Finally, after five days of driving eight to ten hours a day, they arrived at the location Lindsey selected. Noah still had no idea where they were or why they were there. Who could possibly be here? And Lindsey probably uttered no more than twenty words a day to him. She had nothing to say and never replied to anything, not even his mundane, awkward statements about the various things they passed. She couldn’t care less. She barely shuffled on her feet from the motel they were staying in, to the car, and then into the next motel. If she ate five hundred calories a day, it would have surprised Noah. She drank only water and slept. She stared out the windshield, looking straight ahead with dull, dead eyes and seemed clinically catatonic.
The sign off the interstate read “Welcome to Calliston.” It was a small, barely noticed town in northern California, lying within a hundred miles of the Oregon border. The area was a forest of trees and distant mountains, but absolutely breathtaking. The town was so pretty and quaint, it felt like a greeting card. The main street was brightly decorated with matching street lamps and quaint shops. All had similar storefronts and wide, deep sidewalks for people to wander around on. The area seemed well maintained and rather prosperous.
Lindsey told him to park in front of a six-story, light green condominium building. It had an elevator in the interior, which they took before stopping at a door that said “5B.” Lindsey knocked tentatively and the door finally opened.
****
“Lindsey?” she was immediately embraced with a hug. “Oh my God! You made it! Thank God. I’ve been stewing here for days. Hours. Minutes. I couldn’t stand it. Come in.”
“Hello, Gretchen.”
Gretchen released her and her eyes roved over Lindsey’s face before she winced.
“Jessie called you?”
“Yes. Why didn’t you?”
“Yes, good question. Why didn’t we? And where are we?” Noah interjected.
Lindsey turned, a smile hovering on her face. Noah was standing behind her, shifting his feet awkwardly. His shoulders slouched and his hands were in his pockets. His jeans seemed a little too long, and appeared baggy over his slender butt. He was tall and thin, but had wide shoulders and long arms and legs. His black hair fell over his forehead in such boyish appeal, Lindsey often had to resist the urge to tug it back. Well, back when touching another person seemed remotely appealing. His eyes were warily watching her and he treated her with the utmost respect. He never touched her or crowded her. He didn’t press her either. He didn’t even so much as stop without first consulting her. There was no better man in the entire world than Noah Clark. He tolerated her silence for days, without a word regarding what he wanted or thought. She could tell he often wanted to ask, but refrained.
He didn’t insist on finding out what he longed to know. He was the most decent human being alive. Lindsey had no words to begin to describe her ordeal to Noah. How could she explain why she looked like this? How she came to be the person he now saw? The shame of him knowing the truth rendered her mute. Turning away, she closed her eyes and wished she could pretend this was not happening.
God! Poor Noah. He dealt with everything like a pro, without any idea what she was doing, or not doing, and why she was acting so strangely.
Gretchen glanced over Lindsey’s shoulder. “Hi, I’m Gretchen Hendricks.”
Noah nodded. “Okay, as in Will Hendricks? Are you his sister?”
“No, his ex-wife.”
Noah dropped his gaze. “Oh, I didn’t know he had one. Uh, hi, I’m Noah Clark.”
She smiled. “I know who you are. You were Jessie’s boyfriend when Will disappeared.”
Noah cleared his throat. “No. Not so much her boyfriend as… well, just a friend. I most certainly did not date her.”
Gretchen grinned. “Worried about Will?”
“Well, no reason to make it sound like something it never was. Jessie works for me now.”
“And you were the one who helped Lindsey. Come in, both of you.”
They entered a narrow hallway that led to a large room, brightly lit with sun. It was a living room that stretched into the kitchen and dining room. Sunlight flooded the white carpet through the French doors, and multiple windows. It had tall, vaulted ceilings and white walls with brightly patterned furniture and paintings. It was warm, neat and very appealing to Lindsey.
She stopped walking right in middle of the room. “Can I stay here?”
Gretchen turned towards her and leaned on the granite counter beside her. “Yes. Of course, you can. You always knew that though.”
Noah’s head bobbed between them. He stood slightly back, feeling awkward as evidenced by his shuffling feet before slouching into the wall.
“I didn’t call first because I didn’t want to explain it over the phone.”
“Have you called your sister? She’s dying to hear from you. She can’t stand it. She needs to talk to you. But I understand you don’t want to talk to her?”
“I can’t… yet. Either of you could update her.”
“Lindsey…”
“Please, Gretchen. Not yet. Not today. Just… It’s been a really long, bad few days.” More like years. “And I’d like to lie down.”
Gretchen’s eye twitched. “Okay, okay, Lindsey. We’ll talk to Jessie. If you need to rest, please do that.”
Lindsey hesitated, and folded her arms over her chest. “Look, Gretchen, this could be dangerous. I mean, having me here. I have no idea if Elliot can actually track me down, but I know he will try. So maybe…”
Gretchen waved her hand around dismissively. “I would never turn you away. And so what? Let him find you! I was married to Will Hendricks at one time, remember? I know a thing or two about defending myself. And you.”
“Will taught you?”
She smiled slowly. “Yes, he showed me how to use the gun I own.”
“I know how to defend myself from strangers too.”
A thick silence followed her declaration and Noah moved away from the wall as Gretchen stepped forward and took both of Lindsey’s hands in hers. “That’s bullshit. What you’re doing right now? Blaming yourself? Taking all the responsibility? That’s bullshit. ”
Noah snorted quietly behind her. “She’s right, Lindsey. Listen to her.”
She didn’t know. Maybe they were both right. Maybe she was just the victim. Or maybe she let it happen to her. Maybe she deserved it for not leaving him sooner. Her punishment for not telling. For keeping silent. For repeatedly allowing Elliot access to her, and never once, lifting an arm, a hand, a leg, not even a finger to defend herself. Why didn’t she? She couldn’t answer that.
The first time Elliot hit her, the shock of it had her paralyzed. It was like being attacked by a stranger, and the sheer surprise of it kept her from reacting. Then, it was done. She got hit. Bruised. Hurt. By her husband. The betrayal ripped her heart in half; but she always thought, yes, stupidly and naively, that maybe it would eventually end. But it didn’t. And it was humiliating. So humiliating, she couldn’t find words to express how it made her feel. Here she was, a well dressed, upper class, former Army officer, with resources and friends, and no kids. There were no kids. And still, she allowed herself to be regularly beaten and attacked by her husband.
“I can stay with you then?”
“Forever, if you’d like.” Gretchen smiled and her eyes glowed with soft, caring concern. Gretchen and Lindsey became close friends while helping Jessie all those years ago. They spent hours on end talking together. First, it centered on Jessie; but eventually, they got around to discussing things far beyond that. They discussed their childhoods, jobs, friends as well as more mundane subjects, like movies and books. Lindsey liked Gretchen more than any other female she knew in her adult life. She couldn’t, however, let Gretchen past the façade because she could never let anyone in. That was the line for her that no one crossed. That was the line that Elliot so viciously exploited. He relied on her not telling anyone the truth.
She couldn’t remem
ber at any time, ever having a conversation with Elliot about Gretchen Hendricks. She was sure she never mentioned her, even as a casual friend, much less someone who helped Jessie way back when. Lindsey kept in contact with Gretchen in a distant, almost distracted way. They exchanged Christmas cards and used to call each other often. But that diminished over the last year or two until she just quit responding to Gretchen’s cards or calls. Of course, the obvious reason was that it was easier to hide her secret by not having anyone close to her. So despite her failure to continue corresponding with Gretchen for a very long time, Lindsey somehow always knew, Gretchen was the type of person who didn’t care how much time had passed. She would accept Lindsey back into her life within the first second of their reunion. Lindsey knew they had that kind of connection from the very start. Although great gaps of time separated their visits, they always started right up again, as if it had only been a day, not months, or later on, years. Gretchen was truly one of the smartest, kindest, least judgmental women Lindsey ever knew. She was also, but in a way that Lindsey never truly believed could happen, Lindsey’s back-up plan. Maybe that was why she made sure to specifically never discuss or mention Gretchen Hendricks’ existence to Elliot. She always harbored the crazy fantasy that if she could ever manage to get away from him, she would flee to Gretchen.
She never really thought she’d actually do it, but here she was.
Lindsey’s face broke into a stiff smile. It felt odd to smile again. It felt odd to stand in the sunlit room discussing Elliot. She never talked about Elliot to others. The sheer peculiarity of it stabbed her heart with an unreasonable fear. Her initial reaction was thinking how much he’d hate what she did. He’d just hate her doing that. How else would he react? “I hope it’s just a few days.”
She started to turn away, but Gretchen’s statement stopped her. “A few days? No! A few days won’t do anything for you. You will stay as long as it takes. You knew that all along. You must realize I know about such things. And I do this for living. I help people, Lindsey. And if anyone needs help, it’s you right now.”
“I didn’t come for you to counsel me. I came because Elliot doesn’t know about you.”
“I know why you came. That doesn’t mean I can’t help you.”
“You mean try. You will be trying to help me.”
She nodded slowly. “Okay, then trying to help you.”
Lindsey passed Noah with a quick glance. “You don’t have to stay.”
He took in a startled breath. “You’re kidding, I hope? I should just leave?”
Gretchen stepped forward. “No, no, of course not, Noah. You can stay in my office. Please. You’re more than welcome.”
Lindsey raised her eyebrows as she pressed her lips together. “I appreciate you getting me here.”
Putting his hand out, he used one finger to touch her arm in a whisper-soft contact. “Of course.”
She tucked her arm closer to her side and he dropped his hand. She nodded and turned to leave the room. The fog was lifting from her brain and the bewildering effect of the pills had long left her system. She missed them, and wanted them now. But no one here would give them to her. She knew that. Gretchen and Noah were far too noble and good to indulge in such things. But holy crap, how she longed for the oblivion again and not having to think anymore. The absence of sensations. She found the spare room and fell onto the bed. Pulling up her legs to tuck into her chest, she didn’t even bother to take off her coat or slide the covers back on the bed.
****
Noah and Gretchen stared at one another after the door clicked behind Lindsey with a soft tap.
“I apologize for imposing upon you like this. You don’t have to let me stay here.”
Gretchen slowly backed up until her legs bumped into the couch. She flopped down, burying her face in her hands. Noah stood there, resisting the urge to pat her shoulder and offer some compassion. Was that the right way to react? He wasn’t so sure anymore.
She glanced up as tears rolled down her face. “Jessie told me it was pretty bad. She told me to be prepared, and to act very matter-of-factly with her. But… I never dreamed she would look like that.”
“It’s already been over a week and a half too.”
She shuddered and gulped as she rubbed a hand over her face. “I’m sorry, Noah. You must be exhausted. Can I get you anything? Food? Drink? Alcohol?”
His shoulders dropped. It felt nice, really nice to be asked such a question. He met her gaze and smiled slowly. “Alcohol sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.”
She got up and smiled back at him. “Yes, it does.”
He followed her to the kitchen bar, where she drug out a bottle of wine and two crystal glasses. After pouring a liberal amount in each glass, she caught his eye. “I don’t normally do this but…”
“Yeah. I know.”
They clinked their glasses to toast the success of their mission before drinking the wine copiously.
“Has she said anything to you?”
Noah shook his head. “Nothing much. She was doped up on a cocktail of painkillers and anxiety medicine for a little while. That kept her pretty out of it.”
“A blessing, I’d imagine.”
“Yeah.”
He took a sip of wine as he studied Will’s ex-wife over his glass. She was a stunning woman. Rather tall and built like Charlize Theron, she had shoulder-length hair that curled around her face in appealing, platinum wisps. Her green eyes were a dark emerald color, but they sparkled with a bright, joyful, inner light. She smiled often, and easily. Even today. She gave off every signal of being a really nice person. A normal person. An unharmed person. It was a nice change for Noah and he felt at once comfortable around her. She was just that way. Her frank, honest gaze was filled with a warmth that radiated from her eyes and instantly made a person feel familiar, as if knowing her for years, not hours.
“So, you were married to Will?”
She waved her hand, saying, “A long time ago. Our split was fairly amicable, and I later became involved with him again when Will decided to take Jessie to treatment. I’m a child therapist, so I knew a few things about navigating the system. ”
“I’ve never met two more tragic sisters.”
Gretchen’s expression became serious. “Neither have I. But I never dreamed Lindsey had such awful, heartrending secrets. When I met her, she was completely different from the woman who just walked through here. We spent a lot of time together during Jessie’s treatment. Until this moment, I don’t think I had the first clue of the depths to which she could hide things. We later took Jessie to the Clapsmiths and got her set up there, and in therapy. The three of us spent entire weekends together, and she was… awesome. I mean, like getting shit done, kind of awesome. She was nice too. Until she met Elliot. I never met him. They married in a quick, small ceremony, as he was being deployed, and they had to tie the knot on short notice. Not even Jessie attended it. But now, I’m beginning to wonder…”
“He purposely rushed her into it before she could figure out what he was really like.”
“The most she ever told me was that he was so different from her father.”
“I’m beginning to think not.”
Gretchen nodded and drank her wine. “How about you? How did you end up here with her? Last I knew, Jessie worked for you, and Lindsey didn’t know you except to say hello.”
“Lindsey took over for Jessie when she went on bed rest. She was awful at it! Not to mention so strange. She was timid, jumpy, and incompetent. Now I know why. But right near the end of her stay in Washington, just before that monster returned for her, she started to change. She smiled. She talked. She laughed. She could actually do the job with a fair amount of skills. Then, he showed up and the capable Lindsey totally vanished. I was completely astounded. I felt pissed. And hurt… and now, I’m so ashamed of the rude things I thought about her.”
“She was hiding it from you.”
“Yes. Now I can see th
at.”
Silence descended between them, and Noah turned his gaze on her cheerful, pretty condo before he asked, “Now what? What do we do with her? For her? I don’t even know what the first step should be.”
“You simply, move forward. She gets up tomorrow and we face her. We talk to her and respect her moods. But don’t tiptoe around her, or act as if she isn’t there. She must face the music. She must live with it, but if we act as if she could have died, that isn’t going to help her.”
He nodded. It seemed like sound advice. He liked Gretchen’s businesslike common sense, and her ease in communicating. He liked how normal she was and how normally she interacted. He didn’t have to worry or stress over what he said or how he said it with her.
She angled her head. “Don’t you have a life and a practice to get back to?”
“Yes. I all but abandoned my practice to my partner. No one knows where I am or what I’m doing. But in light of this, none of that seems even remotely important anymore. She was a prisoner in her own home. She was beaten, and…” He dropped his head into his hands and took in a shuddering breath. “And I just can’t stand to leave her again. I can’t stand knowing what was done to her. What if she succumbs to his control again and tries to go back? What if he eventually finds her?”
Gretchen shrugged. “Just be her friend, Noah. Listen to what she needs from you. And give her lots and lots of time and space. But whatever she decides to do about Elliot is on her, Noah. Not on us.”
“I can’t leave her here. What if he finds her?”
“I doubt it very much.” Gretchen got up and grabbed a tablet, which she powered up before quickly focusing on a news article. “He’s got a speech with the grocers’ union today. So, we will just track him. We’ll be the first to know if he disappears. We’ll know then that we have to do something. However, I really don’t think he even has a clue about me.”
“That doesn’t make you even slightly hesitant to take her in? In all honesty, you have no qualms about it?”
“In all honesty, no, I don’t.” Gretchen smiled kindly. “Would you like some dinner?”
The Good Sister (Sister Series, #2) Page 22