Page 106 of High Society

Reese’s shoulders straighten. “You think she was abducted?”

“I’m sorry, Reese. I can’t be any more forthcoming with you and the group. I hope you understand.”

“I get it. I do. I deal with very sensitive and private matters in my work, too.” It’s Reese’s turn to look away. “Besides, there’s something I haven’t told you. Or anyone, for that matter.”

“About Liisa?”

Reese shakes her head. “JJ.”

Holly straightens. “What about her?”

“JJ and I, you know, we… bonded. We became friends. We even used to hang out outside of therapy.”

Holly nods. “I’m sorry you lost a good friend, Reese.”

“After Elaine overdosed, JJ took it so… personally,” Reese continues. “She felt extremely guilty. The rest of us all knew there’s no way you would have… could have molested Elaine. But somehow JJ felt it was her responsibility to disabuse Elaine of the notion that you might have hurt her. JJ thought that if she had put more time and effort into persuading Elaine, then maybe she wouldn’t have OD’d that night…”

Holly feels almost relieved. “That’s what you’ve been keeping to yourself, Reese?”

She hesitates. “There’s more.”

“What else?”

Reese finally says, “I have no idea if this is relevant or not…”

Holly forces a smile. “Tell me.”

“The last time I spoke to JJ—the day she jumped—she told me she got an unexpected visitor. And it really spooked her.”

Holly tilts her head. “Who visited her?”

Reese looks up at her. “Your husband.”

Holly goes cold. “Why would Aaron go see JJ?” she mumbles, more to herself than Reese.

Reese shifts in her seat. “JJ told me about the vaping incident. How she walked in on you in your office.”

Holly’s cheeks burn. “She was my last appointment that day. The office door was already locked. I assumed everyone was gone. Besides, what does that have to do with Aaron?”

“JJ mentioned that the cleaner let her back in to get her jacket. Apparently, your husband thought JJ was planning to do something about what she had seen.”

Holly’s heart slams in her chest. “Like what?”

“Report it.”

“What exactly did he say to her?” Holly asks in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m not sure of his exact words, but JJ thought he was trying to intimidate her.”

Holly’s head spins. “Intimidate? How?”

“It’s all hearsay.” Reese holds up a hand in disclaimer. “And JJ was definitely not herself when she told me. In retrospect, I wondered if she’d already been drinking at the time. But JJ said your husband warned her the group would collapse if she told anyone about you vaping DMT. And if that did happen, it would not be good for JJ. Not good at all.”

CHAPTER 53

Holly’s phone vibrates again, but recognizing the distinctive ringtone indicating Aaron’s number, she lets the call go to voicemail. It’s the third call from him this morning. She has ignored them all. Each one has made her angrier than the previous. She’s tempted to pick up, if only to respond to his plaintive query at the restaurant and scream, “Now do you see why the fuck I couldn’t just trust you?!”

It’s barely eleven o’clock, but as she walks along Laguna’s boardwalk the sun is beating down on her neck, promising a hot day. The coffee cup in her hand is only an accessory, a habit from previous beach strolls, and she hasn’t drunk a sip. It was her idea to meet here. She needed to escape the suddenly claustrophobic confines of her office after Reese dropped her bombshell revelation.