She's Not There by P. J. Parrish Read Free Book Online

nodded.
    “So when you got home, at what point did you get concerned that your wife wasn’t there?”
    Alex hesitated.
    “Mr. Tobias?”
    “We were supposed to go to the Heat game that night,” he said. “My law firm has a center court suite, and Mel always comes along, you know, to entertain the client’s wife. So when she wasn’t home by five, that’s when I figured . . .”
    “Figured what?” Speck prodded.
    “I figured she had stayed with her friend.”
    “Friend? What friend?”
    “Mel had mentioned that she might go visit a friend of hers. The friend, she just had a miscarriage, and Mel was worried about her.”
    Speck exchanged looks with the other cop who was still taking notes. “You said you didn’t talk to your wife before you left on Friday. How did you know about this friend?”
    Alex stared at Speck. “I forgot about it until just now.”
    “What’s this friend’s name?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Speck cocked his head to the side. “So you think your wife was planning to visit this friend. And when you got home Saturday afternoon and realized she wasn’t there, you still didn’t get worried, even though you had planned to go to the Heat game together?”
    Alex stared at Speck. “Okay, I thought she was just pissed at me.”
    “About what, sir?”
    “About having to go to the damn game. I thought maybe it was her way of sending me a message that she was tired of babysitting bored wives at basketball games.”
    “Did you call her?”
    Alex nodded. “It kept going to voice mail.”
    “So you went to the Heat game alone?”
    Alex nodded. His mind was spinning.
    “And this morning?” Speck asked. “Your wife had been gone two nights and wasn’t answering her phone. When did you intend to get concerned?”
    Alex pushed out of the chair and went to the window. He stood staring out at the blur of lights below. A palm frond slapped against the glass.
    “Mr. Tobias?”
    The elevator pinged and Alex turned. He was surprised to see Owen McCall get out. Owen stopped abruptly when he spotted Alex and then came forward slowly, his eyes taking in the cops before settling back on Alex. His blue suit was spotted with rain and his mane of white hair was plastered to his head. Alex had the thought that in their twelve years together, he had never seen his partner look so upset.
    The tall cop’s cell rang and he turned away. A second later, he motioned for Speck to join him near the elevator. Owen came over to the window.
    “Why are the police here?” he asked.
    “Mel’s missing,” Alex said.
    “Missing? What do you mean?”
    “She walked out, Owen. She just walked out of here.”
    “Jesus, Alex. Did she . . . ?” Owen ran a hand over his wet face. “Did you talk to her? Did she say anything?”
    Alex shook his head slowly. “She just left.”
    “Mr. Tobias?”
    Speck was back. He gave Owen a quick once-over and then focused again on Alex. “We found your wife’s car,” he said.
    “Where?”
    “Out on County Road 29, about two miles off Alligator Alley.”
    It took Alex several seconds to pull up a mental map. Alligator Alley was the slang name for I-75, the interstate that cut across Florida from one coast to another. But 29 was just a two-lane blacktop road off the Alley that ran south through the wildest part of the Everglades. He had been on that road once, years ago, when a bunch of clients had gathered down at the Rod and Gun Club in Everglades City. Until you reached Everglades City, there was nothing on that road but scrubland and drainage canals.
    “Do you know what your wife was doing out there, Mr. Tobias?”
    Alex looked at Speck. “I . . . I don’t know.”
    Owen pushed forward. “Are you accusing him of something?”
    Speck looked up. “Not yet.”
    “Then this interview is over,” Owen said.
    “Who are you?” Speck asked.
    Owen stared at him. “I’m his attorney.”

CHAPTER SIX
    The sunlight streaming through the window woke her up. Amelia blinked