No Time for Goodbye

Home > Other > No Time for Goodbye > Page 6
No Time for Goodbye Page 6

by Marion Myles


  “I’m not,” Mia said. “I don’t want any part of working with the police.”

  Molly slapped a hand on the table. The cutlery bounced off her plate and caused the family in the booth across from them to look over. “My baby girl is missing, and you two are going to find her. Roman, I don’t care what you have to do to clear this at work, but you do it, and you do it tomorrow.”

  “And you, Missy.” She turned to Mia. “You have a God-given gift. We’re all here on earth for a purpose. This is yours, so stop skulking around pretending you can’t do it. I know you can and you will. Life is short, and we only get one shot at it. Get on with living yours the best way you can.”

  Taking her napkin from her lap, Molly threw it over her plate and got to her feet in a move as smooth as any athlete. “I hope neither of you ever have to feel what it’s like to lose a child and in the worst way imaginable with no time to even say goodbye. Now, at least, you can bring her back to me.”

  Molly marched out of the diner, shoulders stiff and head high. She didn’t look back.

  * * *

  Mia wished she’d never had that stupid vision of Anita.

  She wanted to cry. Or scream. Or better yet, pack up all her stuff and the dogs right now and hit the road, not stopping until she’d put some serious miles between herself and the Mancini family.

  Roman sat, head bowed over his plate. “My mother has this irritating way of making me feel about ten years old again,” he grumbled. “We’re going to have to do it. Work together I mean. Once she has a bee in her bonnet, she won’t let up. Trust me on this. I’m only sorry you’re being dragged into it.”

  She sat quietly for a moment, worrying her fingers in her lap and biting her lip. “It’s not that I don’t want to help,” she said at last. “But I’m afraid she’s getting her hopes up for nothing. I can’t promise anything. That echo in the woods may be all I ever see of what happened to your sister. Not that it matters what I say since you think I’m a big fat liar anyway.”

  His head shook slowly back and forth. “I’m not saying I don’t believe, but being a police officer and all, I like proof. So far, you’ve cost the department a shit load of money on forensics and techs, and I still don’t have anything to work with. On top of that, I know damned well there’s something in your past you’re not too happy about us knowing, so it doesn’t make for a real buddy-buddy dynamic.”

  “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” She held out her hand. “If we really are going to work together, maybe we should call a truce?”

  “Yeah. Okay, fine.”

  He joined her hand with his and gave it a quick squeeze, but she didn’t let go when he released. Instead, she reached over with her left hand and sandwiched his in between her palms.

  He looked down, amused. “Is this like high school? Are we supposed to be going steady now?”

  “Something like that,” she murmured, closing her eyes.

  “No offense, Mia, but this is weird.” Roman struggled against her grip.

  “Shush,” she hissed, refusing to let go. Then a smile burst across her face, and she opened her eyes to his. “You went steady with Carly Francis when you were in tenth grade. She was your first serious girlfriend. You bribed your sister, Lina, to make peanut butter cookies. They were Carly’s favorite, and you told her you made them. You two went to the junior prom together. She wore a pink dress with puffy sleeves and sparkly silver sandals, and you bought her a wrist corsage with lilies of the valley and white carnations. She lived in a bungalow on Willow Street, and you used to climb up to the window and into her room to wait for her on nights she was working late. Oh…but…she left her diary out, and you read about the school camping trip the week before and…”

  Now Mia was the one trying to wrench her hand away, but he held fast, refusing to let her break contact. “Go on. Finish it.” Turning her gaze away, she shook her head. “Finish it,” he said again, this time his voice no more than a whisper.

  “Okay. Fine. On the camping trip, after everyone was asleep, she snuck off with Chris Monties and had sex with him in the forest. When you confronted her about it, she said she’d loved Chris for a long time. You were nothing more than a stand-in to make him jealous.” Mia blinked at him, eyes filled with regret. “It hurt you. Deeply. Even more when later she told everyone you’d treated her badly and then dumped her. Pride kept you from denying it. For the rest of the school year, all her friends shunned you. Every time you passed Chris in the hall, he gave you this smirky grin that made you want to smash his face in.”

  Eyes wide, he snatched his hand away and cradled it against his chest as though it were an injured baby bird. His breath heaved in and out while he sat staring at her.

  Mia shook her head. “I’m sorry. I thought it would be a happy memory. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

  Roman dropped his hands to the table and straightened in the seat. “Did my mother tell you that stuff about Carly?” he demanded, eyes hard.

  “What? No, of course not. Because of all your sneering comments, I wanted to show you that…well, I can see things.”

  Roman shook his head. “I don’t know what to think, but one thing’s for sure, you’re one scary lady.”

  She sighed. “I know. Story of my life. I won’t do it again, at least not on purpose. But I can’t promise details won’t come to me anyway because you’re very easy to read.” She paused and glanced away from his wary eyes. “I’m not saying I’ll help, but if I did, how would it work? Us looking for Anita, I mean.”

  “Um…” His fingers drummed on the table. “Let me think about it, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  “Fine.” Mia got to her feet and stared down at him. “I’d offer to shake hands but…” She gave the barest chuckle and lifted her shoulders in a shrug before turning and walking out of the diner.

  When she strode down the sidewalk toward her SUV, she passed the window where Roman sat, gazing at his hands still lying flat on the table. She almost felt sorry for him.

  Chapter Eight

  When Roman didn’t call the next day or the day after that, Mia figured he likely wasn’t going to. That was fine as far as she was concerned. She may have a soft spot for Molly and understood her deep grief for Anita, but there was something about being in proximity to Roman that gave her the feeling she was being constantly hit with low doses of electrical currents.

  And not in a good she’d-never-noticed-how-blue-the-sky-was kind of way. When he was around, she could almost believe she was coming down with the flu or some other debilitating illness. Her body seemed off, her mind mushy, and often times she had trouble catching her breath as if he was somehow stealing every last bit of air away from her. It was off-putting, to say the least. The thought of working with him for any length of time made her want to poke herself in the eye.

  In the comforting quiet of her home, she worked steadily on jewelry orders, determined to catch up after the distraction of Anita. Returning to normal was a relief, and she sank into the intricate work, especially the piece she was currently making. The client had sent a picture of a necklace worn by a celebrity at some red carpet event and wanted it replicated using crystals in place of the diamonds and emeralds.

  Mia had the framework set for the pyramid tier and had spent the last hour feeling her way through the stones, finding pieces that would fit in both size and shape, as well as on an energy level to suit the woman. It was demanding work. When the driveway monitor pinged on the kitchen counter, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed the knots from her hands.

  Her heart sank when she saw Roman’s black sedan turn into the parking area by the front door. If he’d made the effort to drive out, then he must actually be considering going through with this idea of them working together.

  She slipped the jewelry cutters into her back pocket and strode across the sunroom to open the screen door before he had a chance to knock. “Don’t worry about the dogs. They won’t hurt you,” she said when he pause
d on the threshold.

  He followed her toward the main door of the house and into the workroom where she gestured to the extra chair beside her table.

  “So,” he said. “I guess we should do this. Are you up for it?”

  Mia wanted to shake her head and send him on his way, but ever since the night at Gabe’s diner she’d been hearing Molly’s parting words in her head. And the truth was if she wanted to continue living the straight life and trying to establish herself in the community, these were the kinds of things she had to do.

  “Yeah, I’m up for it. Except I don’t want you running any background on me.”

  “What are you so afraid I’ll find? Are you hiding a felony? A family connection to the mafia? You know being all secretive only makes me more curious.”

  “My past is my business,” she said, staring him straight in the eye. “Tell you what, you don’t do any more poking into my background, and I won’t go poking into your mind. That seems fair.”

  He cocked his head. “You already promised you wouldn’t, so you can’t very well use it as a bargaining chip now.”

  “Yeah, well, things change. And when you consider it, I’m actually offering two things. To find your sister and to leave your private thoughts and memories private. Under the circumstances, I think I’m being pretty darned generous. Plus, I’d hate to imagine how mad your mother would be if I go to her and explain you were too much of a prick to work with.” She paused a beat and smiled sweetly. “Of course, I wouldn’t actually use the word prick, but she’d get the message all right.”

  “Wow, that’s cold.” When she only continued staring, he sighed. “Okay, I accept your terms. Now here’s mine. I’m not going to do this officially, at least not initially. It’ll be simpler if I don’t have to go through all the politics and red tape. I’m not keen on being laughed off the force right now.”

  “Yeah, I get how embarrassing it is to associate with me,” she said bitterly, all hint of teasing amusement gone from her voice.

  “Hey, Miss Huffy, climb down off your high horse. Cops are cops. We’re trained to work with facts—not feelings—and definitely not psychic visions or whatever you call what you do.”

  “Okay, I get it.” Holding her temper close to her heart, she breathed deeply and let it out in a long, slow exhale. “What’s the plan?”

  “I thought I’d fill you in on what I know, and you can see if you get any…I don’t know… inklings, or whatever. Unless you have a better idea?”

  “No.” She looked at her unfinished necklace and the dogs, shifting about uneasily, and then checked the time. “I suppose you mean now? It would’ve been nice if you’d called first. I’m kinda in the middle of things, and the dogs need a walk and their dinner.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t totally sure I was going to go through with it until I got out of my car in front of your house. How about this? Let’s walk the dogs. Once they’re fed maybe we can go out and get some dinner, and I’ll lay it out for you.”

  “Or,” she countered. “I throw something together, and we eat here. I don’t like leaving them, and this will be more private for talking.”

  He held up his hand. “Or you do your thing with the dogs, and I’ll go into town and pick up food and bring it back here. That way you don’t have to cook.”

  She studied his face for several seconds. “Is everything we do always going to involve a long, drawn-out negotiation?”

  “Can’t say for sure but it feels that way. Your pick. Pizza, Chinese, or something from Gabe’s Diner?”

  “Gabe’s Diner. I never did finish my food when we were in there the other night. I want an artichoke and beet salad and a veggie burger.”

  He gauged her expression, trying to decide if she was joking or not. “I didn’t even know he had that healthy crap on the menu.”

  Her smile was smug. “He doesn’t. At least not yet, but when I first went in there and told him what I wanted, he was happy to make it for me. He’s such a sweetie. I think he’s going to add it in the fall. Change things up.”

  “Okay. You want it, you got it.” He swung his keys around his thumb and smiled. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  An hour later, Roman and Mia sat at the bistro table in her kitchen nook with a mountain of food between them. “You got so much,” she said, eyeing the garlic bread, onion rings, and double order of potato wedges in addition to her entrée. His plate was heaped with a bacon cheeseburger and Caesar salad.

  “I felt a lot of pressure to make up for your dinner the other night, and we might be here awhile. Bon appetite.” Holding the burger firmly with both hands, he took a massive bite.

  They chewed in silence for several minutes. She noticed the dogs, even Mac, had accepted Roman’s presence as though it was a routine occurrence. It was odd since she never had anyone in her house for any length of time, but more especially, as a dinner guest. Not only had the pack relaxed into lounge mode, but Layla, the traitor, was sitting pressed up against Roman’s thigh.

  “You can move her away if it bothers you,” she said, pointing at the Labrador.

  “What?” Roman paused and glanced down. “Nah, I love dogs. If I didn’t work so much, I’d get one of my own. We always had them growing up.” He patted Layla’s head, and she positively preened under his hand as though receiving a great honor.

  This was wrong. Having him here in her house. Everyone getting cozy.

  “Should we get started?” she asked pointedly.

  Roman swallowed and wiped his mouth. “Sure. If you want.” He took a sip of beer. “Let’s see. Anita disappeared the day after the Fourth of July Fair at Carlton Park. It always used to be held then but after she…well, after what happened, the town moved the fair to the spring. Everyone felt it was disrespectful to celebrate when it was essentially the anniversary of her disappearance.”

  Roman swallowed and glanced away briefly before seeming to gather himself.

  “Anyway, Anita finished work at nine that night. She waitressed at Gabe’s Diner.” He looked over at Mia who nodded. “Gabriel said she talked to Mary, one of the other waitresses, for a couple of minutes then left sometime around nine fifteen on foot. A customer, Betty Warner, saw her walk by the window. It’s only about a ten-minute hike from there to my parents’ house. No one saw her after she went by the diner window.”

  “Were any of her personal items ever found?”

  “Nope. No cell. No purse. No nothing. All her friends and family were interviewed. None of the records show a call to or from Anita’s phone. Her credit card was never used again, and neither was her bank card.”

  “Where were you?”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Am I a suspect, Officer Reeves?”

  She held his gaze. “All I’m doing is trying to get a feel for the situation like you said.”

  “I’m sorry. It’s hard. Doing this again is harder than I thought it would be. I had a couple of days off from my summer construction job and went camping with friends at Lake Shadlock about an hour from here.”

  “You and your friend Jason took your girlfriends on a camping trip to get some alone time with the ladies since you were both living at home over the summer to save money. It was the first time you and Elyse…” Mia stopped, her face fire-engine red and slapped her palm against her forehead in frustration. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to look. It was right there. Please don’t be mad.”

  Very deliberately, Roman set his burger down and stared into her stricken eyes. “I’m starting to realize there’s no point in being pissed off about it. It’d be like blaming an eagle for flying too high. It’s completely natural for you, isn’t it?”

  Letting out a held breath, she slowly nodded her head. “I am sorry, though.”

  He jerked his shoulders and picked up the burger again, taking another bite. Mia followed suit and forked up a large piece of artichoke. Once Roman had washed the food down with a swallow of beer, he eyed her.

  �
��Was it always that way? Reading people, I mean. You must’ve killed it in high school. You’d have known the answers to the tests just by sitting next to the smartest kid in class. Not to mention all the secrets, and in that cutthroat teenage environment, knowledge is power.”

  “I didn’t really go to high school much,” she mumbled.

  “Hey, I get it, high school was hard on a lot of people,” he said, relieved to see her weak smile.

  “Anyway, back to Anita. What about her boyfriend? Did you look into him?”

  “Dr. Luke McNally? Sure, I checked him out same as the police did when it happened. He was a clean kid. Got good grades. In pre-med at Vanderbilt. He and Anita had been dating since she was sixteen. You already know all the jazz about the bracelet, so you get they were a solid couple. No cheating on either side. He was wrecked when it happened.”

  “And now, you still think he’s clear?”

  “Seems to be. He’s married with two kids. He and his father run one of the family doctor practices in town. He did hook up with Mandy kinda fast though. They were together by the end of the year Anita went missing. It was hard seeing that.”

  “I’ll bet. What about her? Could she have done something to Anita to get her out of the way?” When Roman simply frowned at her, Mia shrugged. “What? People do crazy things for love…or so I hear. Could be she’d been dreaming about Luke for years and went a little nuts.”

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look into her some more.”

  “What about other guys who might have been seriously crushing on Anita and wanted her for themselves?”

  “You’d have made a good cop,” Roman said with a smile. “Yeah, I thought of other guys but couldn’t come up with anything solid. Luke was literally her first boyfriend. None of her friends had stories of any guy hitting on her or anything. I guess we could look again.”

  “Do tourists normally come and stay during Fourth of July?”

 

‹ Prev