of someone much older than me, even though I guessed she was young enough to be my own daughter. Almost.

“Hello,” I said. “You must be Olivia’s mother.”

She nodded.

“My name is Kris. Who are you?”

Across the street I could see an older woman peeking at us through a lifted slat in her mini blinds. I imagined she thought I hadn’t noticed, but the constant bobbing up and down of the two-inch slat was a clear indicator we were being watched. And I guessed she wasn’t the only one watching.

“I wondered if I could talk to you for a few minutes about your daughter,” I said, turning back to Kris.

“Are you a—”

“Reporter or a cop? No.”

“Then who are you?”

Kris’s next-door neighbor turned on the outside water, grabbed the hose, and started watering a patch of flowers right next to the spot Kris and I were standing. I wondered if the neighbor realized how odd she looked sprinkling water onto flowers that looked like no amount of resuscitation could ever bring them back to life. It was obvious they hadn’t seen a drop of moisture in weeks. This didn’t seem to deter the woman who stared down at the crop like she expected a full recovery at any moment.

Kris smiled at her neighbor, but it was one of those strained half-smiles, the kind one woman gives to another woman they’re trying to avoid.

“How are you today, Sylvia?” Kris said to her neighbor.

Sylvia glanced over, shocked to see us standing there. “I’m well. Who’s your friend?”

I couldn’t help myself.

“Kris and I went to high school together,” I said. “I was passing through town and thought I’d stop by and see what she’s been up to lately.” I looked at Kris. “Why don’t we go inside?”

Once the door was closed, Kris said, “I don’t know how I feel about you lying to my neighbor. I don’t even know you.”

“It doesn’t take much to understand the women on this street have nothing better to do with their lives than to keep their nose in yours.” I stuck my hand out. “My name is Sloane Monroe. I’m a private investigator hired by Noah Tate. I believe you know him?”

Kris stood there looking at my hand, stunned by my revelation.

“It’s okay. He told me he talked to you. And I know about what he received in the mail.”

Kris walked to the sofa and sat down.

“So you are—looking for his daughter?” she said. “He said he was going to hire someone before taking the paper to the police. To be honest, I didn’t believe him.”

“I am looking for his daughter. And yours.”

“Mine? I don’t know what he told you, but if you’ve come here for money, I can’t—”

“I’m not here for money,” I said. “I just want to ask you a few questions.”

“Why do you want to help me?”

“There’s a good chance we’re dealing with the same kidnapper.”

“You know, I told Mr. Tate he needed to keep working with the police. I’ve been conflicted about whether or not to tell the authorities myself—it would help them find both our daughters, don’t you think?”

“I do,” I said. “I’ll be meeting with him in the next day or two, and I’ll be sure the detective who’s working on the case is apprised of the recent development. You have nothing to worry about.”

Kris seemed relieved. “How can I help you?”

I spent the next few minutes asking her the same questions she’d probably heard a thousand times before. The answers rolled off her tongue, requiring little to no thought. I wanted to tell her about Todd, but I hesitated. The truth would come out soon enough.

Although two years had passed, it had taken a noticeable toll on her. Her voice was soft, so much so that I had to ask her to repeat herself a few times. Kris was running on fumes, tired and worn out while the search persevered. She said she wrote a letter to Olivia every day, even though she didn’t know if she’d ever see her again. If she ever did, Kris wanted to make sure her daughter heard all the things she might have missed.

When Kris finished, I asked her if I could take a look at Olivia’s room. She rubbed the top of her fingernail so hard with the edge of her thumbnail; I thought she’d scratch the polish off.

“Is there something wrong?” I said. “If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to show it to me.”

“It’s just—her room doesn’t look like it used to, before the, well before.” She stood up. “Let me show you.”

I followed Kris to the bedroom expecting to find the things one normally does in a child’s room, but what I saw alarmed me. It looked a lot more like a hunting storage room than anything else. “This was Olivia’s room?”

From the looks of things, someone must have decided Olivia wasn’t coming back.

“Olivia’s dad has a lot of hunting stuff,” I said.

“Step-dad.”

“For how long?”

“Terrence and I married when Olivia was five, a year before she was taken.”

“But you and Olivia share the same last name,” I said.

She nodded.

“I didn’t take on Terrence’s last name when I married. I thought it would be confusing for Olivia, and he didn’t seem to mind.”

“What was their relationship like?”

She shrugged.

“It was all right.”

Her voice said all right, but her face said something else.

“So they got along?” I said.

“Olivia’s biological father never had much to do with her. It was hard on Terrence at first. He’s never had any children. But he tolerated her. They got along.”

Tolerated her? She was a child, not a dog.

“So the last name Hathaway. Is that—”

“My maiden name.”

“When did Terrence decide to turn Olivia’s room into a man cave?” I said.

“We didn’t have much room and—it wasn’t my idea. I wanted to keep it the same, just the way she left it.”

“And Terrence didn’t agree with you?”

“He said Olivia wasn’t coming back, and at some point, I had to accept it and move on. I guess this is his way of helping me.”

What a cold-blooded way to “help” someone.

“Where does Olivia’s father live now—her real one?”

Kris teared up for a moment, but then regained her composure. “I don’t know.”

“You said he wasn’t in her life much, but did she ever see him?” I said. “Are you sure he didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance?”

“That’s not possible.”

“But you just said you don’t know where he is. Have the police tried to find him?”

She shook her head.

“Why not?” I said.

“I don’t know where he is because I don’t know who he is.”

Kris braced her hand against the wall, steadying herself.

“Do you need to sit down?” I said.

She nodded. We returned to the living room.

“It was spring break,” she said. “I was in California with several of my girlfriends. It was crazy. I hung out with a few different guys while I was there, but I never knew any of their last names, only their first. A couple months after, I found out I was pregnant with Olivia.”

“I imagine you were shocked,” I said.

“I have a lot of regrets in my life, but Olivia wasn’t one of them.”

“How did your family react to the news?”

“My dad was upset at first, but once he got used to the idea, both of my parents were supportive. I lived with them until I met Terrence. I didn’t think anyone would marry me since I’d had a child under those circumstances, but then Terrence came along. He said he would marry me, but he didn’t want any kids. Of course, I already had Olivia, so he said that was fine, as long as we didn’t have any children together.”

“What about you—did you want more kids?” I said.

“When I was younger, I thought I’d have several kids. But at least I had one.”

“Did Terrence know how you felt?”

“I tried talking to him once. All he said was, ‘we made a deal.’”

A picture was forming in my mind of the type of guy Terrence was—it wasn’t pleasant. I didn’t know how she didn’t see it. But women with Kris’s meek personality rarely did. She talked about him like he was some kind of super-hero who showed up when she needed rescuing.

I asked Kris a few more questions, but learned nothing I didn’t already know. I stood up to leave, promising to get in touch with her if I found out anything new. Outside a black Dodge Ram drove by. It looked just like the one I’d seen in Evanston and then again at my hotel. The next time I saw it, I’d be ready.