Page 7 of House of Lies

The note made matters worse.

When I came home and realized Mom wasn’t there, I immediately called the cops. They came and searched the house, but found no signs of forced entry or a struggle. They told me they had to wait twenty-four hours before they could open a missing person report.

Then they started pointing out things I hadn’t noticed when I’d first arrived home.

How some of her things were missing. Clothing, suitcases, toiletries.

Her car.

Then they showed me the note on her nightstand, addressed to me.

Cassidy

I can’t keep pretending like this.

I have met someone new. I have a chance at a fresh start. A new life.

We both know what will happen if I stay.

Please forgive me.

Yours forever,

Mom.

It was her handwriting. I knew it the moment I saw it, even though I swore to the detective she hadn’t written it. They had it analyzed, of course. She’d been under great emotional stress, but the note was legitimate.

But someone forced her to write it. Maybe even held a gun to her head and made her pack all her things. Red herrings.

Then a single eyewitness came forward who’d seen a woman matching my mother’s description, driving the same car as the one she owned, stop at an intersection. According to the eyewitness, she was in tears.

And alone.

Even then, I didn’t back down. We’d been happy. Broke, but happy.

Rebecca wouldn’t abandon me. She’d always made it very clear when she was unhappy, and then we’d fix it. I’d work an extra shift, she’d try to find a job, we’d pawn another piece of jewelry or a pair of designer shoes.

We were a family, after all.

My eyes lose focus until the writing on the paper becomes a blur.

Maybe this had been her way of fixing things. She knew how hard I worked. Maybe she was taking the initiative for once. The house had always been her responsibility. She made sure the mortgage and property taxes were always up to date.

We’d been in a tough spot in the months leading up to her disappearance. What if she’d wanted to sell our house and move us to a cheaper apartment? Would she have kept something like that a secret?

Maybe she thought I’d be angry with her.

But her reasons don’t matter, not right now.

What matters is that I’ve just found a lead. It’s no coincidence that this appointment was the same day she disappeared.

It would explain the eyewitness account. She’d probably been on her way to the real estate company, torn up about having to sell the house, but knowing it was our only way forward.

Only…she never made it to the appointment.

What if someone mugged her on the way? Kidnapped her and disposed of her car? The kidnappers could have forced her to come back to our house and pack her things, forced her to leave a note so it would look like she ran away.

Detective Lewis has to know about this appointment.

---