Page 15 of Wanted

“Come sit with us,” Catherine invites me, pointing to a paper bag in front of her. “The food is ready. I hope you like sushi. I think they included miso soup and salad.”

God bless their souls. I’m starving.

“Yes, thank you very much.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?” I ask Jackson as Catherine is busy picking up the food containers and putting them back in the bag. I think she’s doing it to keep herself busy.

“What I’m about to tell you is strictly confidential,” he warns me and I nod several times. “Lionel hired me a few months ago because bizarre things kept happening at his job sites, lost material, personnel who didn’t show up for work, someone even stole two of his assistants.”

God, my head is spinning, the assault was not an isolated event.

Someone wants to hurt Lionel, badly.

“Do you remember the exact date Lionel arrived in Kentucky? Do you remember if he was with someone?”

I remember the day we met like it was yesterday. That makes me smile.

“It was in April. I was at the stand where we sell our honey products. It was already the afternoon, we were about to close. It had been a good day, so we were going home early.”

I pause. Catherine looks at me with hearts almost coming out of her eyes, while Jackson remains silent, waiting for me to continue.

“Lionel had gone to see the old winery by the river because he plans to buy it. That time he was with Ricky, a big blond tattooed man. One of his friends, or at least they told me that.” But with everything that has happened, I doubt it was his real name. “I never saw Ricky again, but since then, Lionel traveled every Friday, sometimes even Thursday, to spend time with me.”

Jackson looks at me pretty seriously. “Your Instagram account says a lot. All your posts in the last few months are pretty personal, like you wanted the world to see you together.”

That makes me smile.

“It wasn’t my idea, believe me. If it were up to me, I would’ve just continued posting photos of my bees, or my soaps. I’ve never been fond of showcasing my personal life in such a public way. It was all Lionel’s idea, and he can be quite stubborn, ya know…”

Jackson clears his throat again, settles with his elbows on his knees, and stares at me.

“Stella, those who know Lionel know he likes to work weekends at his cabin in the San Bernardino mountains,” he tells me quietly. “But we did find his flight records, also Lionel got a new driver’s license with the address of the house you rented in Carrollton. I have a copy of your marriage license…”

While he speaks, I gape at him. Boy, he has been busy for the last couple of hours. It seems as if he has uncovered all our life secrets.

Well, not all, but close.

“The thing is, we also have evidence those same weekends Lionel was with you, he was also in the mountains, his phone records are clear. We have been able to access them even though his phone disappeared, and we didn’t find a single call to Kentucky.”

I get up to search for my phone in my bag and hand it over to him without hesitation after unlocking it.

“There it is,” I say. “Our calls, the text messages, everything.”

Although our conversations are quite personal, I’m not afraid of someone reading them. I have nothing to hide, and Lionel is my husband.

Jackson takes a few notes and takes some pictures of my phone.

“There are so many red flags. How could he be in two places at the same time?”

That can’t be…

“I don’t understand anything,” I confess quietly. Catherine takes my hand, giving it a squeeze.

“We gotta wait for Lionel, Stella. We should continue to trust he’ll recover quickly and, hopefully, he will offer us the answers we all need to hear.”

After answering the rest of Jackson’s questions, we return to the hallway in front of Lionel’s room. A few moments later, they say their goodbyes, and not long after, I see Mrs. Kral leave.

The woman doesn’t even glance in my direction when she leaves, like I don’t exist. That’s fine by me.

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