Henry pictured one of the long thin rods. “She pried the door open with it?”
“No, she slid it under the door and shoved the legs of the chair away.”
“I thought this girl was naive. That’s pretty smart, thinking ahead to store something like that in the closet.”
“She was used to a cycle of abuse. At times she had to think ahead to survive. Rich was such a horrible person. He would take the phone from their landline with him when he left the home.”
“What an asshole.”
“That’s describing him mildly. Once she got out and saw her daughter was gone, she ran that mile to her neighbor’s house to report that Jade was missing.”
“And the sheriff’s office blew her off because Jade was with their buddy, her dad.”
Cate lifted her wineglass in a small toast to him.
“This sounds like something that would happen fifty years ago . . . not seven years ago,” he said.
“Rich made Kori write monthly letters to her parents saying how happy she was. He read them all before mailing them, of course. No TV. No computer. They lived off the land as much as possible. Any shopping was done only by Rich or when he was with her. She never went to a store alone.”
“Her whole life must have revolved around that little girl,” said Henry.
“It did. Kori was a complete mess when I first met her, but I watched her grow a lot over the years. It’s amazing how someone can blossom when they’re not being kept in a box. I’m very interested to hear how she’s doing now. I haven’t talked to her in almost two years.”
“I hope Kori finally gets some answers,” Henry said. “Maybe this mandible will be the lead the FBI needed all along.”
Their onion rings arrived, and they munched in silence for a long moment, trying to think of more pleasant thoughts.
Cate covered her mouth as she chewed and then whispered to Henry, “Who’s the woman with Rex Conan?”
“Don’t know,” said Henry. “They look happy, though.”
“At least a longtime resident like him will know to stick to dating and not get married,” Cate said, choking back a laugh.
Henry didn’t laugh. “Are you implying that it’s dangerous for me to get married?” The high number of widowed women on the island had always bothered him. For some reason, married men passed away much earlier than their spouses. As if the island were trying to live up to its name.
Cate’s eyes sparkled. “It’s a myth.”
“I’ve done my own research. Men die younger here. What do you women do to us?”
“Maybe we cook with too much lard and bacon fat. Maybe it’s heart disease.” She moved her mouth closer to his ear. “Or maybe they die with smiles on their faces.”
Her breath on his ear and neck triggered goose bumps all the way down his legs. He turned, meeting her heated gaze as a different hunger flared in his chest.
We haven’t even finished our appetizer.
It was going to be a long dinner.
4
George Aston was sitting on the porch when Cate arrived the next morning. She parked her car on the street, wondering if Kori’s father frequently sat in the adirondack chair or was waiting for her. The small neighborhood was cute. It was a beachy-looking cluster of tiny cottages painted in varying pale shades of coral, teal, pink, and white. Cate knew this wasn’t a neighborhood of tourist rentals. The people who lived in these little homes were islanders. They had jobs in the towns or worked on the water.
Or were retired, like George and Ellen.