Page 21 of Midnight Secrets

Knowing the conversation could be tough—and not wanting to make her cry—I relaxed in my chair, hoping to create a calmatmosphere. “Mrs. Byron said you and Mrs. Hammond were friends.”

Kaya pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yes.”

“Close friends?”

The woman lifted a shoulder. “Not terribly. We didn’t really do anything together outside of work.”

“But here you spent time together?”

Again, she nodded.

“Did Mrs. Hammond mention to you any of the problems she was having in her personal life?”

A frown formed between Kaya’s brows and a bit of the sadness faded from her face. “Problems? No. What sort of problems?”

“With her husband.”

“Oh.” The woman’s gaze turned hard. “You mean,the jerk?”

I quirked an eyebrow up. This was becoming the theme of the day. “What makes you call him that?”

“Because he was.” She clutched her skirt again, then forced her hands open and smoothed the wrinkles she’d created. “All I know is what I saw at the functions he attended.”

“Like the Christmas party?”

“Yes. He was rude. Not just to her, but to everyone. He just seemed to think he was better than all of us.”

“Did she ever talk about his work or his friends?”

“No. She never talked about him, period.”

My other eyebrow rose. “Never?”

“Nope. Which is why it always surprised us when he showed up with her to work functions. It’s like they were trying to put on a normal front.” She scoffed. “They failed. Every time. He was condescending and drank too much, which turned him into an even bigger prick. She ignored him the entire time. Then they’d leave in silence.”

I wasn’t surprised Marie wanted a divorce after hearing Grace and Kaya’s takes on Warren, but I couldn’t help wondering why they were married in the first place. Was this attitude toward each other something that had grown over time? Or did they simply have a marriage of convenience? If the latter were true, why? Especially if they hated each other. Why would they marry if they couldn’t stand each other?

I asked Kaya several more questions about what Marie was like at school and if she’d noticed anything out of the ordinary, but much like Grace, she said everything appeared normal except Marie had seemed slightly depressed lately.

As I walked the woman to the door, my mind spun with the new information about the Hammonds’ relationship.

Maybe Warren Hammond wasn’t missing.

Maybe he was on the run.

CHAPTER 7

Ozzie

Teeth clenched and my knuckles white as I held onto the armrest, I said a quick prayer the small plane I was on wasn’t about to go down.

We bounced again, only the seatbelt keeping me in my seat, as we descended into Anchorage. This had to be some sort of joke. Nina was having a jolly good laugh at my expense. I’d seen the bigger planes heading to Anchorage. Why did she stick me on this puddle jumper?

The ground rushed up to meet us as the pilot brought the plane in to land. With a soft bump and a shudder of the airframe, we touched down.

Closing my eyes, I let out a long breath, thankful to be safely on the ground. Tomorrow’s flight wasn’t far enough away.

Taxiing to the terminal, I watched through the small window as an airport employee drove over with a luggage cart. As soon as the pilot cut the engine, the young man wasted no time opening the cargo hold.

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