AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded and settled in, treading carefully.“You mention Charles is a businessman.”
She cocked her head.“Yes, we’ve discussed this.”
“He was a businessman who often traveled internationally.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then don’t you think it’s odd that no one has heard from him?Most people, especially jet-setting businessmen, they just don’t disappear into thin air, Grace.Not unless something is very wrong.”
“I told you something was wrong.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.He got mixed up in something.”
“Something like what?International tradecraft?”
“We’ve been over and over this,” she told me with a heavy sigh.“I don’t know.”
“This isn’t the movies, Grace.”
“I’m quite aware.”
“You mentioned Charles wanted to sell the house.Do you think he was hiding something?Financial problems, perhaps?”
“I don’t think it had anything to do with money.”
“No?Maybe that’s why he disappeared.Did the two of you argue about finances?”
“Just the usual stuff, I suppose.”
“Define the usual stuff.”
“Look—Charles never would have taken the children away from me.He never would have left Phillip.Not knowing he was in the hospital.Not knowing he was sick.”
“Then what explains his absence?”
“Like I said, I don’t know.”She got weepy, realizing she was backed into a corner.
“Try, Grace.What do you think happened to your family?”
“Something very bad.”
I played devil’s advocate.“It’s possible he got linked with something he wasn’t supposed to.People vanish every day, and it’s never as simple as everyone thinks.What if he got mixed up with something he shouldn’t have?”
“Then he would have told me.He wouldn’t have packed up and left.He wouldn’t have taken the children.”
“Let’s go back.Your neighbor reported hearing your argument.She told the police it was intense.In fact, she used the word brutal.”
“She’s mistaken.”
“So your argument was about his business?”
“Yes.”
“Specifically about his schedule?”
“Yes.”
