Page 94 of Finding Our Reality

I wink. “You love the way I look. And if you keep up that cussing, I’m gonna wash your mouth out with soap.”

Her face flushes and her eyes widen in delight.

Fortunately, the elevator opens on the nineteenth floor, saving her from more banter. Caleb’s employer takes up the whole floor, so the receptionist’s desk is right out front. I inform the woman we have an appointment with Caleb, and she calls back to his office. After a minute, his secretary meets us and walks us back through the winding halls. I can tell Lulu is nervous. She’s rubbing her scar and glancing out the windows we pass by, watching the traffic on the streets far below us.

We’re barely past the threshold to Caleb’s office when he’s racing around the desk and engulfing Lulu in a hug. “Ella!” He holds her at arm’s length to look at her and then hugs her again. “I can’t believe you’re really standing here. It’s so good to see you.”

She clears her throat, trying to wipe away the emotion, but I still hear a slight tremble in her voice. “You too. It’s great to see you, Caleb.”

He holds out a hand to me, introducing himself.

“Sergeant Ryland Crutchfield. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. I know your schedule must be busy.”

He studies my bulletproof vest and glances down at my weapon, before turning back to Lulu. “The police, Ella?” His eyes grow wide with horror. “Oh my god, did you find her? Did you find Carrie?”

“No, we haven’t found her.” Lulu reaches out, rubbing Caleb’s arm. The familiarity between the two of them stings a little bit.

He reaches up and rubs his sternum. “Good.” He furrows his brow. “Well, I don’t know ifgoodis the right word. At this point, I honestly don’t know if I want her to be found or not. If we don’t know what happened, then I can still imagine her alive. Alive and happy and living on a deserted island somewhere, you know?”

Lulu smiles sadly. “It’s time to be realistic, Caleb. I haven’t felt Carrie’s presence in a really long time. We need to find out what happened and bring those people to justice.”

Solemnly nodding, he waves us over to his desk. “Please, sit. Can I get either of you anything? Water? Coffee?”

I pull the chair for Lulu and set her work bag beside her. “We’re fine, thank you.” While Lulu’s pulling out her notebook and my file, I get permission to record the interview.

Caleb fiddles with an ink pen on his desk. “Why do I get the feeling this has nothing to do with a book?”

“There may be a book one day, but right now, there’s no ending for it. That’s what we’re searching for, Caleb.” Lulu takes a deep breath. “When I came home for my parents’ funeral, I found some new evidence. So we are re-interviewing everyone.”

“I’m so sorry about that, Ella. After my secretary told me you called, I did an internet search on you. I read about Robert and Susan’s plane crash. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

She licks her lips and picks at a fake piece of lint on her shirt. “Thanks.”

Somehow, I get the picture that he knows her relationship with her parents wasn’t the best. I can only assume Carrie shared some of the same feelings and thoughts with him that Lulu shared with me.

He nods. “So, new evidence? What did you find?”

I jump in, taking the lead. “First, why don’t you go ahead and tell me about your relationship with Carrie? I took the case over about two-and-a-half years ago, and I would love to gain more insight on Carrie’s life at the time of her disappearance. As her boyfriend, you knew her better than most people.”

Caleb is easy to talk to. He openly answers all of my questions about his and Carrie’s past. He even discusses the drug activity, confirming that it’s the reason he broke up with her. Lulu listens intently, taking notes. When it’s time to show Caleb the pictures, I nod to her.

“After my parents’ funeral, I was finally moving some stuff out of Carrie’s room and I found some pictures.”

“Pictures? What kind of pictures?”

Lulu slides the stack—except for the last picture—across the desk. Before lifting her hand, she warns Caleb. “They’re not easy to look at, Caleb. Take your time. Tell us if you recognize anyone in the photos.”

I notice that his hands are trembling when he picks up the pictures. He shakes his head. “I nearly forgot how beautiful she was. I still can’t believe she even agreed to go out with me.” He slowly flips through the pictures. Silent tears roll from his eyes when he sees Carrie passed out cold. Tossing the stack back across the desk, he wipes his face with the back of his hand. “No, the only person I recognize is Carrie.” He shakes his head.

Lulu sits straighter in her chair. “I found something else.” She takes a deep breath, inhaling in small spurts. “A pregnancy test.”

“Excuse me?”

“A pregnancy test. It was positive. There’s reason to believe that Carrie was pregnant when she went missing.”

Caleb had no idea. The shock is written all over his face. In fact, he would probably be less shocked if Carrie walked through the door right now and sat on his lap.

He’s stuttering so badly, he can’t even form a word. “Wh…what? I mean, huh? N…no. Are you sure?”

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