Page 12 of Long Gone

“Mitch said that the bank accounts were empty when he disappeared,” I continued. “Do you know where the money went?”

“If you think Hugo transferred the money to a secret bank account, you’re wrong,” she said bitterly. “There were no large transfers other than the down payments for various pieces of land and loan payments. Hugo didn’t shuffle the money somewhere so he could go live on a beach. He was trying to keep everything all afloat.”

“At the time of his disappearance, did you know he was in financial trouble?”

Tears filled her eyes. “I had no idea.”

“You didn’t notice the low balances in the accounts?”

Her cheeks flushed. “I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t pay attention. I never had anything to do with the business accounts, and he took care of our personal accounts too. Hugo said all the money stuff would stress me out, so he gave me a monthly allowance for the household and for things for myself. If I needed more, I’d ask him, and he always gave it to me.”

The furnishings and her clothes suggested she had expensive taste. If Hugo had never denied her, had he felt pressured to make sure money was always available for her? Had he taken risks to keep her living in the style she’d become accustomed to? And if it had gotten to be too much, would he have run off rather than risk telling her the truth?

“How did Hugo handle conflicts?” I asked. “Did he try to avoid them? Confront them head on? Or somewhere in between?”

“He wasn’t a fan of conflict, but he had difficult conversations with his clients all the time. Especially at the end. He didn’t tell me what the conversations were about, but he told me that he’d had to deal with investors who were upset when investments weren’t progressing as quickly as they would have liked.”

“Did he seem like himself before he disappeared?” I asked. “Any changes to his personality or behavior?”

“He was preoccupied and a little distant, but the morning he disappeared, he told me he was working a big deal that would turn things around. He had a potential new investor who could change everything. I was surprised, because I had no idea he needed things to turn around. When I asked if we were in trouble, he confirmed that we were and said he hadn’t told me because he didn’t want me to worry. He left for a lunch meeting, then worked at the office and called me around four to tell me he’d meet us at Anton’s basketball game, but he might be a little late because of his meeting.”

“Do you know the location of the meeting?”

“No. He didn’t say.”

“Do you have any idea who he was meeting?”

She frowned. “No.”

“What about his lunch meeting? Do you know where it was or who it was with?”

She shook her head. “He didn’t tell me things like that. Like I said, he kept his business life mostly separate from his family life. Money and meetings too.”

“I realize you don’t know much about your husband’s business dealings, but is there any chance you know if the meeting was in Jackson Creek or Wolford?”

“It could have been in either place. Or maybe even El Dorado. He’d occasionally go as far as Little Rock, but he’d usually tell me first. I know the afternoon meeting wouldn’t have been in Little Rock or even El Dorado. He wouldn’t have had enough time to get there and be back for Anton’s game.”

“Did Hugo keep a paper appointment calendar or a digital one?”

She nodded. “A paper day planner, but it would have been with him or in his office, and I didn’t get it in my box of his belongings.”

Which meant the sheriff’s department had it if it had been in his office. I said as much, and she scowled.

“Who knows if they have it. If they do, they didn’t tell me. Unless it had the details of his supposed escape, I doubt they’d care much about the planner. Especially since they refuse to consider that anything bad happened to him.”

And she refused to believe something bad hadn’t. I suspected she wasn’t on friendly terms with them.

“If they think he ran away and they have some kind of proof, I suspect they’d close the case, or at least stop actively investigating it. Unless…” I held her gaze. “Did your husband lose other people’s money?”

Her back stiffened. “Hugo wasn’t a thief.”

“I’m not accusing him of that, but you said he was dealing with investors who were unhappy that they hadn’t gotten a return on their investment. I’m guessing they didn’t get their money after he disappeared.”

Her cheeks flushed. “No. Some of his investors weren’t happy and let me know.”

“I’m sure that was difficult, especially when you had no knowledge of his business practices.”

Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward. “Yes. You get it.”

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