“He is like that now, but he wasn’t always. In high school he could be funny. He partied like anyone else at times. He has a warmer side.”
“So did Celia, apparently. I saw that stuff on the news over the weekend.” Sally studied Jenna, waiting to see if she wanted to talk. When she didn’t say anything, Sally said, “I’m sorry you got dragged through the mud again.”
“It’s fine. I just didn’t know my best friend as well as I thought I did.”
“Hey, who knows anyone as well as they think they do? Derrick, my oldest, he called me over the weekend. His whole family is converting to Catholicism. The whole family.”
Jenna was only half paying attention. She saw her conversation and contact with Ian through Sally’s eyes, through the eyes of anyone else in town. No, it might not look right, even if they were old friends. Even when things with Marty were at their worst, their most unfulfilling, she never cheated. Not that she had a lot of choices as the stay-at-home mother of a four-year-old boy. But how far she’d come, how much more confidence she possessed about her own place in the world.
“Do you have time for a drink?” Sally asked.
Jenna came back to the conversation. “A drink? No, I should get home. Jared and I had a rough patch over the weekend. I feel like I should be there. And his girlfriend dumped him.”
“No way. That little bitch. And after she mounted him that way? Got him all stirred up?” Sally offered a sympathetic smile. “Those poor boys. They never talk about their feelings, but when they get hurt, look out. There’s a well of emotion just waiting to come out.”
“I know. He was really into this girl, I think. It’s a long story.”
“Maybe that’s what’s going on with your gentleman caller,” Sally said.
“What do you mean?”
“Celia’s husband. He’s hurting. His heart’s broken. The disappearance. The affair. Hell, the guy’s been crushed. He probably sees you as someone he can open up to. An old friend, right?”
Sally’s logical explanation disappointed her a little. Disappointed because it made sense.
“Maybe,” Jenna said. “You’re probably right.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
When she came in the door, Jared was at the kitchen table, doing his homework. He had books and papers spread all over and headphones covering his ears. He slipped them off when he saw her and offered a small smile.
He still looked as if someone had run over his puppy.
“How’s it going?” she asked, trying not to sound falsely chipper.
“I’m fine.”
“I thought I’d make spaghetti. Are you hungry?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
“Clear your stuff and I’ll get it going.”
He ate quickly and didn’t say much. Jenna wanted to give him his space, let him lick his wounds over being dumped by Tabitha. Jared was more outgoing than Marty, better able to express himself and open up. It was likely a consequence of growing up with a single mom. She edged toward bringing up the elephant in the room rather than ignoring it, but before she said anything, Jared spoke up.
“So Celia was really having an affair before she disappeared?” he asked.
“It looks that way.”
“And she kept it hidden from everybody?”
“People usually hide affairs.” Jenna pushed the food around on her plate. At least he was talking. Not what she wanted to talk about, but at least the boy was talking. “For all I know, she has friends who knew. Just because we were close for a lot of years doesn’t mean I knew everything about her.”
“Yeah.” He nodded as though he were listening to music. He wasn’t. The headphones were off. Jenna could tell he was absorbing the knowledge about Celia, processing it, learning some things about the adult world. “And this weird, random guy shows up trying to pawn her earring?”
“He’s a suspect,” Jenna said. “Or he might be. We went to high school with him.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. He was a total oddball back then. Just thinking about the way he used to creep around the school in his army jacket makes my skin crawl. Even after all these years. I need to call Detective Poole and see if they’ve learned anything.”
“I guess it takes a lot of trust to be in a relationship.”
“It does.” She twirled spaghetti on her plate. “Do you think you trusted Tabitha that much?”
He grew defensive. “She didn’t betray my trust.”
“I didn’t say she did.” They ate in silence for a few minutes. “Who am I to talk? I don’t think I’ve ever trusted a man that much in a relationship. Not your dad. Not anybody else.”
Jared looked up, his face showing surprise. And not just at the content of the revelation, but also the raw nature of it. They were moving into that territory where parent and child found themselves standing on the same level for a short time, sharing the same view. It could be invigorating and unnerving for both parties.
“I just thought Tabitha and I would go on and be together. For a while. And you know what the really frustrating part is?”
“What?”