Page 27 of Bring Them Home

“He’s a decent man. He was really good for our Abigail. Loved our daughter more than any father could hope for. She meant the world to him, yet even with his intention and promises, here we are eight years later, no closer to knowing what happened to her.”

“We can’t stop hoping that she’s alive,” Deborah put in.

“Which I completely understand.” Amanda didn’t know much about the case, but evidence must have suggested Abigail never left of her own free will. “Hoping and believing in a positive outcome never hurts.” A lie… It was one she swallowed and wished the Archers would.

“Yes, well…” Bruce said.

“I need to ask, how was your son’s marriage?” Amanda didn’t want to come outright and ask if they knew of any affairs. It was best their responses came organically.

The couple looked at each other, and Bruce gestured for his wife to answer.

“She was a wonderful mother but not always a supportive wife. Sounds horrible to say in light of her… well, being taken. I don’t wish her any harm.”

“But your son and her got along all right?” Amanda applied just a bit more pressure.

“About as well as most marriages,” Deborah said.

“Could you elaborate?” The woman’s answer hadn’t been clear, and everyone’s experience with matrimony differed.

“They had their moments, their arguments, but nothing major, I don’t think,” Deborah added.

It didn’t seem they knew anything about Phillip Daily, their daughter-in-law’s lover, or mention of him would have spilled out by now.

“They’ve been under a lot of stress with Landon’s health.” Deborah wiped her cheeks again.

“You might know that he’s battling leukemia, nearing the final stage,” Bruce said, putting this out there as if he were talking about someone he didn’t know.

“He needs a bone marrow transplant,” Deborah added.

“Except none of us are a match.” Bruce’s voice broke at that admission, as if he held it against himself that he couldn’t help his grandson.

“I’m sorry to hear all of this.” So that’s why he’s a long-term patient…

“He’s been in the hospital for the last few months.” Bruce told them this and the name of the hospital, which they already knew. “Deb and I usually visit him several times a week. We were just getting ready to do that now.”

“Usually?” Trent asked, beating Amanda to the same question.

“We were out of town last week and haven’t been in touch with anyone,” Bruce said, his voice fracturing.

“Have you spoken with Landon?” Deborah met Amanda’s gaze.

“We haven’t.”

“But he is all right? He wasn’t taken?” Deborah’s eyes widened.

“No, he wasn’t,” Amanda told her, relishing one small cause for celebration.

“Could we tell him then? We’ll work it in when the timing is right. He’s already going through enough without this.”

Deborah made a strong case, and Amanda appreciated the offer. It would relieve them of serving notice, but they might still need to try speaking to him if the investigation led them there. “Yes, of course.”

“Thank you. I think it would be best if he heard this from us.” It was Bruce who spoke up with the gratitude.

“Before we leave…” After ripping your hearts apart like a hurricane… “Do you know of anyone who has an issue with your son or his wife? Anyone who would have a reason to do any of this?”

“None.”

“Did they have financial problems?” Trent asked, pen in hand over a page in his notebook.