She's Not Coming Home (20 page)

Chapter Forty

Matt angrily sounded
his horn at the driver of the Wal-Mart rig as it finally switched lanes, allowing him to pass. The driver reciprocated by flashing his headlamps as Matt’s Toyota disappeared into the distance. Now he was a mile past Braintree, as the Pilgrim’s Highway merged into the I-93.

The Interstate traffic was heavier than that on the highway up from the Cape, and it became more difficult to overtake. It was made worse by the fact that he was now in the middle of Friday night rush hour, it was dark, and beginning to rain heavily.

Matt swore as he noticed the fuel gauge: the dial was half way between a quarter full and empty. He knew there was a gas station a little further up, just after the Neponset Avenue Bridge.  Once he had filled up again and bought himself a candy bar and energy drink, he returned to the Expressway and headed back north. He was looking forward to being home, and sleeping in his own bed, but his first priority was to get hold of Nathan again. No, his destination was Medford, and Gail Smith’s home. As soon as his parents’ neighbour had said he saw Nathan get into a silver convertible, he knew where Nathan was and who had him. It all fitted into place: whatever Ruth was up to, Gail was involved as well. She must know where Ruth was. And that would explain why when they had spoken over the last couple of weeks, she never began the conversation with asking if there was any news about Ruth, as a concerned friend would do. Because she already knew!  When she finally did ask, it was always as an afterthought.  And Matt would take book on the fact that it was Gail who took the spare set of keys when she went up to the bathroom. And that proved that she and Ruth were in collusion; how else would she have known they keys were there? First, Ruth wanted the car keys, now she wanted their son. ‘Over my dead body,’ he muttered as he grasped the steering wheel harder and pressed his foot down harder on the gas pedal.

He had to brake sharply, skidding slightly; the traffic ahead had slowed down. He craned his head up to see what was the cause of the delay, but it seemed to be only volume of traffic and the rain. Irritated, he drummed his fingers on the wheel as he had to slow down to about twenty. After five minutes, the traffic speeded up again.

For the rest of the journey, the traffic was slow, stop-start, until he had gotten to the other side of Boston. Then it was even slower, as he had now joined the traffic leaving the city on a Friday night. He swung the car onto the exit ramp, and took the underpass onto Mystic Avenue, and made the rest of the journey through the residential streets.

It was almost ten thirty and the rain had turned to snow when he finally arrived at Gail and Ryan’s building. The parking lot was fuller than normal, and there were only two spaces left. He pulled in between a dark coloured Ford and a silver Audi. Climbing out of his car, he looked up at Gail and Ryan’s floor. There were lights on. He ran up to the lobby door and pressed the intercom. After a few seconds, he heard Ryan’s voice.

‘Ryan? It’s Matt. Can you let me up?’ His voice was breathless and he spoke impatiently.

‘Sure thing. Come up.’ Ryan sounded puzzled.

There was a buzz from the intercom and a click as the doors unlocked. Matt ran up the stairs. Ryan was waiting for him, standing in the open doorway.

‘Matt?’ Ryan asked, looking at his watch. ‘What’s up? What -?’

Matt pushed past him into the apartment. ‘Where are they?’ he demanded, looking around the room. Then he toured the place, checking the bedrooms, the kitchen, the bathrooms.

‘Matt?’ asked Ryan, closing the door. ‘Slow down, will you? Tell me what’s going on.’

‘Where’s Gail?’ Matt asked again, standing in the middle of the apartment, out of breath, his clothes wet from the snow outside.

‘I- I don’t… Why do you want Gail?’ stammered Ryan.

‘Because she has Nathan.’ Matt slumped onto an armchair. He rested his arms on his knees and looked up at Ryan. ‘She has Nathan and Ruth.’

‘Gail’s not here,’ Ryan said, sitting down opposite. ‘She’s on a weekend away; one of those baby shower affairs.’

Matt looked up at Ryan, sat back in the chair and closed his eyes.

‘Why do you think she has Nathan and Ruth?’ Ryan asked. ‘What’s going on?’

Matt opened his eyes and laughed bitterly. ‘What’s going on?’ he said. ‘I’ve no idea what’s going on. Ever since my wife...’ He paused. ‘Didn’t come home one night, all kinds of queer shit’s been going on. My car gets stolen a few days after the spare keys disappear from my bedroom closet. It reappears a few days later in Brooklyn -’

‘Brooklyn? Is that where you’ve come from?’

‘In a roundabout way. I was there this morning, Cape Cod this afternoon, here tonight.’

‘Let me get you a drink,’ said Ryan as he got up.

‘Just water please.’ Matt sat back in the chair again.

‘You sure? Okay.’ Ryan passed him a glass of water and sat back down again. ‘So your car was taken to Brooklyn?’

Matt took a mouthful and nodded. ‘The police told me that it had been found abandoned in a parking garage there. I picked it up from there this morning. From the police pound, I mean, not the garage.’ He sat back and closed his eyes again. ‘I went to the garage -’

He was interrupted by the sound of his cell phone ringing. ‘It’s my parents,’ he said. ‘I’d better take it.’

Ryan nodded and went to the bathroom while Matt spoke to his parents. Then into the kitchen to tidy up some cups. As he did so, he could hear Matt on the phone to his parents.

‘Any news?  Okay, I’m at Gail’s now. No, Ryan’s here; she’s not. No, he’s not either. All right, I’ll call you in the morning. Call me first if anything…’

Ryan returned as Matt put his phone away. ‘You went to the parking garage, you were saying…’

‘Yeah. I went to the garage. I kind of bribed the superintendent there to let me see the CCTV footage of the day the car was left there.’ He looked up at Ryan. ‘Ryan, Ruth parked the car there.’

Chapter Forty-One

‘
It was Ruth
parking the car?’ Ryan asked. ‘Are you sure? Sorry – stupid question. But what does that have to do with Gail?’

‘You know bits, I guess,’ Matt sighed. ‘But let me tell you the whole story. From the top.’

And so for the next hour, Matt related to Ryan the saga of the last couple of weeks, from Ruth’s not returning home to his rush back up to Boston after Nathan’s disappearance that day. Ryan sat quietly, nodding. Some of the story he knew, but from Gail’s perspective. It was now almost midnight.

‘I still don’t get,’ Ryan said, ‘why you think Gail is mixed up in all of this. Sure, she and Ruth are best friends. Have been since – well long before she and I got together.  From what you’ve said, Ruth’s up to something. She’s still alive, thank God, and may be in New York City. But you still don’t know where in the city, and why. Now the same goes for Nathan, I’m sorry to say. Have you gotten the police involved?’

‘Yes, for both of them. As soon as we found out about this woman in the silver convertible -’

‘That’s Gail’s car, for sure,’ said Ryan.

‘I know,’ Matt continued. ‘As soon as I found out, I rushed straight back up here. My folks had already called the local sheriff who had begun a search of the locality. Then passed things to the state police.  As far as Ruth goes, I called the BPD the day she vanished. The cop who I saw passed everything to their Missing Persons Unit. They’re meant to be in touch with me if anything arises. But nothing has. Then she appeared on this CCTV in Brooklyn, withdrew cash at an ATM on East 53
rd
, then disappeared again.

‘What I don’t understand, Ryan, is if she thought things were over between us, then why not say something? Why just abandon our home, her child? What mother could do that?’

‘Yeah, but Matt: don’t you think it’s a coincidence that Nathan’s gone as well?’

‘Oh, I know they’re connected. Obviously wherever she went, she wants Nathan with her. But why not say something? If she was in some kind of trouble….’ He broke off as his voice began to tremble.

Ryan rubbed his by now very stubbly chin. He checked his watch: now 12:15. He had this feeling there might be something in what Matt said. The bit about her taking the spare car keys when she went to the bathroom might be a bit tenuous; and Matt’s theory about why she never asked about Ruth until the end of a conversation was pushing it – although Gail could be a bit narcissistic. He reached out and rested his hand on Matt’s knee.

‘Look, Matt. It’s really late, and you’re bushed. You can’t do anything more now. You certainly can’t drive anymore. Stop here on the couch tonight, and decide what to do in the morning. I’ll give Gail a call first thing. Matt?’

Matt was already asleep.

Chapter Forty-Two

Matt woke with
a start, nearly falling off the couch. Disorientated, and blinking, he looked around. Through the venetian blinds on the nearest window, he could see it was getting light. He rubbed his eyes and forehead, looking round again. This was not his house, but it looked familiar. Yes, it was Gail and Ryan’s. Then he remembered why he was here, and his conversation with Ryan the night before.

A narrow shaft of light appeared against the darkened wall. Matt looked around at the source: a door was half- opened,  and in the light from the room was the silhouette of a man’s figure, wearing a tee shirt and boxer shorts. The figure reached down and felt about, then stepped into the room.

‘Hey, Matt,’ said Ryan. ‘I heard you moving about.’

Matt rubbed his face. ‘It took me a minute to figure out where I was.’

Ryan switched on a light and walked into the kitchen. ‘What time it is?’ he said, squinting at the clock on the microwave. ‘Jesus, seven o’clock.’ He walked round the room, opening the blinds. Weak daylight filled the room. ‘Man, you look like shit,’ Ryan said.

Matt rubbed his very stubbly chin. ‘I feel like shit. Did I spend the night on there?’

‘Don’t you remember?’ Ryan asked, as he prepared some coffee.

Matt rubbed the unkempt hair on the back of his head. ‘Yeah. I do remember. I think.’

‘Do you remember what you told me?’

‘What I told you?’

‘All that about Ruth and Nathan and how they disappeared, and how you think Gail has something to do with it.’

Matt nodded his head, rubbing his eyes. He took a mug of coffee from Ryan.

‘Look,’ said Ryan. ‘It’s a bit early right now, but after we’ve both showered – and boy, you need to shower – I’ll give her a call and we’ll get it sorted out. Okay?’

Matt opened his mouth to disagree, but Ryan cut in with another, ‘Okay?’

‘Okay.’ Matt sat back down again and took a large mouthful of coffee.

Just before eight, they had both showered. Matt still had a days’ growth on his face and yesterday’s clothes on. Ryan looked immaculate as usual, closely shaved and smartly dressed in a black tee and grey sweatpants. He made more coffee.

‘I’d got these special for this morning,’ he said as he took a packet of croissants out of the refrigerator. ‘Here: help yourself to a couple. Jelly’s over there.’

As Matt sat at the breakfast bar eating, Ryan took out his cell phone and speed-dialled a number.

‘Morning, sweetie. How are you?’

‘……….’

‘Great. How’s the weekend going?’

‘……….’

‘And when are you back?’

‘……….’

‘Swell.  Look, baby: Matt’s here.’

‘……….’

‘He stopped over last night. Slept on the couch.’

‘……….’

‘Well, something’s happened to Nathan.’

‘……….’

‘He disappeared from Matt’s folks’ place yesterday. Matt reckons you know something about it.’

‘……….’

‘Sure, I know that, but why don’t you have a word with him. Put his mind -’

‘……….’

‘Okay, okay, baby. Tell you what: why don’t you give him a call yourself when -’

‘……….’

‘Okay. Talk to you tonight. Love you.’

He waited a moment, then ended the call. Put the phone down on the counter. ‘Sorry, Matt,’ he said. ‘She had to go. They were all about to go out for breakfast.’

‘Where’s she gone?’ Matt asked.

‘She’s gone up to Cape Elizabeth. A girls’ weekend. Retail therapy, that sort of thing. Gail and three or four others.’

‘Do you know any of the others she went with?’

‘Sure. Why?’

‘Do you know any of their cell numbers?’

Ryan gave him a puzzled look. ‘I – I guess so,’ he replied slowly.

‘Do me a favour – call one of them. Any one.’

Still with a puzzled expression, Ryan picked up his phone and trawled though his contacts list. Picked one, and dialled.

‘Hello, Cindy. It’s Ryan. Ryan Wilson.’

‘……….’

‘I’m good, thanks. Sorry to call you, but Gail must have her cell switched off. I just need to talk with her for a second.’

‘……….’

‘But I thought she was with you up at Cape Elizabeth…’

‘……….’

‘I’m sorry, Cindy. My mistake. Guess I misunderstood her.’

‘……….’

‘You too. Take care now.’

He hung up and looked over at Matt. ‘She’s not with Cindy. Not up at the Cape. Cindy is. But not Gail. Matt, what’s going on?’

‘You believe me now?’

‘But where the hell could she be?’

‘Get online. Look up your bank account. See if she’s used an ATM. That’s how I found Ruth had been to New York.’

Ryan swallowed. ‘Okay.’ He walked over to the desk where his PC was situated, and booted it up. Momentarily he got to his bank’s site, and checked his account. ‘My God,’ he muttered, sitting down at the screen.

‘What is it?’ Matt asked.

‘Two hundred bucks taken out. Yesterday.’

‘Can you tell where?’

Ryan clicked on a blue link. ‘It was at Banco Santander S.A., 45 -’

‘East 53
rd
Street.’ Matt finished his sentence.

Ryan looked up at him.

‘That was the same ATM location Ruth used,’ Matt said grimly. Believe me now?’

Ryan rested his elbows on the desk and rubbed his temples. ‘What do you want to do?’ he asked.

‘I’m going to New York. That’s where my family are.’

Ryan nodded, leaning back in his chair. ‘Matt, I’m sorry…’

Matt rested his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. ‘Forget it. Thanks for the couch last night. And for breakfast.’ He visited the bathroom and went to the front door, turning round as he held the handle. ‘If Gail calls back, don’t tell her -’

‘I won’t. Matt -’

Matt turned round again.

‘Good luck.’

Matt nodded and closed Ryan’s door behind him. He walked briskly downstairs and out to where he had left the Toyota the night before. Started the car up, and pulled into the street. He hit a red light at the first corner. Once it went green, he made a left and headed for the I-93. Three other vehicles made a left after him: a rusty green pick up truck, a yellow school bus, and a silver Audi.

Traffic on the interstate was relatively light that time on a Saturday morning and Matt was making good progress. As he headed west along the I-90, he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He was unable to reach the phone without losing some speed, so continued.

Just before he passed the town of Auburn, he pulled in to a gas station to fill up. He bought a sandwich and a coffee when he paid for the fuel. Walking back to the car, he reached down into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had almost forgotten about the message that came through earlier. As he climbed into the car, he casually looked down at the screen, almost dropping his food when he saw where the message had come from.

It was Ruth’s number.

Matt im so sorry please stay away. For nathans sake
.