Faith caught Will's eye. Another woman who was good at putting up boundaries.
Will offered, "We can call a locksmith if we need to. It's important we see inside the house in case anything happened. Olivia might've fallen, or—"
"I've got a key." Michael fished into his pocket and pulled out a single key on a springy band. "She mailed it to me three months ago. I don't know why. She just wanted me to have it. I guess because she knew I wouldn't use it. Maybe I shouldn't use it."
Will said, "You wouldn't have flown all the way from Houston unless you thought that something was wrong."
Michael's face went white, and Faith caught a glimpse of what the last few hours of his life must have been like—driving to the airport, getting on the plane, renting a car, all the while thinking that he was being foolish, that his sister was fine. All the while knowing in the back of his brain that the exact opposite was probably true.
Michael handed Will the key. "The policeman I spoke with yesterday said he sent a patrolman to knock on the door." He paused, as if he needed them to confirm this had happened. "I was worried they weren't taking me seriously. I know Olivia is a grown woman, but she's a creature of habit. She doesn't depart from her routine."
Will unlocked the door and went inside the house. Faith kept the brother on the porch. She asked him, "What's her routine?"
He closed his eyes for a moment as if to collect his thoughts. "She works at the private bank in Buckhead, has for almost twenty years. She goes in six days a week—every day but Monday, when she does her shopping and other chores: cleaners, library, grocery store. She's in the bank by eight, out by eight most nights unless there's some kind of event. Her job is community relations. If there's a party or a fundraiser or something the bank is sponsoring, she has to be there. Otherwise, she's always at home."
"Did the bank call you?"
He put his hand to his throat, rubbing a bright red scar. Faith guessed he'd had a tracheotomy or some type of throat surgery.
He said, "The bank didn't have my phone number. I called them when I didn't hear from Olivia yesterday morning. I called them when I landed. They have no idea where she is. She's never missed work before."
"Do you have a recent picture of your sister?"
"No." He seemed to realize why she wanted the photograph. "I'm sorry. Olivia hated to be photographed. Always."
"That's okay," Faith assured him. "We'll pull it from her driver's license if we need to."
Will came down the stairs. He shook his head, and Faith led the man into the house. She tried to make small talk, telling Michael, "This is a beautiful home."
"I've never seen it before," he confessed. He was looking around like Faith, probably thinking the same thing she was: The place was like a museum.
The front hall went all the way back to the kitchen, which gleamed with white marble countertops and white cabinets. The stairs were carpeted in a white runner, and the living room was equally Spartan; everything from the walls to the furniture to the rug on the floor was a pristine white. Even the art on the wall consisted of white canvases in white frames.
Michael shivered. "It's so cold in here."
Faith knew he didn't mean the temperature.
She led both men into the living room. There was a couch and two chairs, but she didn't know whether to sit or stand. Finally, she sat on the couch, the cushion so hard that she barely made a dent. Will took the chair beside her and Michael sat at the other end of the couch.
She said, "Let's take it from the beginning, Mr. Tanner."
"Doctor," he said, then frowned. "Sorry. It doesn't matter. Please call me Michael."
"All right, Michael." Faith kept her voice calm, soothing, sensing he was close to panic. She started with an easy question. "You're a doctor?"
"A radiologist."
"You work at a hospital?"
"The Methodist Breast Center." He blinked his eyes, and she realized he was trying not to cry.
Faith got to the point. "What made you call the police yesterday?"
"Olivia calls me every day now. She didn't do that before. We weren't close for many years, then she went off to college and we drifted even farther apart." He gave them a weak smile. "I got cancer two years ago. Thyroid." He touched his hand to the scar on his neck again. "I just felt an emptiness?" He said this as a question, and Faith nodded as if she understood. "I wanted to be with my family. I wanted to have Olivia back in my life. I knew it would be on her terms, but I was willing to make that sacrifice."
"What terms did she impose?"
"I could never call her. She always was the one to call me."
Faith wasn't sure what to say to that. Will asked, "Was there a particular pattern to the calls?"
Michael started nodding his head, like he was glad someone finally understood why he was so worried. "Yes. She's called me every single day for the last eighteen months. Sometimes she doesn't say much, but she always calls at the same time every morning no matter what."
Will asked, "Why doesn't she say much?"
Michael looked down at his hands. "It's hard for her. She went through some things when we were growing up. She's not someone who thinks of the word 'family' and smiles." He rubbed his scar again, and Faith felt a profound sadness coming off him. "She doesn't smile much about anything, actually."
Will glanced at Faith to confirm it was okay for him to take over. She gave him a slight nod. Obviously, Michael Tanner was more comfortable talking to Will. Her job now was to just blend in with the background.
Will asked, "Your sister wasn't a happy person?"
Michael slowly shook his head, his sadness filling the room.
Will was silent for a moment, giving the man some space. "Who abused her?"
Faith was shocked by the question, but the tears that fell from Michael's eyes told her that Will was spot on. "Our father. Quite the cliché these days."
"When?"
"Our mother died when Olivia was eight. I guess it started shortly after that. It went on for a few months, until Olivia ended up at the doctor. She was damaged. The doctor reported it, but my father just . . ." Tears came in earnest now. "My father said she had hurt herself on purpose. That she had put something down . . . there . . . to injure herself. To draw attention to herself because she missed our mother." He angrily wiped his tears away. "My father was a judge. He knew everyone on the police force, and they thought they knew him. He said that Olivia was lying, so everyone assumed she was a liar—especially me. For years, I just didn't believe her."
"What changed your mind?"
He gave a humorless laugh. "Logic. It didn't make sense that she would . . . that she would be the way she is unless something horrible had happened."
Will kept staring straight into the man's eyes. "Did your father ever hurt you?"
"No." He had answered too quickly. "Not anything sexual, I mean. He punished me sometimes. Took out the belt. He could be a brutal man, but I thought that's what fathers did. It was normal. The best way to avoid a beating was to be a good son, so I was a good son."
Again, Will took his time getting to the next question. "How did Olivia punish herself for what happened?"
Michael struggled with his emotions, trying to contain them but failing miserably. He finally pressed his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, sobbing. Will just sat there, motionless. Faith followed his lead. She knew instinctively that the worst thing she could do right now was comfort Michael Tanner.
He used the back of his hands to wipe his tears. At last, he said, "Olivia was bulimic. I think she might still be anorexic, but she swore to me the purging was under control."
Faith realized she had been holding her breath. Olivia Tanner had an eating disorder, just like Pauline McGhee and Jackie Zabel.
Will asked, "When did it start?"
"Ten, eleven. I don't remember. I'm three years younger. All I can recall is that it was horrible. She just . . . She just started to waste away."
Will only nodded, let
ting the man speak.
"Olivia was always obsessed with her looks. She was so pretty, but she never accepted . . ." Michael paused. "I guess Dad made it worse. He was always pinching her, teasing her, telling her she needed to get rid of her baby fat. She wasn't fat. She was a normal girl. She was beautiful. Was beautiful. Do you know what happens when you starve yourself like that?"
Michael was looking at Faith now, and she shook her head.
"She got pressure sores on her back. Big, gaping wounds where her bones rubbed holes in her skin. She couldn't ever sit down, couldn't get comfortable. She was cold all the time, couldn't feel her hands and feet. Some days she didn't even have the energy to walk to the bathroom. She would just defecate on herself." He stopped as the memories obviously flooded back. "She slept ten, twelve hours a day. She lost her hair. She would go into these uncontrollable shaking fits. Her heart would race. Her skin was just . . . it was disgusting. Flaky, dry scales would just fleck off her body. And she thought it was all worth it. She thought it made her beautiful."
"Was she ever hospitalized?"
He laughed, as if they couldn't begin to understand how horrible the situation had been. "She was in and out of Houston General all the time. They would put her on a feeding tube. She would gain enough weight so that they would let her leave the hospital, then she'd go back to purging herself again as soon as she got out. Her kidneys shut down twice. There was a lot of concern about the damage she was doing to her heart. I was so angry with her then. I didn't understand why she was doing something, willingly doing something, so awful to herself. It just seemed . . .why would you starve yourself? Why would you put yourself through . . ." He looked around the room, the cold place his sister had created for herself. "Control. She just wanted to control one thing, and I guess that one thing was what went into her mouth."
Faith asked, "Was she better? I mean, recently."
He nodded and shrugged at the same time. "She got better when she got away from my father. Went off to college, got a business degree. She moved here to Atlanta. I think the distance helped her."
"Was she in therapy?"
"No."
"How about a support group? Or maybe an online chat room?"
He shook his head, certain. "Olivia didn't think she needed help. She thought she had it all under control."
"Did she have any friends, or—"
"No. She had no one."
"Is your father still alive?"
"He died about ten years ago. It was very peaceful. Everyone was so pleased that he just passed in his sleep."
"Is Olivia a religious person? She doesn't go to church or—"
"She would burn down the Vatican if she could get past the guards."
Will asked, "Do the names Jacquelyn Zabel, Pauline McGhee or Anna mean anything to you?"
He shook his head.
"Have you or your sister ever been to Michigan?"
He gave them a puzzled look. "Never. I mean, I haven't. Olivia has lived in Atlanta all her adult life, but she might have taken a trip there I wasn't aware of."
Will tried, "How about the words, 'I will not deny myself.' Does that mean anything to you?"
"No. But it's the exact opposite of what Olivia does in her life. She denies herself everything."
"How about 'thinspo,' or 'thinspiration'?"
Again, he shook his head. "No."
Faith took over. "What about kids? Did Olivia have children? Or want children?"
"It would have been physically impossible," the man answered. "Her body . . . the damage she did to herself. There was no way she could carry a child."
"She could adopt."
"Olivia hated children." His voice was so low that Faith could barely hear him. "She knew what could happen to them."
Will asked the question that was on Faith's mind. "Do you think she was doing it again—starving herself ?"
"No," Michael said. "Not like before, at least. That's why she called me every morning, six sharp, to let me know she was okay. Sometimes I'd pick up the phone and she'd talk to me, other times, she'd just say, 'I'm okay,' and hang up the phone. I think it was a lifeline for her. I hope it was."
Faith said, "But she didn't call you yesterday. Is it possible that she was mad at you?"
"No." He wiped his eyes again. "She never got mad at me. She worried about me. She worried about me all the time."
Will only nodded, so Faith asked, "Why did she worry?"
"Because she was . . ." Michael stopped, clearing his throat a couple of times.
Will said, "She was protecting him from their dad."
Michael kept nodding, and the room got quiet again. He seemed to be working up his courage. "Do you think—" He stopped himself. "Olivia would never change her routine."
Will stared him straight in the eye. "I can be kind or I can be honest, Dr. Tanner. There are only three possibilities here. One is that your sister wandered off. People do that. You wouldn't believe how often it happens. The other is, she's been in an accident or she's hurt—"
"I called the hospitals."
"The Atlanta police did, too. They checked all their reports and everyone's accounted for."
Michael nodded, probably because he already knew this. "What's the third possibility?" he asked softly.
"Someone has taken her," Will answered. "Someone who means to do her harm."
Michael's throat worked. He stared down at his hands for a good long while before finally nodding. "Thank you for your honesty, Detective."
Will stood up. He asked, "Do you mind if we look around the house, check through your sister's things?"
Again, the man nodded, and Will told Faith, "I'll check upstairs. You take down here."
He didn't give her time to discuss the plan, and Faith decided not to argue with him, even though Olivia Tanner probably kept her home computer upstairs.
She left Michael Tanner in the living room and wandered into the kitchen. Light poured in from the windows, making everything seem even more white. The kitchen was beautiful, but just as sterile as the rest of the house. The countertops were completely bare except for the thinnest television Faith had ever seen. Even the cords for the cable and plug were hidden, snaking down a thin hole in the lightly veined marble.
The walk-in pantry had very little food. What was there was stacked neatly in line, boxes face-out to show the brands, cans all turned in the same direction. There were six economy-size bottles of aspirin still in their packaging. The brand was different from the one Faith had found in Jackie Zabel's bedroom, but she found it odd that both women took so much aspirin.
Yet another detail that did not make sense.
Faith made some phone calls as she searched the kitchen cabinets. As quietly as she could, she requested a background check on Michael Tanner, just to clear him from the picture. Her next call was a request to borrow some patrolmen from the Atlanta police to canvass the neighborhood. She'd put a phone dump on Olivia Tanner's home phone so they could see who she had been talking to, but the woman's cell phone was probably registered to the bank. If they were really lucky, there was a BlackBerry somewhere so they could read her email. Maybe Olivia had someone in her life that her brother didn't know about. Faith shook her head, knowing this was a long shot. The house was a showplace, but it didn't feel lived in. There were no parties here, no weekend get-togethers. Certainly, no man was living here.
What had Olivia Tanner's life been like? Faith had worked missing persons cases before. The key to finding out what happened to the women—they were all usually women—was to try to put yourself in their shoes. What were their likes and dislikes? Who were their friends? What was so awful about their boyfriend/husband/ lover that made them want to pick up and leave?
With Olivia, there were no clues, no emotional anchors to pounce on. The woman lived in a lifeless house without a comfortable chair to sink into at the end of the day. All her plates and bowls were unscratched, unchipped and looked unused. Even the coffee cups were sparkling at th
e bottom. How could Faith relate to a woman who lived in a perfectly kept white box?
Faith returned to the kitchen cabinets, again finding nothing out of place. Even what she would've considered the junk drawer was neat—screwdrivers in a plastic case, hammer resting on a ball of twine. Faith ran her finger along the inside seam of the cabinet, finding no grit or dirt. There was something to be said for a woman who dusted her kitchen cabinets inside and out.
Faith opened the bottom drawer and found an oversized envelope like the kind used for mailing photographs. She opened the top and found a stack of glossy pages that had been neatly cut from magazines. All of them showed models in various stages of undress, no matter whether they were selling perfume or gold watches. These weren't the usual women you found in sweater sets and pearls as they cheerily dusted their houses and cleaned up after adorable children. These models were meant to convey sex, wantonness, and, above all, thinness.
Faith had seen some of these bone-thin models before. She skimmed the pages of Cosmo and Vogue and Elle just like every other person who ever waited in line at the grocery store, but seeing these anorexic women now, knowing that Olivia Tanner had chosen these pictures not because she wanted to remember to buy a new eye shadow or lip gloss, but because she considered the airbrushed skeletons an attainable goal, made Faith feel sick to her stomach.
She thought again about Michael Tanner's words, the torture his sister had put herself through in order to be thin. She couldn't figure out why Will was so certain the woman had been trying to protect her brother. It seemed unlikely that a man who raped his daughter would go after his son, but Faith had been a cop too long to believe criminals followed a logical pattern. Despite her own teenage pregnancy, the Mitchell family was fairly normal. There were no abusive alcoholics or sex-crazed uncles. In matters of severe childhood dysfunction, she always deferred to Will.
He had never outright confirmed anything, but she guessed that he had suffered a great deal of abuse as a child. His upper lip had obviously been busted open and not allowed to heal properly. The faint scar running down the side of his jaw and going into his collar looked old, the type of thing you got as a kid and lived with for the rest of your life. She had worked with Will during the hottest months of the summer and never seen him roll up his shirtsleeves or even loosen his tie. His question about how Olivia Tanner punished herself was especially revealing. Faith often thought that Angie Polaski was a punishment that Will continually brought down on himself.
[Georgia 01] Genesis (aka Undone) Page 27