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Chapter Thirty-Eight

As dusk descended, I turned on the lamps in the living room, then closed the blinds. “Lights are on at the Wiley residence,” I said, “so I think we could walk over there now.”

“I’d like to bring Sophie,” Clare noted, “if you don’t mind me borrowing her another night.”

I glanced at Sophie who still looked tuckered, though she followed Clare from room to room. “It’s fine with me.”

Alan concurred, clipping her leash while telling her to be a good girl. I tossed a sweater around my shoulders, hoping for a trendy look. As we crossed the street, I wondered if we should have given them a heads-up before arriving at their door.

Too late for that, Alan rang the doorbell, which triggered the porch light. A moment later, Dr. Wiley pulled open the inside door. He seemed surprised to see us, as well as our dog, which may have been why he didn’t invite us in.

“We’re sorry to bother you,” Alan said. The storm door still remained closed between us. “I wanted to introduce you to Clare Dolan, Liz Sterling’s sister.”

He smiled politely. “Nice to meet you.”

Alan continued. “We’ve been trying to piece together Liz’s last contacts before she went missing.”

“As I told you last week, we haven’t seen her.”

“Right,” Alan replied, “though your wife played golf with her on the Saturday afternoon before Clare arrived.”

“I’m not sure about that.”

Alan raised an eyebrow. “That’s what your wife told us when we had dinner with you at the bar and grill. Would you ask her to confirm that with us?”

Joe Wiley didn’t look pleased, but he complied. When the two of them came outside, he relayed that they could give us only five minutes of their time. They stood stiffly while Alan introduced Clare to Lindsey.

Clare offered a warm smile. “I’m happy to meet you.”

With the residual glow of the porch light, Lindsey seemed focused on Clare’s facial features. “You’re the missionary?”

“I am,” she replied simply. “My sister isn’t home yet.”

“We read that in the Gazette on Sunday,” Joe noted. “You have our sympathy.”

“The last time we spoke,” Alan remarked to Lindsey, “you told us about the round of golf you played with Liz. Did she give any indication of her plans for the next day?”

“No, but she didn’t talk much. We only played nine holes, so I figured she was tired.”

“Were you close friends?” Alan asked.

She frowned, then looked at her husband for direction. He merely shrugged. “No, I wouldn’t say we had a close friendship, at least not in recent years.”

Alan pressed on. “Lindsey, phone records indicate that you and Liz spoke briefly on that Saturday evening before she disappeared. May I ask about the nature of your call?”

She shook her head, frowning. “I don’t remember speaking with her on the phone.” She again looked to her husband for his guidance.

“I think you did, honey. Didn’t you tell me you wanted to ask if she’d found your bracelet?”

She paused a moment. “Oh, that’s right. I thought it fell off in the golf cart, but she didn’t see it.”

“What time did you call?” Alan asked nonchalantly.

“Since you have the phone records,” she replied stiffly, “you would know.” She gave her husband a smug smile.

“The time stamp is eleven p.m.,” Alan said, “but that seems rather late.”

“That sounds about right. I mean, by the time I realized my bracelet was missing, I was desperate. Wasn’t I, honey?”

“I imagine so,” he replied, glancing at his watch. “I’m sorry to end our discussion, but we have plans. I hope we’ve been some help to all of you this evening.” Sophie sniffed his pants when he turned to go inside.

Clare tugged at the leash. “Thank you for your help. Please pray that my sister returns soon.”

“We will,” Lindsey stated, following her husband. As they went inside and turned off the porch light, we made our way to the sidewalk.

“She’s lying about something,” Clare said, matter-of-factly.

“Apparently,” Alan agreed, “but start looking in Liz’s house for a bracelet. I imagine it’s a key piece of evidence.”

^^ ^

It felt strange to return to our house without Sophie, yet she didn’t hesitate to go with Clare. I commented about that when Alan put his key in our front door.

“She seems to sense that Clare needs her,” Alan remarked. “Does that bother you?”

“Not at all, but I do miss her. Anyway, we have another call to make, unless you want to pay Janice Walker a visit.”

Alan glanced at the kitchen clock. “It’s after nine o’clock, so I don’t think she’d be too happy to see us at this hour. Don’t you have her number?”

I reached for my phone and connected. “Hi, Janice. It’s Sue and Alan Jaworski here, and I have you on speaker phone.”

She yelled for someone to turn down the TV. “Did Liz come home?” she asked.

“No, not yet. We’re retracing her steps from the day before her sister arrived, and we know she was with you that morning.”

“I already told you that.” She sounded miffed about the statement, as well as the interruption to her favorite show.

“Yes, and you mentioned that she had afternoon plans. Did you happen to talk to her later?”

She paused, probably processing my question. “Yes, I knew she intended to go to the grocery store, so I asked if she’d pick up some things for my brother. It would save me the trip.”

I caught Alan’s eye as I asked, “What time was that?”

“It was supper time or thereabouts, and Damien didn’t have any food in the house, or so he said. I would’ve gone, but she was going anyway.”

Alan interrupted. “Do you know if she took food to him?”

“I guess she did because he didn’t pester me again. ”

“You don’t know for sure?” he pressed.

“No, but I could call him on his house phone.”

“We’d appreciate it, as well as a call back to let us know.”

Placing my phone on the coffee table, I stared at Alan. My mind whirled with the implication that Damien may have been the last one to see Liz Sterling, yet he’d denied knowing where she was. “You need to notify the county police,” I insisted.

“You’re speculating, Sue.”

I shook my head. “Now it’s making sense. No wonder that jerk walks around with a rifle. He’s probably hidden Liz in his barn or something.”

“Pure speculation,” Alan reiterated. “Why would Liz have gone to the grocery store on Saturday evening? We know she went earlier to shop for Jane.”

“Maybe she brought Damien what she’d bought for herself, figuring she could go back to the store on Sunday morning.”

“Then, Damien’s not implicated because we know her purse was in the hall closet. In other words, she drove home that night.”

“Wait a minute.” Alan’s valid point made me think. “That darn purse! What if the same person put the handbag in the closet and the beaded necklace on the kitchen table.”

“How would he or she know it belonged in the hall closet?” Alan queried.

I sighed. “I have no idea.”

“That’s why I’m telling you we can’t yet involve the county police. We have nothing but speculation.”

“Then we’ll have to pay Damien Sterling a visit in the morning, and see what we can find. Sophie’s coming with us.”

Alan nodded. “We can do that, although Janice hasn’t yet verified that Liz brought groceries to her brother-in-law that evening. Of course, it’s getting late, so we may not hear from her tonight.”

“I should have told her to call at any time.”

“We could have more of that apple pie while we’re waiting,” Alan suggested.

His expression made me laugh, although I brought the pie and two plates to the island. He went to the freezer for the vanilla ice cream while I cut slices for both of us.

I had to admit, our late-night dessert calmed me, and I felt somewhat amorous by the time we headed to bed. Maybe letting Sophie give comfort to Clare brought additional benefits for us, and we took full advantage of our empty nest.