Page 37 of The Liar's Wife
I ended the call and looked at Dannika. “They aren’t sure who the transfers were for, but I also noticed this for a store I’ve never heard of.” I pulled the laptop closer toward me and typed in the website the teller had given me. It loaded within seconds, and I furrowed my brow.What?It was a gag gift site, loaded with fake dog poo, zen garden litter boxes, giant rolls of toilet paper, fake pregnancy tests, fake bed bugs, whoopie cushions, vulgar coffee mugs, and more.
“Maybe he was getting something for someone at work?” she asked, shrugging one shoulder and looking as appalled as I felt.
“Yeah, maybe…” The site was atrocious, and anyone who could find most of it funny terrified me. I closed the laptop and hung my head back against the sofa. Dead end after dead end. Where were we supposed to look next? What options could I still dig into?
My phone rang again, and I glanced down, surprised to see the bank’s number on my screen. Dannika’s eyes were wide and fearful as she watched me answer.
“Hello?”
“Mrs. Lewis? This is Deb from the bank.”
“Oh, hey.”
“Hey, I know you asked me to close out the card ending in five, seven, three, three, but we just had a charge attempt to go through. I wanted to verify with you that you wanted me to refuse it?”
My heart pounded, my nerves on high alert, as I sat up straighter. “What charge?” I asked, my breathing loud in my own ears. Dannika moved closer, and I met her eyes, hope in mine.
“It was for a flight. Six hundred seventy-nine dollars.”
I stood from the couch, the room spinning as I learned the new information. My entire body began to tremble as I paced. “Let it go through.”
“Are you sure? If I do—”
“I won’t dispute it, Deb, don’t worry. Just let it go through. Can you tell me which airline it is?”
“It’s Coastal Carolina.”
“To where?”
“I can’t see that information, ma’am.” Dammit. I slapped a hand against my temple.
“Okay, fine, let it go through.” This was my chance—my only chance to find them.
“Okay, I have. It’s approved.”
I hung up the phone without a goodbye and darted back to the laptop. “They’re going to try to get away.”
“Who?” Dannika asked.
“Whoever’s using Ben’s card. Ben, Kat, I don’t know.”
“How do you know?”
“They just used his card to book a flight.”
“Stop them!” Dannika shouted, pointing at the door.
“I couldn’t,” I told her, typing in the airport to find the phone number. “This is my only chance to track them down. If I know where they’ll be, I can catch them. I can get him back, Dani.” She didn’t look convinced. “I know it’s a risk, but I have to do it.”
“I think you should let the police handle it, Palmer. What are you going to do? Attack them? Rip Gray from her arms?”
“Whatever it takes,” I told her, and I believe we both knew I meant it. I would’ve burned the place down if it meant saving my son. I dialed the airline. When I was connected with a representative, I asked, “Hi, I just booked a flight with you, and I didn’t get a receipt in my email. If I have my card number, can you pull it up and make sure the payment went through?”
“I’d be happy to. What’s that card number?”
I opened the online banking tab again and found Ben’s card, reading it off to her.
“Thank you,” she said, typing it in. “Yes, it does look like it went through.”