“His house, his cars, all his major possessions are owned by the company.” I looked up at her. “It’s like his father is still controlling him, and a large portion of his life, with money.”
I took in a deep breath. “I think he does control him. Maybe he uses the control to try and keep Brian in line. But I think it makes Brian angry …”
She regarded me fearfully. “And, you think he takes that anger out on Elizabeth.”
I closed my eyes as a shudder went through me. “Yes.”
“But there are no hospital records? Nothing showing a pattern of abuse?”
I shook my head. “Doctors can be bought off as well, Cecilia. They aren’t all like Daniel.”
“Oh, Joshua.” Her hand covered mine briefly. “You could be wrong; she could be fine,” her voice was kindly encouraging, but her eyes were troubled.
I looked away. I knew she wasn’t fine. I could feel it.
“What are those?” She indicated the three pictures I had of Rabbit in front of me.
“Look at the change, Cecilia.” I pushed the pictures towards her. “Look.”
She studied them quietly. “Quite the change, I agree.” She looked up, frowning. “You do realize the change could simply be her growing up, getting older, and that fact is being reflected in how she acts and appears, right? She is married to a very prominent person and I imagine she takes her role very seriously.”
I shook my head. “I’m not talking about the way she dresses. Look at her face. Her eyes. Look at her, Cecilia.”
Again, she studied the pictures. She nodded, looking at me with solemn eyes. “I see it,” she admitted quietly. “She looks … numb.”
I tapped my finger on the last picture. “That is not the woman I fell in love with. That person is a stranger.”
Cecilia smiled sadly. “What if the person you fell in love with is the stranger, Joshua? And the person in the photo is the real one?”
I shook my head. “No. Rabbit was real. I know her.”
Cecilia didn’t say anything. I didn’t know how to explain to her something I felt so strongly; I knew I was right. Rabbit was the real Elizabeth. The person in the picture was just someone who looked like her.
I sighed. “There was nothing in here about the car. I called Frank but only got his voicemail. Do you know anything about the car?”
Cecilia nodded and reached into her bag. “He got the name of the owner. It is a Tracy Allen. She has owned the car for just less than two years. She’s out of town but expected back later this week. He’ll speak with her when she gets home. I told him to dig into the history of it as well, and into Tracy’s background,” She shrugged. “It’s not a priority, but it could be something or nothing. But at this point, I thought it best to cover all the bases.”
She stood up, walking over to the sink and looked out the window. “Joshua,” her voice trailed off.
I stood up and went over to her. “What, Cecilia? What is it?”
She paused. “Joshua … Trevor and I didn’t like what we saw at the hotel that day. And … Daniel tried to contact Brian to check on her. All he got was his assistant telling him she was fine and it was not his concern. That didn’t sit well with any of us.”
I frowned, my stomach clenching.
“So, Trevor got Frank to have one of his men watch Rabbit. She hasn’t been out of the house much. Once to a medical office and a few walks around the grounds. But when he did see her, she appeared to be okay, physically.”
I sighed in relief and, reaching out, hugged her. “Fuck. That’s good, Cecilia. Thank you for doing that. Make sure you tell Frank, whatever he needs, it’s his. More men, more money, whatever. Do we know who the doctor is?”
“Frank is checking it out. It’s just going to take time. Our guy couldn’t get close enough without being seen. She wasn’t in there very long, though.”
I frowned. “She should have been checked over carefully. If he was on the up and up he should have had her examined meticulously. It’s just another red herring.” I shook my head. “What the fuck is he playing at, Cecilia?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, Joshua. I just don’t know.”
“Well, we need to find out. Now. This thing is all wrong. It’s all fucking wrong.” I paced in front of her. “I’m anxious to find out about the car; I have a feeling it’s one of the keys to this mystery.”
I pulled on my hair in frustration. “I want her safe, Cecilia. I need her safe. I fucked this up so badly,” my voice caught on the last word.
“What are you going to do, Joshua?”
I looked at her. “I was stupid, Cecilia. Fucking stupid. I invented an entire story to cover up Rabbit being here with me. He could have done the same thing. In fact, I’m sure he did. I was so overcome with the fact she was married, that I was taking her away from her life. I was so sure that I wasn’t what she needed; I stopped asking the right questions. Now, I’m going to make sure I know the story. All of it.”
“What if you’re wrong, Joshua?”
“If I’m wrong, I’ll back off and leave her alone. Unless she needs me.”
“And, if you’re right?”
“Then I’m bringing her home.”