The Last to See Her

by Courtney Evan Tate

  She’d actually considered smothering him in his sleep.

  It would have served him right.

  In some Middle Eastern countries, she was pretty sure that women could get stoned to death for adultery. It was only fair that Thad suffer the same fate, right?

  But then, then... She lowered the pillow.

  That simply wasn’t her, and from all appearances, she was wrong. He wasn’t unfaithful. He had a good story for the mail girl, and it seemed impossible that he’d been in the park when she thought she’d seen him. Why, then, was her gut screaming so loudly at her?

  Something occurred to her.

  Thad was smart. Brilliant, actually. Perhaps he’d seen her in the park, too. Perhaps he’d rushed to leave, and so Meg hadn’t seen him there? Just because he had said he was at their condo, didn’t mean he was. Saying something didn’t make it true. If he’d known that she was in the park, he could’ve simply said he was at home, assuming full well that she couldn’t tell the difference.

  She’d investigate.

  She’d figure this out.

  She’d allow him to think that she wasn’t suspicious, and she’d find out the truth. If there was something to find out, she’d discover it.

  She could lure him into a trap, where she could capture evidence of his unfaithfulness, and with it, the truth.

  Her blood pulsed even now, fueled by that purpose. To discover the identity of her husband’s lover, and to find enough evidence so that she could get more in court. He deserved to have everything taken from him. It was only right. It was only fitting.

  When Thad had gotten up for work, Gen shuddered at the thought of kissing him goodbye, so she made sure she was in the shower when he left. As soon as the door closed behind him, she was going through his desk, hunting for anything.

  There wasn’t anything amiss.

  She checked the drawers, his pockets, his iPad, his email.

  Nothing.

  She searched his closet and his golf bag.

  Nothing.

  She searched everywhere she could think of and couldn’t find a single thing that indicated there was another woman. Not one thing.

  She slid to the floor in the hallway and stared at the wall.

  Was it possible that she’d misinterpreted the interaction in the park?

  Was it possible that he wasn’t seeing anyone?

  She went over the memory again in her head. It hadn’t changed. He had cupped the woman’s face.

  With a start, she realized that she hadn’t checked the phone bill yet. She pulled it up online and studied it. Nothing amiss, but he did have a business phone he could use. She didn’t have access to that bill.

  Still, though, despite the absence of compelling evidence here in her hands, she knew without a doubt that her husband had cheated. She felt it down into her bones.

  She had such a bad taste in her mouth that she left her wedding ring on the nightstand, and later when Thad finally came home, he didn’t even notice. She kept her hand in conspicuous places, and he still didn’t even blink.

  “What have you been doing lately for lunches?” she asked as casually as she could. Thad didn’t even flinch.

  “You mean aside from yesterday?” he grinned at her. “I’ve been working through most of them, or having Angie pick something up when she goes out.”

  “Is Angie new?” Gen asked. “What happened to Staci?”

  “She decided not to come back after her maternity leave,” Thad said, and he seemed almost annoyed. How dare a family get in the way of work?

  “Angie’s been there for months. I’m sure I’ve mentioned her.”

  But he hadn’t. Gen was certain of that.

  When Thad was in the shower, she slipped into the bedroom and retrieved his phone. Leaning against the side of the bed, she went through it. Texts, emails, photos. She’d expected to see a selfie of him and a woman, something he’d forgotten to delete.

  But there was nothing.

  Was he really this good at hiding things? At lying?

  Or was she wrong?

  She put his phone back and pulled on a long cotton nightgown.

  She glanced at her wedding ring and sighed, putting it back on.

  She went to bed, turned off the lamp and was asleep long before Thad came to bed.

  25

  Meg, Now

  Meg flicked her hair out of her face as she studied a map of Central Park. Maybe Gen had gotten curious and wanted to explore. Her sister had never been one to think about consequences. It’s possible that she had inadvertently wandered into danger in the night.

  She narrowed her eyes in concentration. Eight hundred and forty acres that Gen could’ve gotten lost and abducted in. As she thought, she remembered Gen’s cell phone sitting in the detective’s desk. She grabbed her own.

  He answered on the first ring.

  “Yeah?”

  “Nice,” she said wryly. “Hey. Who were the last phone calls on Gen’s phone?”

  “You planning a new line of work?” Hawk asked, and she could almost hear the humor in it. “I’m the detective here.”

  “So you already checked?” she guessed.

  “Of course.”

  “And? Anything interesting?”

  “Not really. A few calls to her editor, a few to you, one to her agent and a few to Thad.”

  “Thad?” Meg asked. “Are you sure? She didn’t want anything to do with him. They only spoke through their attorneys.”

  “I’m quite sure. It’s her husband’s phone number. Let me see here... Several earlier in the month, and then two in the two weeks leading up to now.”

  Meg shook her head. “That’s not right.”

  “Meghan, it’s right. One call was for seven minutes, and the other was for twelve.”

  “What the hell? She didn’t want to even hear his name, much less his voice. This is very odd,” Meg said slowly.

  “Anyway. I already told you more than I should have,” Hawk said, bringing the conversation to an end.

  “Thank you,” Meg replied, and she hung up. Standing, she paced the length of the room, then again before she dialed another number.

  Meg let it ring a few times before Thad finally picked up right before she was going to give up.

  Meg knew him. Thad was far too intelligent to hurt Genevieve. But what if he’d hired someone?

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” Thad asked, as a greeting, his voice calm and sure. She would soon find out that he was already in the city and had checked into her very hotel.

  His greeting annoyed Meg to no end. “My sister is still missing,” she snapped.

  “I’m aware,” he answered.

  “Have you always been this much of a dick?” she asked.

  “I’ve been told so quite often lately.”

  She paused. “Thad, are you somehow involved in this?”

  He was silent, the quiet so pregnant that Meg could feel it through the cellular waves.

  “No.”

  “I don’t know if I should believe you.”

  “That’s your problem,” he pointed out.

  “I don’t know if I can believe anything you say.”

  “Why? Have I ever lied to you? Have I ever broken a promise?”

  “You’re scaring me right now,” she whispered. “You don’t seem like yourself. You seem so calm. Too calm.”

  It hadn’t occurred to Meg before this very moment that he could well and truly be involved.

  “Of course I didn’t have anything to do with this. I’m not stupid.”

  She was silent, and he chuckled, his laughter a sharp edge.

  “You’re right, though. I guess if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

  He actually laughed.

  The hair on Meg’s neck rose up.<
br />
  “I thought she might be exaggerating about you. About the way you didn’t seem to care. We all exaggerate about our spouses.”

  “We all see things from our own point of view,” Thad corrected her. “So whatever she said I’m sure wasn’t an exaggeration. It was simply her opinion. I have my own, too. About your sister, and about you.”

  “Are you really this cruel?” Meg demanded. “I guess I just never saw this side of you.”

  Thad stayed silent.

  Meg was flabbergasted. “You were with her for...how many years? Seven? Surely you are concerned for her.”

  “I don’t know that it’s your business what I do or don’t feel,” he replied. “And I’m not worrying about Gen. She and I are no longer a part of each other’s lives.”

  She drew in a shaky breath, amazed at his cavalier attitude. “What were you and Gen talking about on the phone? The detective mentioned that you had spoken with her on the phone a couple of times in the last couple of weeks. I didn’t know she was talking to you at all.”

  “I’m not sure that it’s your concern,” he answered. “But it was simply divorce issues. She was stalling with signing the papers. I wanted to know why. Why do you ask? Do you think we got soft and wanted to stay together? Were you jealous?”

  Meg’s skin almost crawled, even though she knew he was baiting her. He was trying to get a reaction.

  “Thad, I think this goes without saying, but no one can ever know.”

  He had the audacity to laugh.

  “Meghan, your sister and I are divorcing. I have no desire to be caught up in family drama.”

  “It’s more than family drama at this point,” she snapped. “My sister is missing. I was the last one with her, and I slept with her husband. I’m not proud of it, and I hate myself for it, but the police won’t know that. All they’ll see is a motive.”

  “Then stop calling me,” he suggested. “Or can you not help yourself? Do you dream about me, Meggie? You can’t help yourself, can you?” His voice had turned silken, the way it had in the night she’d spent with him.

  She closed her eyes, trying to forget how she’d loved the firm way he’d handled her, the confident way he’d stroked her thighs and brought her to orgasm. He was so sure about everything he did, so arrogant, almost, and it had sucked her in. Her own husband was so traditional, always missionary style, didn’t really know how to please a woman in bed. He was laissez-faire. She had gotten weary of always making the decisions, of always being the strong one.

  She’d messed up.

  It was one night. One drunken night. And she could never take it back, never erase it.

  “Don’t say that,” she whispered.

  “But it’s true, isn’t it? You want me even still.”

  “Goodbye, Thad,” she said, her words stilted.

  She hung up, listening to him laugh as she did, and felt sick to her stomach.

  She’d slept with her sister’s husband. That made her a monster.

  She stepped into the shower, turned the water on hot and scrubbed as long as she could, until her skin was pink and raw.

  But no matter what, the guilt remained.

  26

  Gen, Then

  “I need to know,” Gen told the man sitting in front of her. “It might sound silly, but I know something is going on, and I need answers.”

  “I’ll find out for you,” Jenkins, the private investigator, said, gulping at his coffee. His shirt wasn’t crisp, but it was still a button-up, which was sort of professional. Gen stared at him.

  “What’s the likelihood of getting the truth?” she asked.

  He smiled.

  “One hundred percent, if you’re willing to spend the money to do it.”

  “I’m willing,” she said quickly. “Whatever it takes.”

  “Don’t tip your hand to him,” Jenkins told her. “Do not let him know that you suspect. So no questions, no nothing. You got it?”

  He was firm, and no-nonsense. He must see this stuff all the time.

  “How many cheating husbands have you seen in your lifetime?” she asked, and her belly was heavy.

  “Too many to count, and wives, too.” He shook his head. “Ain’t no one exempt from it. Not a one. But trust me on this, every one of them slips up sometime. And now that you’ve hired me, I’ll be there waiting for it.”

  It actually made her feel better, in a sick way. She was bringing someone into the most personal areas of their lives, with the sole intention of trapping her husband, of finding out something she really didn’t want to know.

  But she had to know.

  And it made her feel better.

  “Jenkins, I’ll make up a new email account for you to email me things. Pictures, whatever. I don’t want him to know about it.”

  “Smart,” he agreed. “And I’ll start today. Send me a list of the places you know he likes to go. He probably won’t take another woman to them, but you never know. Some of the more ballsier ones do.”

  “Thad is ballsy,” she told him. “Always has been.”

  Jenkins, with his combed graying hair, leaned forward and put his hand on hers. “Listen, Mrs. Thibault, if he’s stepping out on you, I’ll find it. And I’ll get you the proof. You can take him for everything he has.”

  Gen knew that wouldn’t fix the sense of betrayal she felt, the wide wounded chasm in her heart, but she nodded anyway.

  “Thank you,” she said simply.

  “Now, remember, and this is important,” Jenkins said, his faded blue eyes serious. “Act normally. He needs to think that you know nothing. Otherwise, he’ll cover his tracks even better.”

  She nodded and Jenkins left. She paid the check for both of them. She’d better get used to paying his expenses anyway. He was the best at what he did, and his prices reflected it.

  She thought about what the private detective had said, and picked up her phone.

  I miss you, she sent her husband. She added a heart emoji.

  She hadn’t sent him a random sweet text for a long time, and she was distracted for a minute, thinking about that, trying to remember how long. Maybe she’d given up on their marriage, too. Maybe this wasn’t all Thad’s fault. After all, she had realized that she’d literally lost some respect for him.

  Stop it, she told herself. While it was true that she had maybe been sidetracked with her work, so was he. And no matter what, she hadn’t stepped out on him. Adultery was a choice, and if he’d made that decision, he was in the wrong. Not her. He could’ve come to her at any time, and said he was unhappy, that he felt neglected. She knew herself. She would’ve been open to working harder at their marriage.

  But if he’d cheated, he hadn’t given her the chance.

  If.

  She was so tired of that word.

  She just needed to know.

  * * *

  Gen left the restaurant and went back to their condo, and when she crossed the threshold, she actually shuddered. What if she was sharing this home with a man who was betraying her? It was entirely possible that everything she knew as truth was actually a lie.

  She shook her head, and before she could change her mind, she backed out of the apartment.

  She hailed a cab and instructed the driver to drive to an apartment complex down the street. The apartment she lived in before she met Thad and the one she’d never let go of after moving in with him. She never knew why she’d held on to it, other than the fact that it was hers and she didn’t have to compromise anything about it. And, of course, Thad hadn’t known. She hadn’t been here for years.

  Opening the door to her apartment, she breathed in deeply.

  It smelled like truth in here, like a place she wouldn’t have to hide in, a place she wouldn’t have to pretend. It was light, it was open, it was breezy. Exactly how she’d wanted her condo wit
h Thad to be. It had no furniture anymore, but she could remedy that. She wouldn’t need much here. A desk, and maybe a bed, just in case. This would all be paid for from her business account. He’d never know about it. She’d write it off as an office space.

  She went back home, got her laptop and shopped for a couple of furniture pieces. A desk, a full-size simple bed and a love seat. She had them shipped to her apartment, delivered that afternoon. On her way to wait there, she grabbed a few things for the kitchen, a pitcher for water, some glasses, some wine.

  As she walked down Michigan Avenue, she saw the most beautiful painting in an art gallery window.

  A woman, hunched over and naked, her hair streaming down her legs. It was painted in grays and browns and violets...hauntingly sad and beautiful. It called to her, and without hesitation, she went in and bought it.

  It was five-thousand dollars, but she didn’t care.

  It spoke to her soul, and right about now, she needed her soul spoken to. She had them wrap it up, and they said they’d deliver it to her new apartment that very afternoon.

  Once she was back in her safe haven, she curled up on the floor with her laptop, next to a window, and she felt at peace here, for the first time in as long as she could remember.

  Had her time with Thad always felt confining? Had it always felt fake?

  She looked around the room and remembered the afternoons she’d spent here, wrapped around Thad’s body, wasting away Sunday afternoons.

  No. Their time together wasn’t always fake.

  Being here felt like it brought some of that time back, that time when all had been right in the world.

  She wanted to call Meg and tell her, but then it wouldn’t be a secret. She liked the idea that she had this solitude here, in this private place. This was hers, and hers alone.