Page 76 of I Know She Was There

“Not far from here. Just on the other side of your neighborhood.”

“Is that so?” I sat up, a plan instantly forming in my mind. Cynthia Saunders had better ensure her door-slamming hand was primed; she was about to get another visitor.

CHAPTER38

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

As I drove along the maze of streets in my neighborhood, the recollection of Matt’s eyes unexpectantly in my flashlight beam jolted me. I nearly jumped the curb. Breathing erratically, I stopped the car and put it in park. I had to get ahold of myself before I knocked on Cynthia Saunders’s door. Setting my hands firmly on the steering wheel, I gave my body a few seconds to settle. I felt like I’d just guzzled ten cups of coffee.

One truth I knew for certain was that Annie was having an affair with Jeffrey. What I wasn’t sure about was whether Annie had something going with Tim and Jeffrey at the same time. I didn’t think so. Jeffrey hadn’t lived in Deer Crossing three years ago when Tim met Annie and possibly hatched a plan to embezzle my inheritance. Tim may have begun cheating on me then too, but I had no proof that either of those things happened.

I had to admit to myself I had few facts but plenty of suppositions. Like the suspicion that my husband realized he could push me over the edge after Emmy’s death—get me committed and take over my mother’s entire estate. After he tucked me away at the institute, he could pretend to hold the assets for me but instead keep them for himself. I let out a frustrated breath. All the more reason to align himself with a dodgy lawyer to navigate the paperwork.

I considered the possibility of Tim keeping me committed for as long as possible, but insurance wasn’t going to pay for an indefinite stay without reason. Maybe my doctors released me before Tim could finalize his plans. I sat back, pondering. Could my mother’s estate be that significant? It could be—a good reason for Tim to stick around after he found someone else. Yet if Annie were double-crossing him by starting up with Jeffrey, I imagine Tim would have become very angry. Dr. Ellison told me angry people were unpredictable. They could do drastic, even violent things, like beat others up badly enough to send them to the ER. A chill washed over me.

I recalled Dr. Ellison’s words during a recent session in my hospital room, when we were examining my mother’s rage that day on the pond: “Anger turned inward becomes depression. Anger aimed outward is aggression.”

Had Tim become enraged with Annie and beaten her? Did he have it in him to kill her? I had to discover whatever I could. I put the car in drive.

As I coasted along the streets, I realized if the bloodied woman I’d seen was, indeed, Annie Connolly, I had no business being alone with my husband ever again. Tim knew Annie, probably intimately. He had a motive to hurt her if she’d left him and absconded with his ill-gotten funds. Perhaps after the two colluded to gain control of my mother’s estate she double-crossed him. She could use legalese to outmaneuver someone unfamiliar with the law. Of course she could.

Again, I wondered if Tim was capable of violence. I recalled him being so angry with me, his face had turned varying shades of red and purple. He’d often invaded my space during arguments, looming over me threateningly. He’d even shoved me a few times, but he’d never struck me.

Still, I’d always backed down when his temper flared. What would have happened if I hadn’t? Would I have ended up in the ER?

“You’re letting your imagination run away with you again,” I chided myself as I turned onto the street where Cynthia and her husband lived. “You have no evidence that Tim is involved in Annie Connolly’s disappearance. Get a handle on yourself, Caroline.”

By the time I parked in front of the Saunderses’ tidy sage-colored split-level, twilight was surrendering to night. I exited the Honda and marched up the concrete sidewalk as though I had a right to be on the property. I rapped on the fresh white paint coating the front door, startling like a newborn when a trim dark-haired woman opened it immediately, as though she’d been standing on the other side, anticipating my visit.

She looked at me warily. I noticed her rich, dark hair was ribboned with subtle gray strands.

“Hi, Mrs. Saunders?” I began. “My name is Caroline Case?—”

“Case?” Her eyes connected with mine.

“Yes, I’m looking for your sister, Stephanie.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“It’s a... business matter.”

“How do you know her?” She leaned back, putting distance between us.

“She was the lawyer who worked on my mother’s estate.” I wondered if the woman picked up on the fact that I hadn’t confirmed I knew Annie. “There have been some discrepancies and?—”

“Why would you come to me? You need to talk to my brother, Brian. He and Annie practice?—”

“I know, Mrs. Saunders,” I cut in. “I’ve already spoken with Mr. Sloane. He couldn’t tell me anything about my disappeared funds.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yes, apparently he hadn’t worked with your sister on my account. I’ve been trying to find her for a while, and I’m getting worried that she may also have vanished.”

“Worried?” Her brows furrowed, creating stress lines in the center of her forehead. “Why are you worried about someone you know only professionally?”

“Nobody seems to know where she is.” I schooled my features into an empathetic expression. “Not your brother or her friends.”

“Look, Ms. Case, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. I don’t keep tabs on my sister. Annie’s a free spirit. She travels a lot. This is the first I’ve heard anything about her disappearing.”

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