AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you know where?” she continued. “No? Do you know if she got married before leaving?” She scribbled something illegible on the paper. “Okay, well, is there anything else you can remember that might help my friend and his grandpa?”
Another moment passed, then Carly said, “Thank you very much, Mrs. Martin.” She hung up and wrote down another sentence on the paper.
“Well?” Anita asked, too impatient to wait. “What did she say?”
Carly lifted her gaze. “She said she knew a Susan Martin who used to work at a grocery store. She moved away, though, when they were about twenty years old. If it really was the Susan we’re looking for, she didn’t marry before leaving Carson, Nevada.”
Wyatt frowned. “That might make things easier—if we don’t have to figure out her married name. But Gramps said she was engaged the last he heard, so she must have ended up somewhere with a husband.”
“Let’s keep calling,” Anita said. “We at least have more information now to work with.”
Over the next hour, they made several phone calls, until they hit the jackpot. Almost literally.
“Jack Martin,” Anita said, pointing to the next name on the list. “He’s been in that town for thirty years.”
“Born there?” Wyatt asked.
“Maybe . . .”
“Could be a nephew.” He began to dial the number.
She listened as Wyatt introduced himself, and then his eyes widened. He grabbed the pencil and began to write. “You’re saying that Susan Martin is your aunt?” He paused, his gaze shifting to Anita and Carly, then back to the notebook. “Where is she now?”
Wyatt closed his eyes as he listened to Jack’s reply.
Anita wished she could hear what he was saying, but all she could hear was his murmured voice.
Wyatt opened his eyes and began to write more things down. “Do you happen to have her address? Or phone number?”
Anita’s mind spun. Susan was alive and reachable. Amazement and gratitude flooded through her. What would it be like when they told Mr. Davis?
Moments later, Wyatt hung up. He drew in a slow breath, then said, “Susan is in Medford, Oregon.”
“Where the postcard came from?”
He nodded. “She’s living with her daughter, Lila. She divorced a long time ago, I guess.”
“So she did marry...” Anita cleared her throat. “How’s her health?”
A line appeared between Wyatt’s brows. “Her nephew said that she is healthy physically, but she’s had some mental struggles. She’s basically a recluse. She’s agoraphobic and doesn’t leave the house.”
Anita said nothing, but Carly’s brows popped up. “Why won’t she leave the house?”
“It’s part of a mental illness,” Wyatt said.
“Maybe something bad happened to her?” Carly suggested. “To make her afraid?”
“I honestly don’t know a lot about agoraphobia,” he said.
“I don’t either,” Anita said. “Did her nephew say anything else?”
“Yeah.” Wyatt tapped the paper. “He said I could call her. Maybe introduce myself before I give any information to Gramps. Test the waters, so to speak.”
“Do you think she wants to be contacted?” Anita asked.
“It’s hard to say.” He retraced the phone number with his pencil. “She did send that postcard.”
“With no return address.” Anita hesitated. “Does she have any other issues, like dementia?”
