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Just when they might get more information out of Madden, they’re having me leave. I thought I was supposed to be her trustworthy support system.
FORTY
TUESDAY, JUNE 13TH 1:30 PM
I lucked out in finding a street parking spot outside of the wharf and have been sitting in my car for the last ninety minutes, making notes on everything that was said during the meeting. Not enough questions were asked, at least not while I was there. If their objective is to prove Madden is innocent, I’m not sure they have enough proof. It’s hard to tell what the purpose of me being there really was. I hardly spoke. I wonder if they were interested in watching Madden’s body language toward me, thinking it would help them unearth a significant answer that could help with the defense.
I would love to know if someone has pulled up a birth certificate for Fallon or found any other photographs of her aside from the one family portrait they have when she was a newborn. There are so many loose ends to all of this, but I know I’m not privy to that level of the investigation findings.
I close my notebook and slide it between the center console and the passenger seat before grabbing my purse and heading toward the sandwich shop where Liam and I have plans to meet.
With the weather a bit cooler today, it seems like a good excuse to wear a hooded sweatshirt and oversized sunglasses towalk down the wharf. At least there aren’t any news reporters here today, or not yet.
Until now, I haven’t given much thought about how long a search party lasts before it dwindles, and people begin to come to terms with the unlikelihood of recovering a missing person. Maybe it’s just the media that switches to another topic and the investigation continues far beyond what most people realize. If the family didn’t despise me, I would be out looking too. Maybe I should just do so on my own. All I know is that I wouldn’t be able to give up if it was my child and I wouldn’t be at home while people were searching for her unless I knew for sure she was gone. If they think Fallon drowned, there is still a body somewhere. They need to find her.
A spine-twisting chill rattles through me with the thought of a baby’s body washing up onto a shore.
While swallowing the tense knot in my throat, I spot Liam sitting at a wrought-iron table with an ocean blue umbrella opened overhead. He’s in a tropical button-down shirt, jeans, and loafers—possibly his celebratory outfit for the first day of summer vacation. I remove my hood to make myself less inconspicuous, allowing him to notice me right away. “Hey, you,” he says, his vibe chipper and uplifting as he stands to greet me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
He smells like spiced coconut again, and it might just be my new favorite scent. I remove my sunglasses and try to perk myself up a bit, so I don’t look like I’ve been watching a little girl’s life fall apart at the courthouse for the last couple of hours.
“Oh, I’m so glad we got to have lunch today. It’s been a long couple of days, but you’re done with school for the summer now, right?”
He holds his arms out to the side and spins around. “Does the outfit convince you?” He chuckles.
“If I had known that was a thing, I would have found something tropical to wear after I took my last final yesterday.” Instead, I could pass for being dressed for winter.
“Well, not to worry because we have all summer for tropical things,” he says, pulling out a chair for me.
I’d like to think so.
“So, did you pull theold teacher moveand watch a lame movie this morning for the final three hours?” I ask with a snicker, teasing him as we both settle into our seats.
“Hey now!” He shuffles a napkin across the table toward me. “I am not one ofthoseteachers. We played music trivia.”
I sigh to relinquish my insult. “Well, that’s not the most boring thing, I suppose.”
“And you? I’m afraid to ask what you’ve been up to since I saw you the other night.” He folds his arms down on the tabletop and leans in toward me as if whatever I might say should be kept quiet.
I huff and take the stray napkin to fiddle with while I talk. “A lot, but to make a long story short…let’s just say Lara has deeply incriminated herself. She and her husband are both currently detained. Madden, one of the twins, is with a social worker, and the other, Blakely, is at a friend’s house. There are still no discoveries on the baby, though.”
Liam shakes his head and plucks at a loose laminated corner of the menu. “That’s ridiculous. I’m happy the spotlight is off you obviously, but it’s awful to think about what those poor kids are going through.”
I take the other menu, wanting nothing more than to focus my attention on the list of sandwiches. “Let’s talk about something else today. Like…tell me your life story. I need to know more about you.”
Liam releases the flap of the menu from between his pinched fingers and glances up at me with a raised brow. “My life’sstory?” He crosses his arms over his chest and leans back as if to get comfortable. “Okay, but this might take a while.” His smirk says otherwise, but I’ll go with it.
“I have time,” I reply, leaning back into my seat too.
“Okay, but…” he says, pointing at me, “for every bullet point of my life’s story, you have to do the same in return, deal?”
I smile and set the menu down on the table. “Deal.”
“Many moons ago…”
I tilt my head to the side and smile. “Come on, the real story…”
He readjusts his posture and straightens his T-shirt. “Okay, okay. I think I mentioned that I grew up in the area. I had a typical upbringing for the most part.” He pauses for a moment and tilts his head to the side like something just made him uncomfortable. “My dad passed away when I was seventeen and my mom passed away five years ago. A heart attack and cancer.”
