“Yeah, I have the same thing. It’s a jar of loose change.”
Ian ignored her comment. “It was gone around the time she disappeared.” He held up his hands right away to silence any comment. “Now, it could have been used for something else. I hadn’t checked it for a long time, and it’s possible Celia used it on a shopping trip or something. She did that sometimes. She’d go to Lexington or Cincinnati with her friends, her new friends, and they’d shop. If I complained about the credit card bills, she might get into the cash, so that could be it.”
“Or?”
“Or I don’t know,” he said. “A thousand dollars can’t take a person very far, but it’s enough to start a new life somewhere, isn’t it?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“Are you saying you think she ran away? That she’s not the victim of a crime?”
Jenna needed the wine. She needed water too, but she liked the wine more.
“We got a really good lead once. Somebody who followed the case online saw a woman in Chicago. Outside Chicago, actually, in some suburb. This person swore it was Celia, the so-called Diamond Mom. That’s what he called her, like she doesn’t have a real name. He even snapped a photo of her once at the mall.”
“Are you kidding?” Jenna felt an ache in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t touched the pizza and then she drank. And then the news. It was all making her feel a little sick.
Ian looked doubtful. “The police went and checked it out. They couldn’t find the woman who was supposed to be Celia. Maybe she’d moved on, or maybe the person who saw her was a kook.”
“Did you see the photo?”
“I did. It could have been Celia. But it could have been any one of a million middle-aged women with brown hair. The cops couldn’t prove anything. Nobody could. When the cops struck out, I hired a private investigator to look as well. He talked to people who knew this woman. She moved to town and then left pretty quickly. She said her name was Amelia something or other. She didn’t leave a trail, so the investigator couldn’t find anything. There’ve been a few other incidents like that. Not as promising as that one, but we followed up on them.”
“So crazy people think they see her,” Jenna said. “There are people who think they see Elvis in gas stations. People see Jesus on a potato chip. Do you think Celia would leave you? Okay, even if you guys were having trouble, would she leave Ursula? Her daughter, who is just entering the most vulnerable and important period of her life?”
Ian seemed to snap out of something, some memory trance and reflection he’d fallen into when he started talking. He picked up the beer and drank. “You’re right.”
“And why would she leave . . . I’m sorry, Ian, but why would she leave without the guy she was having a relationship with?”
“It’s okay. I’ve learned to discuss these painful things.” His smile looked more like a wince. “Maybe there was another guy, somewhere else. Maybe in another state. I guess I don’t know.”
“I’m sorry, Ian. I’m sorry for you and Ursula.”
“I think about this all the time and wonder if I want to believe these things the way someone would believe in a fairy tale. It’s just been so long now and nothing. And they found Holly Crenshaw so quickly. This isn’t a big community. People see things, they know people. How does something like this remain hidden for so long?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Benjamin Ludlow will lead to something.”
“Can you think of anything?” Ian asked. “Anything she said or did that might suggest . . . that might suggest anything? Anything besides this being a random crime?”
“Have you talked to her other friends? The ladies from the country club? The golf and bridge set?”
Jenna failed to keep the contempt out of her voice. What the heck? They were sharing secrets over pizza. Why hide how she felt?
“They didn’t know her well,” Ian said. “Not like you. I know you guys seemed to be drifting a little too, but you were always her closest friend. That could never change. If Celia didn’t open up to you about these relationships, it was because she feared your judgment. She knew you’d tell her the truth, and I don’t think she wanted to hear it.”
“What if there’s a killer on the loose? A serial killer like Reena said. Celia isn’t the only one.” The full weight of the idea settled on Jenna’s shoulders. “It’s terrifying, Ian. Who could ever have thought this would happen in Hawks Mill?”
He picked up the empty beer bottle and rose from his chair. He rinsed it out at the sink and then turned. “I need to get going. Jared will be home soon, and you have food waiting for him. I have to check in with Ursula.”
“You must worry about her a lot more now.”