Chapter 52

“Papa?” Holly calls out from his doorway but gets no answer.

She became concerned when he didn’t answer her last two calls. Now her worry only grows as she moves from the kitchen to the office without spotting Walter. There’s a bowl with remnants of granola on the counter.

Has he fallen somewhere?

She rushes out the back door and into the garden. It’s not until she hurries past the flower beds and around the corner of the house that she spots Walter at the far edge of the hedge. Wearing a white undershirt and old jeans, he is stooped over, pruning the bushes with a pair of shears.

“Papa!” she calls. “What happened to your gardeners?”

“Hello, Koala.” Walter struggles to cut another twig off one of the bushes before he turns to her. “This? This isn’t gardening. It’s therapy.”

She chuckles with relief. “Sure looks like gardening from where I’m standing.”

“The professionals are coming soon. I hope. They never tell me. But it’s vital to prune back the junipers and the yews at this time of year. Helps with new growth.”

Holly extends a hand to him. “How about you take a break and let me have a little therapy?”

“I’m never one to turn down free help,” he says, as he hands her the shears and then carefully lowers himself onto the portable chair that he set up beside the shrub.

Holly opens the blades over a bushy branch and clips the twigs and leaves. She trims a little more before she says, “I’m not sure if I can trust Aaron.”

Walter chuckles. “Why didn’t we have this conversation ten years ago?”

“No, not as a husband,” she says as she continues to prune while speaking over her shoulder. “I found out yesterday that Liisa called his office on the day she disappeared.”

“The psychologist?”

“Yup. The one who was trying to sabotage my group from the inside, trying to convince the other women that I might have molested them under ketamine. And now Liisa is missing.”

“This group of yours.” He groans. “And why would Liisa call your husband?”

“No idea. When I confronted him, Aaron claimed he didn’t speak to her. That he wasn’t even aware she called.”

“And what do you believe?”

Holly cuts aggressively at a thicker branch, satisfied by the crisp snap it makes before it topples to the ground beside her foot. “Aaron taught Liisa years ago. He thinks she might have deliberately reached out to him through his office number, knowing the call would be traced.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Honestly, at this point, I don’t trust my intuition. That’s why I’ve come to you.” She lowers the shears and turns to face him. “There’s something else, too. Remember how someone broke into my car?”

“The wandering glasses case, right?”

She nods. “Whoever did it probably used a key. I had mine with me the whole time. But I remember now that I left my spare key at Aaron’s when I moved out.”

The wrinkles around Walter’s eyes crease so deeply that his eyes turn to slits. “Why would Aaron break into your car?”

“Good question.” She sighs. “Besides, he wasn’t the only one with access. His son has free rein of the house, too.”

“Oh. The problem child.”

“I wouldn’t put it past Graham at all. He’s toxic. Always looking for an angle. Always looking for someone else to blame for his personal failings.”

“Have you gone to the police?”

She nods. “Detective Rivers was the one who told me about Liisa’s phone call to Aaron’s office.”

Walter’s intense blue eyes fix on her for a long silent moment. “No,” he finally says.

“No what?”

“I don’t think you can trust Aaron.”

She sighs. “Me, neither.”

“Time for a tea break,” Walter says as he pushes himself to his feet and turns toward the house.

“I could use a little more ‘therapy,’?” Holly says, focusing her attention back on the shrub. “But I’ll join you soon.”

Holly trims more leaves and branches, moving from bush to bush. She gets so lost in the chore that when she finally stops to consult her watch, she realizes that if she doesn’t hurry, she will be late for her first appointment of the morning.

In the light traffic, she reaches her office in under fifteen minutes and enters through the main door. Her first client of the day—Howard, a meek, balding man with a debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder—is already seated in the waiting room, crossing and uncrossing his legs. Holly is surprised to see Reese seated two chairs over from him, but the lawyer is so focused on the computer on her lap that she doesn’t look up as Holly strides past.

Behind the reception desk, Tanya motions to a Post-it note on the desk that reads, “She just showed up.”

“It’s OK, Tanya.” Holly taps her watch and then holds up three fingers.

Three minutes later, Reese is seated in the interview chair across from Holly. “What brings you in today?”

Reese interlocks her hands in her lap and offers a wisp of a smile. “I’m back to represent the tribe.”

“Regarding?”

“We heard Liisa is missing.”

“Apparently.”

“Are you worried about her?”

“Very,” Holly says, seeing no point in hiding it.

“It’s strange, isn’t it, Dr. Danvers? These happenings in our group.”

“That might be the understatement of the century, Reese.”

“Do you think it could all be connected?” she asks. “Elaine’s and JJ’s deaths? Liisa’s disappearance?”

Holly feels as if she is being cross-examined. “Can you be more specific?”

“We heard the police are still looking into JJ’s death,” Reese says.

Holly only shrugs.

“A detective spoke to Simon. He was asking questions about JJ.”

“That may be,” Holly says. “But I don’t disclose my clients’ names to anyone. That detective tracked down Simon on his own. If that’s what concerns you.”

“Simon had to go tell the world about his therapy, didn’t he?” Reese sighs. “No, it’s not that. He made his own bed.”

“What then?”

“Simon told us that during one of the sessions you were questioning him about the rest of the tribe. He can’t remember the specifics because he was quite… sedated.”

Holly’s stomach flip-flops. “I can’t discuss other group members with you.” But even as she utters the sentence, she recognizes how convenient it must sound to Reese.

“Even though you were questioning Simon about Liisa and the rest of us?”

“I had my reasons.” Holly feels too sheepish to meet Reese’s gaze.

“All right,” Reese says evenly. “Can you at least tell us whether you think Liisa was involved in Elaine’s and/or JJ’s death?”

“The detective is looking into the possibility. But as far as I know, he hasn’t found any concrete connections. Besides, Liisa’s well-being is the more immediate concern.”

“No one’s heard from her?”

“No.” Holly hesitates but decides there’s no harm in elaborating. “And I can’t see Liisa abandoning her daughter like this. Not voluntarily, anyway.”

Reese’s shoulders straighten. “You think she was abducted?”

“I’m sorry, Reese. I can’t be any more forthcoming with you and the group. I hope you understand.”

“I get it. I do. I deal with very sensitive and private matters in my work, too.” It’s Reese’s turn to look away. “Besides, there’s something I haven’t told you. Or anyone, for that matter.”

“About Liisa?”

Reese shakes her head. “JJ.”

Holly straightens. “What about her?”

“JJ and I, you know, we… bonded. We became friends. We even used to hang out outside of therapy.”

Holly nods. “I’m sorry you lost a good friend, Reese.”

“After Elaine overdosed, JJ took it so… personally,” Reese continues. “She felt extremely guilty. The rest of us all knew there’s no way you would have… could have molested Elaine. But somehow JJ felt it was her responsibility to disabuse Elaine of the notion that you might have hurt her. JJ thought that if she had put more time and effort into persuading Elaine, then maybe she wouldn’t have OD’d that night…”

Holly feels almost relieved. “That’s what you’ve been keeping to yourself, Reese?”

She hesitates. “There’s more.”

“What else?”

Reese finally says, “I have no idea if this is relevant or not…”

Holly forces a smile. “Tell me.”

“The last time I spoke to JJ—the day she jumped—she told me she got an unexpected visitor. And it really spooked her.”

Holly tilts her head. “Who visited her?”

Reese looks up at her. “Your husband.”

Holly goes cold. “Why would Aaron go see JJ?” she mumbles, more to herself than Reese.

Reese shifts in her seat. “JJ told me about the vaping incident. How she walked in on you in your office.”

Holly’s cheeks burn. “She was my last appointment that day. The office door was already locked. I assumed everyone was gone. Besides, what does that have to do with Aaron?”

“JJ mentioned that the cleaner let her back in to get her jacket. Apparently, your husband thought JJ was planning to do something about what she had seen.”

Holly’s heart slams in her chest. “Like what?”

“Report it.”

“What exactly did he say to her?” Holly asks in a voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m not sure of his exact words, but JJ thought he was trying to intimidate her.”

Holly’s head spins. “Intimidate? How?”

“It’s all hearsay.” Reese holds up a hand in disclaimer. “And JJ was definitely not herself when she told me. In retrospect, I wondered if she’d already been drinking at the time. But JJ said your husband warned her the group would collapse if she told anyone about you vaping DMT. And if that did happen, it would not be good for JJ. Not good at all.”