Page 40 of The Wife Stalker

My restless night really hit me after takeoff, and I slept for almost the entire five-and-a-half-hour flight, which is saying a lot when you’re flying coach. It was midnight when we landed at JFK, and I was still an hour from home. As I took the shuttle to the parking garage to retrieve my car, I felt a second wind and couldn’t wait to get home, power up my computer, and resume the search.

The house was dark when I pulled up, as were the others on the street. The last thing I wanted to do was wake my mother, so I shut the car door quietly and tiptoed to the front door, pushing it gently shut, then turned on a lamp. The drabness of the small living room overwhelmed me after being in Ava’s house. Hers had been so full of light and color, and now I was back in this tiny space that seemed even more dark and depressing than before.

But it was time to brush aside my feelings of resentment or self-pity and get to work. After brewing a pot of coffee, I sat down at the kitchen table and typed “Pamela Rayfield” into Google. A bunch of Facebook profiles came up first, but none of them were hers, of course. I scrolled down farther, but still nothing. Then I had an idea. Ava said that Piper had been a sailing instructor. I typed “Pamela Rayfield sailing.” Voilà! An article in theCapital Gazettecame up: “AYC High School Senior Wins Another Major Title.” The article chronicled the third award Pamela hadwon that year at the Annapolis Yacht Club. A photo of her on the sailboat showed a younger, dark-haired Piper with a smile as wide as the boat. How was it that someone so accomplished at sailing had been unable to keep her second husband and her stepdaughter safe at sea? There were no other hits that seemed to be about her, so I tried “Pam Rayfield” and the first thing that came up was an obituary.

Pam Rayfield, 93, died peacefully in her home. She is survived by one sister, Margo Spencer, and a daughter, Sheila Sherman.

That certainly wasn’t her. I thought about poor Sheila. Had she ever married? Had she spent her entire life taking care of her mother, never having a life of her own? She was probably in her seventies by now, finally free but too old to start her own family. I looked through the rest of the page to see if there was anything else of interest. Some Facebook profiles of other Pam Rayfields, but they resulted in nothing. On a whim I logged in to my Facebook account and typed “Pamela Dunn” into the search bar. Nothing. “Pamela Rayfield Dunn.” Others came up, but none were her. Finally, I tried “Pamela R. Dunn.” It was her! I clicked on the page and a picture of Piper filled the screen. There were only two posts. One was a picture of the beach and under it she’d writtenCalifornia is as beautiful as they say. The other post was of her on a sailboat with Matthew Dunn. The name of the boat wasThe Pamela.He must have bought it for her. How ironic that it’s what killed him. The most recent posts were from four years ago—it seemed she hadn’t been active on Facebook since. I looked through to see her friends. There were only a handful.

I knew sleep would be impossible after all the coffee and now this discovery, so I pulled up the children’s birthday video on my phone. They were born on the same day—March 14—but two years apart. Stelli’s and Evie’s smiling faces filled the screen as I sat watching the video I’d filmed just a few months ago. Stelli sat on the floor, his smile huge, revealing the adorable gap where his two bottom front baby teeth were missing. He was opening the package and squealed with excitement.

“Yes! A stomp rocket.”

Leo got on the floor with Stelli, and together they took it out of the box and set it up. Evie was exclaiming over the American Girl Crafting Kit, and I felt like my heart would burst from love as I watched. I’d been so determined that Stelli and Evie would never know the disappointment I’d had as a child, feeling unheard and uncared for. I made sure that they’d gotten every item on their list. I’d done the shopping on my own, of course. Leo was always far too busy.

There was a pause in the video and then it picked up again. In the afternoon, we had taken the kids to the Beardsley Zoo, where Stelli had been especially entranced by the tigers, but Evie’s favorites had been the adorable little prairie dogs. We sat outside eating ice cream at one of the picnic tables, and as I filmed the three of them, they stuck their tongues out and made funny faces at me.

Looking back, I would say it was one of the happiest days of my life. So different from the birthdays of my own childhood, when my mother was usually sick in bed and my father was out of town on business. Now, watching the video and seeing how happy we were together, I couldn’t wrap my head around what happened, how quickly I’d lost them. I decided I would call Janice later today.Maybe I could ask her to call Leo as my attorney and get him to let me see the children. She could explain to him how important it was for their well-being and get him to make the courts change their mind. I knew there was still a good man inside him somewhere. He’d have to see the light, wouldn’t he?

29

Piper

The incessant ringing wouldn’t stop, and when Piper finally picked up, it was with a sigh. She held her hand up and motioned for Joshua to stop the recording of her latest podcast. Now they’d have to start over again from the beginning.

“Pam... er. Piper Drakos.” Damn. She had to be more careful. It was one thing to mess up the last name, but she had to remember she was Piper now. Leo had been so happy when she readily acquiesced to his request that she take his last name. She didn’t care since she’d made upReynardanyway. And she liked the idea of sharing the same last name with her husband and the children. It made them seem more like a family.

There was a sound of throat clearing. “Mrs. Drakos? Don’t worry, Stelli is fine, but we need you to come to the school. There’s been... an incident.”

She looked at her watch. “What sort of an incident?”

“We’d rather discuss it in person. Can you come now?”

She stifled a groan. “Yes, of course. Did you try to reach Mr. Drakos?” she asked.

“Apparently he’s in court. See you shortly?”Of course he was, she thought, her annoyance growing.

Pressing End, she rushed from the studio to her office to grab her purse. Her thoughts raced as she drove the few miles to the elementary school. This kid was going to be the death of her. High-spirited didn’t begin to cover it, though she understood that hewas going through a tough time. With Joanna gone, he’d clung even tighter to Leo. Piper had tried, was still trying, to win him over, but nothing seemed to be working.

Slowing the car, she pulled into the parking lot and took a deep breath before getting out. Stelli was sitting outside of the principal’s office, where the receptionist was reading him a story. She looked up as Piper came in.

“You can go on in—Dr. Parker is waiting for you,” she said. Piper couldn’t read her tone.

“Hi, Stelli,” she said before going in, aware of the other woman’s eyes on her, but he didn’t look up.

Dr. Parker, a striking sixtyish woman with silver hair pulled loosely into a stylish chignon, rose from behind her desk and reached her hand out as soon as Piper entered.

“Thank you for coming right away. Please have a seat.”

“What’s happened?” Piper wanted to get it over with.

Dr. Parker leaned back in her chair, and appraised Piper with cool, green eyes. “I’m concerned about Stelios’s frame of mind,” she said, using his formal name. “The mother of one of his classmates is in the hospital. She just had a baby. Stelios told the little girl that her mother would probably die, and she’d never see her again.”

It felt like all the air had left her lungs. Piper opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She stared at the woman across from her for what felt like an eternity before she finally spoke. “It’s been a hard year for Stelli. I’m not sure what to say.”

Dr. Parker raised an eyebrow. “Well, what I would hope you would say is that you’ll have him speak to someone. Clearly, he is very confused about what happened with his mother and still needs closure.”

Piper saw a good opportunity. “I completely agree with you, Dr. Parker. He has had some anger issues at home, and you’reright—he is confused. His father and I have talked about getting him help, but Mr. Drakos thinks it may resolve by itself if given time.”

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