by J A Whiting
John nodded, and then said, “I’ll consider it. I just need some time to think about it a little more.” He took a long swallow from his glass. “I know you can’t name names, but are there any new suspects in the case?”
“Not yet. It’s early,” Ian said.
Narrowing his eyes, he asked, “Are old suspects still suspects?”
“We don’t yet have anyone firmly in the suspect column,” Ian evaded the young man’s question.
“My mother didn’t just turn into a plume of smoke and blow away,” John said. “Someone had a hand in her disappearance. Someone knows something. Someone knows what he did to her. We have to find her. We can’t allow this evil person to get away with hurting my mother … to get away with hurting the family. Whoever is responsible has been living free for twenty-five years, someone who stole those years from my mother, and me, and Aunt Cara, my grandmother, and Kim.” John’s words caught in his throat. “Please don’t give up. Keep looking. I know you’ll find something. I just know it.”
Claire’s heart tightened with sadness, and she wished she could be as hopeful as John was.
14
The former daycare provider, Sally Lane, sat with Claire and Ian in a coffee shop in Arlington.
“I was out shopping the night Cheryl disappeared,” Sally said. “It was a cold, cold night.”
The woman was seventy years old, had a medium build, light brown hair cut short, and dark brown eyes.
“I loved those little ones. John was a sweetheart and Kimberly was an angel. My heart broke when she was killed in the car accident. She was with two high school friends and the girl who was driving lost control. They all lost their lives.”
“Such a tragedy,” Claire said.
“I felt terrible for poor Cara and her husband losing Kim like that, and after not ever knowing what happened to Cheryl,” Sally shook her head. “Too much sadness.”
Ian asked, “Could you tell us what you saw the night Cheryl went missing?”
“Like I said, I was out shopping. When I got back to my car with my groceries, it wouldn’t start. I was perturbed. A car never seems to break down in the sunlight, does it? It’s either pouring rain or freezing cold. That’s when they break down. It’s bad enough to have the inconvenience of a car that won’t start, but on top of that, it has to be when the weather is bad.”
“It’s true,” Claire told her sympathetically.
“So I put my bags in the trunk and went back inside to call my husband. While I was waiting for him to come pick me up, I saw Cheryl’s car go by. My car was parked at the end of the lot nearer the street. I tried to catch her eye and I thought she looked my way for an instant, but I guess she didn’t see me.”
“You saw Cheryl in the driver’s seat?” Ian asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re sure it was her?”
Sally sat straight. “Pretty sure.”
“Did you see her face?”
“I couldn’t see into the car that well because it was dark, but I’m sure it was her car.”
“How did you know?”
“She had a couple of small dents in the side of the car. I saw them.”
“Could Jackson have been driving the car?” Ian questioned.
“It wasn’t Jackson. It was a woman. She had on a winter hat. Her hat and coat were definitely a woman’s things.”
“But you weren’t able to see her face?”
“That’s right, but I never saw another car in Arlington that was the same make, model, and color as Cheryl’s. And she had the dents. It had to be her.”
“You don’t think she saw you?”
“She would have stopped if she saw me,” Sally said.
“Which way was she headed?”
“She was headed away from the church and going towards the school.”
“What else is down that way? She wouldn’t have been heading to the school at that time of night,” Ian said.
“There was a gas station down there back then, but that was about it. Oh, and the hospital. After that it was all residential homes. Maybe she was going to see a friend.”
“What time was it? Do you remember?”
Sally gave the approximate time she saw Cheryl drive by.
“She was driving really fast,” Sally told them. “She seemed to be in a big hurry. I never saw her drive like that. It surprised me.”
“Do you think she had the kids in the car with her?” Claire asked.
“No,” Sally said. “It was too late for the kids to be out and I don’t think Cheryl would have been driving so fast if the kids were with her. She was devoted to those children. She would never have done anything to put them at risk.”
“How long had you taken care of the kids before Cheryl disappeared?”
“I had John for two and half years. Kimberly had only been with me about two weeks. After Cheryl was gone, her sister, Cara, got custody of the kids. Cara worked three days a week and I watched the children until they were old enough to go to school.”
“Were you and Cheryl friendly?”
Sally smiled. “Oh, sure, we were. Cheryl was great, so smart, so nice, very loving, a hard worker. She had tons of energy. She could run circles around me.”
“Did you know Jackson?”
“Not as well. He dropped the kids off sometimes. Once in a while, he’d pick them up at the end of the day.”
“What did you think of him?”
“He was okay. Never talked much. In and out. Jackson could give you the impression he didn’t think you were at his level. I guess to him I was just the help. I wasn’t worth spending any time on.”
“But Cheryl didn’t share that attitude?” Claire asked.
“Oh, gosh, no. She was a great person. Terrific to be around.”
“Did Cheryl ever tell you that anything was wrong? Was she having trouble with anyone?” Ian asked.
Sally’s shoulders rounded. “If she was having issues, I wish she’d told me about it. She never complained around me. Cheryl was always pleasant and cheerful. If there was trouble, she kept it hidden. I was blindsided when she went missing. It scared me. How could someone disappear like that? With no trace? How was it possible? I felt vulnerable after that happened. I felt unsafe and suspicious of people.”
“Do you think it’s possible Cheryl took off? Maybe she was overwhelmed, stressed. Maybe she needed to get away from her life,” Ian suggested.
Sally shook her head. “No. That wasn’t Cheryl. Everyone has stress in their lives. Cheryl handled things with ease. Sure, she might get annoyed with someone once in a while, but that’s natural. There’s no way Cheryl would leave her kids. She would never take off on them. No, it’s not a possibility.”
“Did Cheryl ever say she was annoyed with someone?”
Sally shrugged. “I could tell sometimes she’d had a trying day. It was no big deal.” The woman looked to Claire and Ian. “John won a settlement against his father. What does it mean? Is Jackson guilty of something?”
Ian explained what wrongful death meant. “It doesn’t mean that Jackson killed his wife. He was found negligent in some way. I don’t know the details of the suit so I can’t speak to it specifically.”
“I see.” Sally’s face seemed to harden and she spoke softly when she said, “I think he’s responsible.”
“Jackson?” Claire asked.
Sally nodded. “I think he did something to her.”
“Why?” Ian asked.
“I don’t know why. I just think he did.”
“Did he do something that makes you suspicious of him?”
With a sigh, the woman said, “He never seemed as loving with the children as other parents did. He was always in a hurry. He was always rushing John. When John was proud of something he’d colored in daycare or of something he’d made and wanted to show his father, Jackson never seemed to care and the little boy’s face would drop. It made me feel bad. I wished I could say something to Jackson, but it wasn’t my place.�
�� Sally made eye contact with Claire. “I have to say I was relieved and pleased when Cara got custody. She and her husband are warm, loving people. I knew the kids would be fine with Cara taking care of them.”
“You didn’t think they’d be fine if they stayed with Jackson?” Claire asked.
“Kids need attention and love. I didn’t think they’d get that from Jackson.” Sally hesitated before adding, “That night. About fifteen minutes before Cheryl drove by, I thought I saw Jackson go past, but it wasn’t his car so I must have been mistaken. It sure looked like him though. An oncoming car’s lights shined into the car that I thought Jackson was driving. He was heading in the same direction that Cheryl was going. I remember wondering why they hadn’t been driving together. It seemed odd to me, but then I realized it must have been someone who only looked like Jackson.”
Claire’s skin felt like it was being pricked by tiny needles as a flash of anxiety raced through her veins.
“Was Cheryl going to the hospital?” Claire asked when she and Ian were back in the car. “Was she hurt and headed to the emergency room?”
“If she was, she never made it.” Ian pulled the SUV out of the parking lot.
“Sally thinks she saw Jackson go past before Cheryl drove by,” Claire said. “If it was Jackson, why did he leave the house before Cheryl did?”
“Cheryl might have left first and drove around for a while,” Ian speculated. “She might have begun to feel worse and decided to go to the hospital. Jackson may have left the house after her. He might have been driving around looking for her and his route took him by the grocery store before Cheryl drove that way.”
“Right. That’s smart thinking. So if Cheryl decided to head to the hospital, how come she didn’t get there?” Claire asked.
“She must have run into someone. And I don’t mean in a car accident. Someone could have cut Cheryl off and forced her to stop. There might have been a fender bender and when she got out of the car, someone attacked her. Or she noticed someone on the side of the road and she stopped to help.”
Claire turned to look at her boyfriend. “Are you thinking it was a random thing?”
“No. Whatever happened, I think it had to be someone she knew.”
“Cheryl may have died in her house,” Claire pointed out. “Jackson, or whoever was responsible, could have hauled her body to the car and drove away with it.”
“Pastor Michael and Sally could easily have seen a car that only looked like Cheryl’s,” Ian said. “They saw the similar car and assumed it was Cheryl, but it may have been someone else.”
Claire asked, “Are we going around in circles?”
Ian sighed. “Yup.”
15
“Yeah, I worked for Jackson and Cheryl’s business early on.” With shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes, fifty-five-year-old Lisa Richardson was tall, slender, and well-dressed in fitted slacks and jacket. “I had plans to stay with them for years, but when Cheryl disappeared, I decided to leave and start my own business. The mood was dark and sad in the company and I couldn’t deal with it. When Cheryl went missing, it was a shock. It felt like the earth under my feet was no longer firm and stable. Anyone could disappear, anything could happen to anyone. It shook me to my bones.”
“Did you work for Journey full-time?” Ian asked.
“I did contracted services. I worked about twenty-five hours a week. They needed a full-time person … actually, they needed more than one accountant. They were growing fast. I wondered if they’d be able to control the growth, but Cheryl put some really talented people in place at a strategic time, and they rocketed the company to the top.”
“Do you think Cheryl was responsible for making Journey into a world-class company?” Ian questioned.
“Cheryl disappeared before the really big growth happened, but it was her business plan and her ability to choose the right people for the right positions that made Journey into a big player.”
“Jackson must have had a role in the success,” Ian pointed out.
“Not as big as Cheryl’s role. Cheryl was a star. Jackson wasn’t in the same league even though he pretended to be. Jackson lucked out though. Cheryl set up the business operations and it took off like a rocket ship. Jackson enjoys making everyone believe he’s a great businessman. He isn’t.”
While Claire took notes on her laptop, she lifted her eyes to watch Lisa’s facial expression.
“But you left the company right before things took off,” Ian said. “If you weren’t working there then, how did you know what role Jackson was playing?”
Lisa smiled sweetly. “I had friends working there.”
“Are you sorry you left?” Claire asked.
Lisa gave Claire a look of surprise as if she’d forgotten the young woman was there. “I’ve never been sorry I left. I had good reasons, and my mental and physical health are the most important things to me. I couldn’t remain at Journey. I built my own business. It’s very satisfying. I run the show and my hard work benefits me, not someone else’s company. I like that.”
“Were you friends with Cheryl?” Ian asked.
Lisa cocked her head to the side. “Not exactly friends. We were friendly. Cheryl was always going full-throttle. There wasn’t a lot of time to build an actual friendship.”
“What did you think of Cheryl?”
“Smart as a whip. Hard-driving. Confidant.”
“Can you tell us more about Jackson?”
Lisa’s blue eyes widened slightly. “Jackson is smart. He’s also the kind of person who looks for a way to make things easier for himself. If someone else will do the heavy-lifting, Jackson will smile and let that person do all the work … but Jackson will take all the credit.”
“It doesn’t sound like you liked him much,” Ian offered.
Lisa laughed. “I liked him just fine. I appreciate someone who knows how to keep his hands clean, but can then weasel in and reap all the benefits. Jackson is smooth, calculating, and clever. Don’t ever underestimate the man.”
“Do you still socialize with Jackson?” Ian asked.
“Are you kidding? I’m a peon in Jackson’s eyes. He wouldn’t have anything to do with me now. I’m not successful enough for him to interact with me. Jackson’s the king of the hill, and I’m just a lowly merchant like millions of others.”
“When was the last time you saw Jackson?” Claire asked.
“Oh, gee, who knows. Twenty years ago?” Lisa shrugged. “Maybe it was longer ago than that.”
“Did you ever engage in an affair with Jackson?” Ian asked in a straightforward manner.
Lisa’s brows raised as she leveled her eyes at Ian. “Is that a polite question to ask someone?”
“It may be considered an impolite question to some, but it’s even more impolite to kidnap or kill someone,” Ian said. “I’m trying to solve a young woman’s disappearance. Sometimes, delicate questions have to be asked … and answered. So I’ll ask again, did you and Jackson Wilby ever engage in an affair?”
“No.” Lisa looked down at her hands.
Silence hung in the air for a minute, before Claire asked, “Did you have feelings for Jackson?”
Lisa lifted her eyes. “I was attracted to him early on, but I grew up and my infatuation with him flat-lined.”
“What made you change your mind about him?” Ian asked.
“Jackson only cares about himself. The man doesn’t have a loyal bone in his body. He does what’s best for him, and only him. Well, on second thought, I guess I have to change my statement. Jackson does have a loyal bone in his body, but he’s only loyal to himself. I don’t think he cares about anyone else.”
“What about his kids?”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Come on. He couldn’t hand those kids over to Cara fast enough. Kids would only get in his way … and spend his money.”
“Back when you were infatuated with Jackson, did he respond to your attention?”
“He lapped up all the attention he could
get.”
“With you?” Ian narrowed his eyes.
Lisa squirmed a little in her seat and then let out an annoyed sigh. “Yes, with me.”
“But you said you didn’t have an affair,” Ian reminded the woman.
“It wasn’t an affair. It was a fling. It was a flirtation.”
As she made some notes on her laptop, Claire wondered what the difference was between a fling and an affair, and was pleased when Ian asked that very question.
“An affair is when two people are invested in the relationship,” Lisa told them. “A fling is meaningless, at least for one of the people involved.”
“Did you want more than a fling with Jackson?”
“Look. I’m not proud of what I did. I see the stupidity of it, but back then, I was infatuated with Jackson. We didn’t get involved. We flirted, met in some secluded place in the building and kissed. It never went further than that.”
“Did Cheryl know about the fling?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t care. I acted friendly toward Cheryl so I could be around Jackson.” Lisa’s face hardened. “I was young. I made a stupid mistake.”
“Twenty-five years ago, you didn’t tell the investigating officers about this,” Ian pointed out.
Lisa’s tone was defensive. “I didn’t think it was anyone’s business. It didn’t have anything to do with Cheryl.”
“Why are you telling us now?”
“It was a long time ago. What does it matter now? I was afraid when Cheryl went missing.”
“What were you afraid of?” Ian asked.
“What?” Lisa became flustered. “I was just afraid. Something happened to Cheryl. It made a lot of people nervous. Was there a nut on the loose? Would someone else go missing? It was a worrisome and unsettling time.”
“You were married at the time, weren’t you?” Ian questioned.
“Yes, I was. We divorced about six months after Cheryl disappeared.”
“What caused the end of the marriage?”
“We weren’t a good match.” Lisa’s lower lip trembled slightly for a few seconds.