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Chapter 1 The Disappearance

Chapter 1:The Disappearance

Six days ago...

I was running late, something I absolutely hated to do, but it was one of those mornings where nothing had gone right. I was a planner by nature, organized and meticulous, and I liked everything scheduled down to the last detail. My husband bemoaned my lack of spontaneity at times, but it had always served me well even if it wasn't a terribly exciting way to live.

David had gotten up a little later than expected because he hadn't slept well last night, and that had thrown off my whole schedule. Since I was going out for the day, he wanted to take his boat out this morning, and had said he would be out most of the day. I had taken the time to pack a cooler of drinks and sandwiches for him. That - plus a lingering goodbye out on the dock behind our lake house - was the reason that I was now running even later.

I was due to meet friends for a day of shopping, lunch, mani-pedis, and massages, before they joined us here for a cookout this evening. I had precisely seventeen minutes left before I would be late leaving the house, so my anxiety was starting to make its presence known. Taking a moment to breathe deeply and center myself, I ran through my mental checklist of 'must-do's" that I still needed to tick off the list before I left.

Hurriedly applying mascara and a coat of lip-gloss, I fluffed my hair one more time and slipped on my shoes. Grabbing my phone off the breakfast table, I tossed it into my purse and carried it out to the car. I opened the garage door, then ran back inside. I did a couple of last-minute tasks on my list, and was backing out of the garage only two minutes later than I'd planned, which meant I should arrive three minutes early to pick up Sherry and then Vanessa on the way to the mall.

David could say what he wanted about my borderline obsessive need to plan, but if you fail to plan then you plan to fail, and failure was simply not an option for me.

As I headed down our long winding driveway toward the main road, I heaved a sigh of relief. Now I could relax and simply enjoy the day ahead. I had been looking forward to it all week, as a matter of fact.

Sherry had been my best friend since high school, and Vanessa was one of David's colleagues at the architectural firm. She was new to the area, having moved here from the east coast about six months ago. David was a senior partner in the firm, and she was the associate-level architect on his commercial design team. They had recently completed a design for an exclusive new boutique hotel along the river near Louisville, and they'd both put in incredibly long hours at the office.

I had met Vanessa several times and had suggested inviting her along today as a treat, since she'd been working so hard. She and David had both been surprised when I had contacted her at the office earlier in the week, but I had insisted that she join us and wouldn't take no for an answer. She really deserved it, after all.

Sherry was watching for me and stepped out the door as I pulled into her driveway. I took a second to send a quick text to David, asking him to switch the load of towels from the washer to the dryer when he got done on the lake later. He replied within moments, and I tucked the phone back in my purse with a smile as Sherry got her seat belt fastened.

Vanessa's condo was less than a mile from the upscale mall we were heading to, so I had insisted on picking her up as well since it was right on the way. I found a place to park easily since they had just opened for the day, and we made our way inside. We stopped at a little bistro in the food court for iced coffees and croissants before starting our day. We settled into cozy table in the corner with our treats. Sherry and Vanessa had met at a dinner party I had thrown for David's thirtieth birthday last month, and conversation flowed easily between us.

"So which store do we want to hit first?" Sherry asked, popping the last of her croissant into her mouth.

"It doesn't matter to me, but I definitely want to check out that new lingerie store before our spa appointments this afternoon," I said, with an impish smile. "David has been especially...attentive to my needs lately, and I want to get him something special as a thank you. Besides, I need to replace the panties that he always likes to rip off me," I said with a wink and a satisfied grin.

Vanessa choked on a sip of her iced coffee, and I chuckled as I offered an apology. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make it awkward. I forgot you do have to face him at the office on Monday."

Sherry laughed and Vanessa tried to compose herself. "It's all right, I'll just pretend I didn't hear that," she said wanly. She looked a bit strained, and I quickly changed the subject.

After several stops, including the lingerie store which seemed to make Vanessa supremely uncomfortable, we took a break for lunch. We needed a bite to eat before heading to the spa located across from the mall.

We got on the subject of travel, and I told them about the trip to St. Bart's I was planning for our anniversary.

"It's a surprise for David, so please don't say anything, Vanessa. We went there on our honeymoon and barely left the villa for the entire two weeks. David often talks about going back, and I managed to rent the same villa for us! I wonder if we'll actually get a chance to explore the island this time?" I mused with a chuckle.

We finished eating a few minutes later and Vanessa excused herself to the ladies' room. Sherry leaned over and said quietly, "What's up with Vanessa? She seems really uptight today. I didn't notice it the night I met her. Is she always like that?"

"I haven't noticed it before, but she does seem uncomfortable today for some reason. I think I made it worse at the lingerie store. Did you see the look on her face when I asked for opinions on which teddy to buy? I couldn't decide if she was mad or just feeling awkward. I mean, I know she has to work with my husband, but their office environment is very casual and they have worked really closely together. It's not like he's a super strict boss she barely knows."

Sherry rolled her eyes a little and laughed. "Who knows? At least you didn't share any real details about your down and dirty sexy times."

"Oh God, can you imagine if I did that?" I asked with a wicked grin.

Sherry snorted. "Don't you dare, Lila."

I laughed at the very idea of it, and my old friend looked at me and smiled. Reaching over to clasp my hand, she said, "It's good to see you laughing again, sweetie."

I sobered at the reminder of the sad cloud I'd been living under for months. I had suffered a miscarriage seven months ago. I hadn't even realized I was pregnant until I wasn't anymore, because I'd been told from a young age that I wouldn't be able to get pregnant at all. A car accident my family had been in when I was eleven had taken the life of my father, and I'd suffered severe injuries to my lower abdomen and pelvis. I'd recovered completely, but the initial injuries and resulting scar tissue had supposedly rendered me infertile.

David hadn't been home that evening, when the mild abdominal pain I'd had in the afternoon progressed to a searing pain that brought me to my knees. He'd gone out to dinner with clients and had been schmoozing them until very late in the evening. David hadn't picked up when I'd called, so I had called Sherry, who had quickly decided I needed an ambulance.She and her husband Chris had met me at the emergency room, and Chris had finally been able to reach David a little before midnight. He had accidentally turned his ringer off on his phone.

I knew he'd felt guilty, so I had tried not to make it worse by letting him know how scared I had been, and how much I'd needed him with me. I had still been struggling with my grief when my mother had fallen two months ago at her home in Chicago. I had traveled from our home in Indianapolis, staying by her side daily in the hospital and then in the subsequent rehab facility. I would return home for a night or two before making the drive back to Chicago for several days. I'd repeated that pattern until a second fall three weeks later had resulted in a brain bleed from which she couldn't recover. David had been out of town on business when she died, and I'd been unable to reach him until the next morning. I'd been inconsolable, and his explanation that he'd taken the sleeping pills that had been prescribed for his frequent insomnia had barely registered.

I closed my eyes for a moment at Sherry's words, then smiled softly. "The past seven months have been the worst of my life, but I'm getting there, a little at a time. I think I'm finally heading in the right direction."

She gave my hand a final squeeze as Vanessa walked back to the table.Her long dark hair looked as though she'd repeatedly run her hands through it. She looked a little flushed, and her eyes were a tiny bit red like she may have been crying. Sherry shot a sharp glance my way and I gave an almost imperceptible shrug to indicate that I didn't know what was wrong.

"Are we ready to head to the spa?" I asked, eager to lighten mood and get on with our day. We spent the next several hours being pampered with massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures. I was completely relaxed, a welcome relief after the heartache I'd had recently.

Vanessa, however, seemed to get more tense the longer we were there, and by the time we finished, she had begged off on joining us for the cookout.

"Could you just drop me back off at my place? I think I'm getting a migraine and I just need a quiet night at home," she said with a pinched expression on her now pale face.

"Oh, of course, you poor thing. I knew you didn't look good today," I said. "Please call us if you need anything. I can have David run some dinner over to you if you'd like?"

She stiffened a little, and the expression on her face hardened a bit. "No thank you. I don't really feel like eating."

After we dropped her off, Sherry and I continued toward my house. Chris was going to meet us there so he and David could watch the game after we ate. I pulled straight into the garage, and we entered through the mud room. I called out for David as we walked into the kitchen but got no answer.

Looking around at the breakfast dishes still sitting on the table, I groaned. A quick glance into the laundry room revealed the load of wet towels still in the washer. I called a little louder for David, grumbling to Sherry when he still didn't answer.

"Oh, that man! I swear, if he's still out on that boat I'm going to smack him upside the head. He promised me he would be back and cleaned up in time to grill those steaks, but it doesn't look like he's set foot in this house all day."

Sherry snorted and shook her head. "You know how men are. I swear they do this shit on purpose, so we don't ask them to help the next time."

I laughed in agreement as I walked over to look out the back door toward the lake. "Well, his boat is out by the dock so he's not still out on the lake at least."

I picked up my shopping bags and walked toward the staircase. "I'm going to run these upstairs. I assume David is up there getting ready, so I'll try to hurry him along. Nothing like waiting until the last second when you have guests coming for dinner, huh?"

I came back downstairs a few minutes later with a disgruntled huff. "He may not be out on the boat still, but he also hasn't been back here to shower and change by the look of things in our bathroom. The shower stall is bone dry and I don't see the shirt he was wearing this morning."

"Maybe he ran over to the neighbor's house?" Sherry suggested.

I shook my head. "The only neighbors we have within half a mile are the Carson's, and they left last week for a month-long trip to Europe to celebrate his retirement."

I tried calling him, but his cell phone went to voice mail after several rings. I left a quick message, then texted him but got no response. I tossed the phone on the table and opened the refrigerator.

"I'm sure he'll show up soon. His car is here so he didn't go far." Sherry and I started getting the food ready while we waited for our husbands to arrive.

Chris got there about twenty minutes later, as I was on the back deck firing up the grill to get it ready for the steaks. I heard Sherry telling him that David wasn't around and hadn't answered his phone. I'd called three more times, and the text message I'd sent still said 'delivered' so it hadn't been read.

"OK, this is getting a little ridiculous," I said as I turned the grill off and walked back inside. "I'm going to go look for him. Maybe he took a walk in the woods and lost track of time? Or he's walking around the lake for some reason? It's the only thing I can think of."

Chris and Sherry joined me, and we split up, each heading a different direction into the wooded trails that surrounded our house on the front and sides. We called out for him, but after ten minutes or so, I headed back toward the house. Sherry met me at the side of the house, and we both turned to look for Chris. He was standing on the dock looking at the boat, then looked out over the water.

He called out to us, concern filling his voice, and we both hurried over to him.

"Lila, I can see his phone laying on the floorboard of the boat. The rope at the front of the boat is half untied from the mooring cleat on the dock. David wouldn't have left it like this." He swallowed tightly, "I hate to say this, but I think we need to call the police."

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