The Necklace

by Matt Witten

  Pappas noticed them too. On their way up the hall, he asked a passing Albany cop to look for Band-Aids.

  Inside the large conference room, a pot of coffee sat on a side table. Lynch poured for them all as Pappas began talking. Susan looked closely at his mouth. His bottom teeth were crooked, but they were white.

  “Ms. Lentigo, I’m afraid there was a sexual assault,” Pappas said. “There was physical trauma in her vaginal area.”

  Danny shook his head, appalled. “How could somebody even …? I mean, she was a kid.”

  Pappas shifted in his seat. “We’ll run further tests to determine exactly what happened.”

  Susan understood he was saying they’d look for semen. She had followed the O.J. trial a few years before, so she knew about DNA matching. She sat there with her mouth open in horror, unable to speak.

  Lenora asked, “Do you think it was Frank?”

  “We don’t know yet.”

  “Oh, good God,” Lenora said, agonized. Susan felt her now familiar urges: she wanted to both scream at her mom and comfort her.

  Danny put his hands on top of his head like he was trying to keep it from exploding. “Why did somebody drive Amy all the way to Vermont, to that river? Why there?”

  “That’s one of the things we’ll explore. It’s an important clue.”

  Susan finally found her voice. “When did she die?”

  “Nothing is official until the autopsy. But based on the state of rigor mortis and other factors, we’re safe in saying she’s been dead for quite a while. I believe she was killed on Friday evening, shortly after she was abducted.”

  Susan gave a small sigh of relief. This was the first “good” news she’d heard since Danny called her that night at Molly’s Diner. At least Amy’s suffering had been relatively short.

  But Danny wasn’t mollified. He said, once again, “Fucking motherfucker.” Then he wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

  Pappas said, “I know the three of you have already talked to the Luzerne police, and some of what you said has been relayed to me. But I’d like to hear it again from you personally. There’s always the chance I’ll pick up on something another law enforcement agency missed.” He looked at Susan as he asked, “Do you feel able to talk?”

  Susan, Lenora, and Danny all nodded. Susan found herself looking into this man’s eyes again. She decided she liked him. Nothing against Officer Lynch, who was solid, but this FBI agent seemed more caring.

  Hopefully, he’d also be really good at his job. She wanted Frank or whoever thrown in prison today—and fried as soon as possible.

  Pappas put his hand on the table. “Okay, I’d like to speak with you one at a time.”

  Susan frowned, confused. Lynch hadn’t done that. “Why one at a time?”

  “It’s the best way to get accurate memories. Otherwise, you might influence each other.”

  “Whatever you say, Agent Pappas,” Danny said.

  “Thank you. Who’d like to go first?”

  Susan immediately said, “I want to get it over with.” What she really wanted, she realized, was a break from Lenora and Danny. She was sick of her mom and she couldn’t bear looking in Danny’s eyes. Now that they knew for sure Amy was dead, Susan’s discomfort at being with Danny had resurfaced. It had been their job to keep their daughter safe, and they’d failed.

  Lynch stood up and told Danny and Lenora, “I’d be happy to take you down to the break room.”

  But Lenora didn’t move. She clearly had something to get off her chest. “We’ll talk all you want,” she said, “but I think the killer was someone we don’t even know. A total stranger.”

  “We told her not to talk to strangers,” Danny said, sounding pissed off. How can he be mad at Amy?! Susan wondered, then realized he was just being defensive. “We told her all the time.”

  Lenora said, “But she was such a nice, polite girl. It would be hard for her to just ignore somebody.”

  “You may be right,” Pappas said. “We’ll definitely investigate that possibility.”

  Lenora nodded vigorously, glad that Pappas seemed to be agreeing with her. “He was probably some sicko waiting outside the school, stalking the kids. He saw Amy standing by herself too close to the street and he got the urge to grab her. He didn’t even know we weren’t coming to pick her up, he just got lucky.”

  Susan knew her mom was desperate for it to be a stranger and not Frank. She’d feel a lot less guilty.

  But even if it is a stranger, Susan thought bitterly, it’s still Mom’s fault. If she’d done the right thing, Susan would have been there two days ago outside the school. Amy would still be alive.

  Pappas said to Lenora, “Again, what you’re suggesting is very possible. It’s far more common for kids to be abducted by someone they know, but of course there are plenty of exceptions. Now if you’d like to go downstairs with Officer Lynch, I’ll be with you soon.”

  Finally Lenora let herself be led away by Lynch. At the door, she took one last look back at her daughter. Susan knew Lenora was hoping for forgiveness, kindness, at least the hint of a smile. She sighed, irritated, and looked away. She couldn’t deal with Lenora right now. She needed to do everything she could to help this FBI agent.

  Danny nodded goodbye to Susan, avoiding her eyes the same way she was avoiding his, and left the room too. Susan took a deep breath and Pappas turned toward her.

  “Let’s take this from the beginning,” he said.

  She so did not want to relive this past week one more time, but she bit her lip and steeled herself. “Okay.”

  Pappas seemed to know what she was feeling. “Anytime you want a break, just let me know. Would you like me to get you a sandwich?”

  “No thanks. I’m not hungry.”

  “You sure? How about a chocolate bar? You need to keep your energy up.”

  She almost smiled at his solicitousness. “Okay, a chocolate bar.”

  Pappas went out to a vending machine somewhere and came back with two Kit Kats. Susan discovered she was actually starved and ate them voraciously.

  Then she told Pappas everything, from the beginning: how Frank creeped Amy out and Susan told Lenora that, and how Lenora left that phone message, and how Frank knew about picking locks. “I keep picturing in my mind the way Frank acted at the police station,” she said. “I can’t tell if he was acting guilty or not.”

  Pappas nodded. “Is there anybody else you think we should look into besides Frank?”

  Susan said bitterly, “My mom has an active social life. Frank isn’t the only guy I wasn’t wild about.”

  “Who were the others?”

  “Mark Lyman from Warrensburg and a guy named Ray Clarke from Lake George. We told Officer Lynch and he checked them out, but like you say, maybe he missed something.”

  “Right. We’ll look at them again and also talk with your mom about any other men she might know.” Pappas shifted in his seat. “Now I hate to ask, but, what about you?”

  Susan was confused. “What about me?”

  Pappas’s eyes hardened for a moment. “Are you seeing any other men?”

  She stared at him, embarrassed and annoyed. “Agent Pappas, I’m not seeing any men besides my husband.”

  He put up his hands to placate her. “I’m sorry to offend you, but I have to ask.”

  She shook her head and let out a breath. “Yeah, I guess you do. But the answer’s no.”

  Pappas nodded, then said, “Also, let me review your situation on Friday. You were at Molly’s the whole afternoon?”

  Oh my God, he’s thinking I could have hurt her? “Yes.”

  “And she’ll verify that?”

  “Yeah, of course.” Susan tried to remind herself these stupid questions were just part of the process. This guy with the caring eyes knew what he was doing.

  “What about your husband?”

  “Danny’s a real estate agent. He was in the office ’til around two thirty, then he went to a property that was having an open house th
e next day. He had to clean it up and get it ready.”

  Pappas frowned, looking puzzled. “Isn’t that the homeowner’s job?”

  “She’s in Florida, and Danny says she kind of has her head up her ass. There was a lot of mouse crap in the house, stuff like that.”

  Pappas nodded. “So how long was he there?”

  “’Til around seven thirty. Then he went to my mom’s house, looking for Amy.”

  “Can anybody verify he was there that whole time?”

  Susan could feel herself getting impatient again. “I’m sure his car was in the driveway, so if anyone went by, they saw it. But that house is at the top of the street, and it’s a little off in the woods, so …” She shrugged.

  Pappas raised his eyebrows slightly. “So your husband was up there by himself that whole time?”

  Susan had had enough. She put her hand on Pappas’s wrist. Immediately she felt funny, because it seemed like a very intimate gesture with just the two of them in the room. But still, she kept her hand there. “Officer, please don’t waste any more time. I promise you, my husband did not rape and kill our seven-year-old daughter. You need to find the man who did this.”

  Pappas looked at Susan and his eyes softened. She removed her hand from his wrist.

  “Ma’am,” he said, “my wife and I have two daughters. They’re six and eight years old.”

  He covered Susan’s hand with his own. “I’ll find that piece of shit scumbag or die trying.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, PRESENT DAY

  AS THE BUS pulled into the Buffalo station at one in the morning, Susan’s head buzzed with weariness and confusion. Thinking back, she was pretty sure now that the bearded guy at the Gloversville station had stolen her money. Maybe she should apologize for falsely accusing her fellow passengers.

  But she was too embarrassed, so she didn’t say anything to the driver or the other passengers as she got off the bus and retrieved her suitcase. They all looked at her furtively, not wanting to engage.

  She rolled the suitcase into the station and looked around. The bright lights assaulted her eyes and the place smelled of cleaning fluid. Hopeless-looking people of every age, race, and body type sat in the molded plastic chairs and waited. Lounging against the walls, in the corners, were several men with sharp, angular faces who looked as if they were hunting for prey. One guy with a big Adam’s apple watched Susan intently like he was coming up with a plan for what to do with her.

  She went up to the ticket area and saw a big poster that listed all the cities in New York that Greyhound serviced. Her eyes lit on “Tamarack.” But then she turned away, willing herself to forget about Danny.

  She found the schedule for the westbound bus, and saw it wouldn’t leave until nine a.m. Eight hours! What do I do ’til then? She had nowhere to go and she wasn’t just tired but starved. All she had to eat was the little baggie of peanuts, chocolate chips, and sweetened cranberries her mom had packed for her. She was dead broke except for maybe three dollars of loose change in her purse—

  “Excuse me,” a woman’s voice said behind her.

  She turned. It was a young woman from the bus with brown bangs almost down to her eyes, carrying a sleeping baby girl in her arms.

  “When’s your bus coming?” the woman said. She couldn’t be older than twenty.

  “Nine o’clock.”

  “Need a place to crash? I’m only five blocks from here.”

  Susan looked at her holding her baby and decided she trusted her. More or less. “Thank you.”

  As they walked toward the young woman’s apartment, Susan learned her name, Marla, and her baby’s name, Sophie. It turned out Marla worked at a diner too, just like Susan. After several blocks, they arrived at a strip club with a flashing red neon “Girls Girls Girls” sign.

  “Home sweet home,” Marla said. “I’m upstairs.”

  Susan wasn’t so sure she’d made the right move coming to this sleazy place with this girl. But she didn’t want to walk back to the bus station alone. They opened the front door and entered the club. Music was playing, some hip-hop hit Susan vaguely recognized, and a heavyset, big-breasted woman danced onstage, or at least swayed. The music woke Sophie up and she started to cry.

  There were only eight or nine customers this late on a Monday night. A big Filipino bouncer waved hi to Marla, then ignored her and Susan as they walked past the stripper and through the club. They headed into a dark back hallway and up a creaky flight of stairs, with Susan hauling her suitcase and Marla carrying her crying baby. “It’s okay, sweetie,” she cooed. “We’re almost home.”

  Marla unlocked the door and led Susan into a small studio apartment. As the red neon light flashed on and off through the window, Marla took Sophie straight into the kitchen area for milk and cookies. Soon the baby was quiet and cheerful. Watching them together, Susan decided maybe Marla and Sophie didn’t have such a bad life, despite where they were living.

  “Are you hungry too?” Marla asked.

  “Well …”

  Marla smiled. “That’s a yes, right? I’m starved. We’ve got Cheerios and raisins, if you’re good with that.”

  “Cheerios sounds great,” Susan said.

  The three of them settled around the table wolfing down cereal, raisins, and milk. Susan had never enjoyed a meal this much in her whole life.

  After Sophie’s initial hunger was sated, she began staring at Susan’s neck.

  “I think she likes your scarf,” Marla said.

  Susan took off the bright aqua scarf her mom had made and hid her face behind it. Then she lifted the scarf. “Peekaboo!”

  Sophie laughed, so Susan did it again. “Peekaboo!” Sophie laughed even harder.

  Susan wrapped the scarf around her head like a babushka and made a funny face, scrunching up her nose. Sophie gurgled with laughter.

  “She’s so cute,” Susan said.

  “You’re good with her.”

  Susan made another silly face for Sophie, getting more laughter. She enjoyed being with babies. It was hard for her being around girls who were older, like six or seven, but babies brought back sweet memories.

  “I’m a little worried she’s not talking yet,” Marla said.

  “How old is she?”

  “Fourteen months.”

  Susan waved her arm. “Oh relax, my girl didn’t talk ’til she was two. Then I couldn’t shut her up.” She said to the baby, “Aw, you sweet thing.”

  Sophie smiled happily. Marla said, “I feel like she understands what people are saying.”

  “You can tell she’s a smart girl. Look at those eyes—and these cute little fingers!” Susan said, taking Sophie’s hand.

  Marla watched Susan playing with the baby’s fingers. “Do you have any other kids?”

  Susan shook her head. “No. I couldn’t.” She left it at that, not wanting to burden Marla with the whole miscarriage story, and let Sophie grab her thumb.

  Marla said, “I can’t imagine what that would feel like, to …”

  “Don’t try. You and your daughter will have very good lives. I can feel it.”

  Marla put some raisins on a little plate for Sophie. “It’s hard right now. My boyfriend left town last month, and I haven’t heard from him yet.”

  “He sounds like a jerk. Maybe it’s better he’s gone.”

  Marla nodded uncertainly. “I just feel like people should be together.” She held out the box of raisins to Susan. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

  “Not really.” She put more raisins into her bowl. “I kinda don’t care.”

  “Are you still in love with your ex?”

  Susan gave a dubious laugh. She definitely had confused emotions about Danny, but she was pretty sure she wasn’t in love with him anymore. “He only lives a little bit west of here, but I haven’t seen him in years. I don’t know if he even knows about the execution.” She ate a spoonful of cereal. “The government was supposed to contact me, but they forgot. I just f
ound out from googling.”

  “You should call him and tell him. He should be there with you.”

  Susan felt a sudden tightness in her chest. She shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to admit she’d called Danny but hadn’t had the … the what, the courage? … to leave him a message. She ate another spoonful. “Oh my God, I totally forgot how delicious Cheerios and raisins are.”

  Susan, Marla, and Sophie all “got the sleepies,” as Marla put it, about five minutes later. Marla set her phone alarm for 8:20 for Susan’s benefit and put blankets on the sofa. “I hope this’ll be okay,” she said. “It’s a little lumpy.”

  “I’m good,” Susan said, and meant it.

  “I wish I had some money to give you.”

  Susan waved that off. “No worries. You’ve done enough.”

  “But how will you survive ’til Saturday?”

  Susan was too tired to worry about that now. “I’ll figure it out later.” She fell asleep almost as soon as she lay down.

  When she woke up, she didn’t remember where she was. She could tell she was lying on a sofa, so she thought she was in the back room at Molly’s. But then she looked over at the double bed where Marla and her baby were sleeping soundly, and she remembered everything.

  Marla lay on her back, with Sophie on her side facing her. They looked angelic together. Susan smiled, then looked up at the digital clock above the stove.

  8:47? What the hell happened to that phone alarm?!

  “Shit,” Susan said, and jumped up. She didn’t go to the bathroom, instead threw on her coat, scarf, and boots and grabbed her suitcase and purse. She looked back at Marla and Sophie, wanting to wake Marla up and say goodbye.

  But she didn’t have time. The bus left in thirteen minutes.

  She carried her suitcase to the door instead of rolling it, to make less noise. Then she quietly opened the door and started out.

  But she didn’t feel right. So she came back in, took off her aqua scarf, and laid it down on the kitchen table.

  Then she rushed out again, closing the door quietly behind her. She ran the five blocks to the bus station, dragging the suitcase and hoping she wouldn’t break the handle. When she got there, the clock on the wall said 9:01.