The date was meaningless, and Grace felt numb. “I…I don’t know about any travel trailer.”
“I called the private party who sold it to him and discovered he paid cash. It’s a twenty-four footer. The other person wasn’t likely to forget, since Dan arrived with the money in fresh one-hundred-dollar bills.”
“How much?”
“According to the seller, thirteen thousand dollars.”
“Cash?” They didn’t have thirteen thousand dollars in cash. Any extra money had been invested. Nearly everything they’d managed to save over the years was in stocks and bonds.
“The man made quite a point of telling me it was all one-hundred-dollar bills. Actually, he was quite shaken when he was handed that much cash.”
“Where would Dan get that kind of money?”
“I can’t answer that,” Roy told her.
Neither could she. “Dan couldn’t have taken out an equity loan without my knowing, could he?”
“He didn’t,” Roy said. “Not according to the bank records I have.”
And surely she would’ve received some sort of statement for any other kind of loan.
“This doesn’t make sense.” But then, very little of what Dan had done in the last year was logical.
“So you don’t know anything about this travel trailer?”
“Not a thing. Do you think Dan’s traveling around the country?” she asked, searching desperately for answers.
“I really don’t know. Haven’t come across any evidence of that—no credit card charges, for instance. None in his name, anyway.”
“Then what’s he using for money?”
“If he had thirteen thousand dollars in cash you knew nothing about, there’s no way of knowing how much money he had squirreled away.”
“Where could he have kept this money?”
“Do you have a safety-deposit box?” Roy answered her question with his own.
“Yes…no. I don’t know anymore.” They did have a box at some point, but she hadn’t seen the renewal application in years.
“Tell me this,” Roy said. “Who brought in the mail every day?”
“Dan.”
“That’s what I thought. Another possibility is that Dan has a post office box you know nothing about.”
All the secrets Dan had kept from her. Grace didn’t know how she could have lived with him for more than thirty years and not known the man who was her husband.
“The report didn’t show a safety-deposit box?” she asked.
“No, but if Dan has one strictly in his name, the bank isn’t legally obligated to report it. Some banks will as a matter of course, and others only if a court order is issued.”
“Will we need a court order?”
“We’ll face that when we come to it.”
“All right.”
As if she understood that her new mistress was feeling anxious, Buttercup walked over to the phone and stood next to Grace. She leaned down and stroked the dog’s head, which calmed both of them.
She spoke with Roy for a few more minutes. When she hung up, Grace experienced a new sensation. Considering the range of emotions she’d already become familiar with, she wouldn’t have thought that was possible. Since Dan’s disappearance, she’d felt disbelief, shock, grief and outrage. Lately she’d discovered a certain peace that came with resignation and acceptance. Roy’s latest news didn’t infuriate her. Instead, she was left feeling stupid.
Sitting at the table, she leafed through the latest issue of Sunset Magazine. Something must be wrong with her, she mused. Her life was falling apart and she was reading a chicken enchilada recipe.
The phone rang and for an instant Grace hesitated, uncertain she wanted to talk to anyone. But it was bound to be one of her daughters, and if she ignored the call they’d both worry.
“Hi, Mom.”
Grace was right. “Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Pregnant,” Kelly complained. “Six weeks to go.”
The time had passed quickly for Grace, but she doubted her daughter would feel that way.
“Any news on Dad?”
Grace was always astonished by the way her daughters seemed to sense any new developments regarding Dan.
“Mom?” Kelly pressed.
“Can you get your sister on three-way calling?” Kelly had the option on her phone, whereas Grace didn’t.
“You learned something?”
“Get Maryellen on the line and I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
“Okay.” Grace was accustomed to the procedure. She was put on hold while Kelly dialed her sister’s phone number, and then once Maryellen was connected, Grace would be able to speak to both her daughters at once. She closed her eyes, her mind spinning as she waited.
In the beginning, Grace had wanted to protect her children from what Dan had done. Her reaction had been instinctive, but it’d also been wrong. Maryellen and Kelly were entitled to know. Furthermore, they might be able to provide an answer. For all Grace knew, Dan might have said something to one of the girls that would give her—or Roy McAfee—some kind of clue.
“We’re both here,” Kelly said anxiously.
“Are you all right, Mom?” Maryellen asked.
“No.” It was time for honesty. “Roy discovered that your father purchased a twenty-four-foot travel trailer last year.”
“Dad bought a trailer?” The question came from Kelly.
“Where did he keep it?”
That was a question Grace hadn’t thought to ask. “I don’t know, but I’m discovering that I knew very little about your father.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Again it was Kelly who asked. Kelly who was so close to her father and so confident he’d return before her baby was born.
“Yes,” she said reluctantly. “He paid cash for the trailer.”
“How much?” Maryellen asked.
“Thirteen thousand,” Grace said. “In fresh one-hundred-dollar bills.”
Kelly gasped.
