Stranger in Town

CHAPTER 22





When I was sixteen, I was hired by a family on my street to watch their seven-year-old daughter, Anna. Both parents worked. And before I came along, I heard they’d left her alone from time to time while they ran what they liked to call “short” errands. But some of those errands lasted for hours. At least, that’s what the neighbors told my mother during one of their gossip sessions.

I was thrilled to earn some extra money, but developing a relationship with Anna was like trying to befriend a dog who wasn’t loyal to anyone but his owners. I couldn’t get her to talk to me. She wasn’t shy; it was like she didn’t trust anyone. I tried different things with her, even taking her to the movies once. In the middle of the show, she said she wanted more popcorn. She knew where the concession counter was, and hadn’t wanted me to come with her. So I sat there. Five minutes passed and then ten. I went to check on her and couldn’t find her anywhere. She wasn’t in the building. One of the workers said he’d filled up her popcorn and then she walked out of the movie theater. The feeling of fear that I had about losing her was more intense than anything I’d ever experienced in my entire life.

Anna had decided to walk home. I found her on a sidewalk a couple blocks away, cold and shaking. It took some convincing, but I finally managed to get her inside the car.

When we arrived back at Anna’s house, her father questioned her about why she left the theater without telling me. She wouldn’t answer, so he pulled her pants down in front of me, spanking her with his bare hand. I thought it would just be once, but then he did it again, this time becoming more enraged.

When Anna’s father raised his hand a third time, she looked at me, and in a trembling voice, she said my name. Up until then, I wasn’t even sure she knew what it was. She’d never said it before. I’ll never forget how she looked at me, like I was the only one in her life who understood what her life was like. And I did. Her father was a lot bigger than me, of course. But sometimes people underestimate how strong another person can be, especially once the adrenalin starts flowing. No one could stop me, not even him. I yanked her off his knee, tore out of the house with her in tow, and ran all the way to my house, both of us too terrified to look back until we got there.

I never babysat for Anna’s parents again, but I did tell my mother what had happened, and since she had been a victim of abuse herself during her marriage to my father, she had zero tolerance when it came to letting it happen to anyone else, especially when that person was a child. She tried to talk to Anna’s mother, and when that didn’t work, she made some phone calls. I didn’t see Anna again after that day. I asked my mom what had happened, and the only thing she said was she’d taken care of it: Anna was safe.

Some people shouldn’t have kids.

I thought about that as I watched the minutes tick by on the digital clock on the nightstand. I’d tried to sleep for hours, but I couldn’t quiet my mind. It was filled with the mental images I’d created of Olivia and Savannah and the sorrow I felt for what their families were going through.

The soft melody coming from my iPhone pulled me out of my thoughts. The time was now three-something in the morning. Only one of my eyes was functioning properly, so I couldn’t be sure of the time.

Maddie grunted in disgust. “Who calls at this hour?”

I didn’t move. Was the phone actually ringing?

Maddie chucked a pillow in my direction. “Are you going to answer it, or what?”

“Hello?” I said.

“Miss Monroe?”

“Who’s this?” I said.

“Noah Tate.”

But it didn’t sound like Mr. Tate at all.

“It’s early, Mr. Tate,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“No—it’s not. It’s my wife, Jane.”

As soon as he’d said his wife’s name, I knew everything wasn’t okay. I knew everything wasn’t going to be okay ever again. By the time Maddie and I parked at the hospital and went in, it was already too late. Jane Tate was dead. She’d woken up at some point in the night, taken about ten too many pills, and went back to sleep, this time for all eternity. Even if I did find Savannah, and even if she was still alive, their family wouldn’t ever be together. Not in this lifetime.

Mr. Tate came stumbling into the waiting room, his face pale and clammy. He looked right at me but didn’t see me. He acted like he didn’t see much of anything. Detective McCoy came around the corner, trying to console him, but it didn’t do much good.

I looked at Cade, who was seated in the waiting room. “Where’s Lily?”

He leaned over and whispered, “She’s fine. The nurses put her in one of the spare beds. She doesn’t have any idea what’s going on.”

I was grateful. She’d been through enough.

“Where is she?” I said.

“Four doors down on the right.”

I found Lily’s room and went inside, carefully closing the door behind me. She was curled up in the bed, asleep, a little stuffed unicorn tucked beneath her arm. If there was ever a time I wanted to shed tears for another human being, this was it. First her sister, and now her mother. I leaned over, kissing her on the cheek, and hoped she was still young enough to have a chance at a happy life.

When I returned to the waiting room, Cade was still there. “Look,” he said, “about what happened earlier. I’m sorry I—”

I touched his arm. “Don’t be. You were right.”

He looked at me, puzzled.

I handed him the plastic case. He took it without saying anything, opened it, and then gripped it so tight, his knuckles changed color.

Through gritted teeth, he said, “Are you trying to help this case or sabotage it?”

I remained silent. He didn’t.

“I’ve only known one other PI in my life, and they didn’t take cases like you do. They did fluffy stuff like follow a woman’s husband to see if he was cheatin’, so I honestly don’t know what’s going on here. But if you think you can show up in my town, and disrespect all that my father has done for this family, I’ll escort you back to Utah right now.”

Maddie started to get up from her chair but I shook my head. I deserved every word. Cade had a right to feel the way he did. I was mad at myself. My heart was in the right place, but he didn’t know me enough to understand who I was or what lengths I would go to in order to bring my client the justice they deserved. But right now wasn’t the right time to explain it.

I tilted my head toward the front door and Maddie got up.

Cade shook his head.

“You don’t have anything to say?”

I looked at him and whispered, “You’re right, about everything, and I understand.”