Page 41 of The Liar's Wife

“I hadn’t even thought,” I said, my throat dry. Dannika had been my best friend all my life. Ty was like a brother to me. I never thought about our differences in that way. Inever thought about the things they didn’t talk about, the struggles I never had to see. “I’m sorry.”

He huffed. “You don’t have to be sorry. I don’t want you to be. You didn’t do anything wrong. We want to help. We do. It about kills me to say this to you now, but Dani and I have talked about it. I’m just not comfortable with this. We can’t go driving up to houses at night. We can’t be in neighborhoods where people don’t know I’m a lawyer. If someone calls the cops on you, you may get a warning. If someone calls the cops on us, we could end up in jail, if we don’t end up dead. There are amazing cops out there, don’t get me wrong, but it’s still a risk. It’s a much bigger risk for us than you. Don’t you see that? We love you, but it’s a whole different world for us. We don’t talk about these things because we don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean that every time we go to a restaurant with you, we don’t feel like we’re less scrutinized than when we’re alone. Or when we go shopping, we don’t have to make sure we keep our hands out of our pockets. I get what you want to do, Palmer. If it were my kid, I’d feel the same. The difference is, if it were my kid, I wouldn’t have the option to act on those feelings. I’d have to do what I’m told or else I’d be risking leaving my kids parentless. We came with you because we feel like it’s our duty to help you. We care about you. And about Gray. But this is where it ends for us as far as an investigation. You can stay with us for as long as you need, but Dani has to realize we can’t help with this. I see it too much at my firm. It’s too dangerous, and it’s always on my mind.”

I swallowed. “I understand. I’m sorry to have put you in this position.”

He shook his head, meeting my eyes in the rearview, andI could tell he felt bad. Dani wouldn’t look back. We rode the whole way home in silence, while I called Officer Kessler to leave an update on her voicemail.

When we got home, Dani walked with me to the bedroom, wringing her hands together. She shut the door behind her as Ty went to bed.

“He means well,” she said, staring at me.

“Dani, you don’t have to explain. I know he does. Ty’s done so much for me. You both have. I’m sorry I put you in a dangerous position. I’d never do that on purpose. I’d never forgive myself if—”

She held up a hand, shaking her head. “There’s a lawyer at Ty’s firm, Owen. His husband is a cop. Ty got a call earlier that they were looking into me, just a head’s up from Owen’s husband, Jay.”

“Looking into you? Why?”

She released a heavy breath through her nose. “Because I was with you at the marina.”

“But…you had nothing to do with this.”

“I know that and you know that, but some people don’t need to see anything more than skin color to assume someone’s guilty. Jay said they didn’t find anything, but he wanted us to be aware. He’s a good cop. A good guy, and we consider Owen a friend. It just really upset Ty, embarrassed him a bit, too. He…he sees so much at work, and he’s always worried about us. I just…I can’t go against what he says—not about this.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.” It’s my turn to pull her into a hug. “I love you so much. Thank you for going with me today. Thank you for always being with me.”

When we broke apart, there were tears in her eyes. “We’re going to find him, right?”

I felt tears falling down my own cheeks, and when I spoke again, it was a vow. “I won’t give up until we do.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

An hour later, the house was silent. For a while after Dannika had left me to sleep, I could hear them whispering from the bedroom. I felt terrible for what I’d done, for the position I’d put them in, and for not even realizing there was a position to begin with. I wouldn’t do it again. Wouldn’t chance it for the world.

Instead, once the house fell silent, I scribbled a note and left it on the kitchen counter.

Dani and Ty,

Thank you for always taking care of me. I have to go find him. I can’t give up, and I can’t wait. I love you both. Give the babies kisses from me.

Palmer

With that, I walked out the front door and called an Uber. The black Hyundai pulled up, allowing me to climb in. The driver, Alex, offered me a bottle of water or a phone charger. I accepted both and opened my Facebook, searching for Katherine Thompson and the name of her town, praying itwould pull something up. It was a small town, even smaller than Crestview, so I had to hope.

I waited as my Facebook loaded…

And continued loading…

Finally, a list of names popped up. The first three weren’t her, the fourth didn’t have a profile picture at all. Two of the four weren’t even in our state. One had the last name River, rather than being from Red River.

I clicked ‘See More’ and, as soon as it loaded, I gasped.

Got you.

I’d recognize the face that had been burned into my memory any day. I clicked on her profile, watching it load, and her face filled my screen. The profile photo was her, though her hair was now a coal black rather than strawberry-blonde. When had that happened? Was this an outdated picture? I checked the date and noted that she’d just posted it the day before. So, she’d changed her look. She was definitely hiding something.

I scrolled through her page, which was mostly private, and there were no pictures of Gray. There was, however, a photo of a house with the captionWe’re homeowners!

It had been shared two years ago. I clicked on it, reading the house number: 618. There was no street name, but someone had been tagged at one point. Her husband, most likely. I ran my mouse over the picture.