Page 13 of Happy Wife

“And then yesterday and today, no word from him?”

“That’s right.” I can see Fritz shaking his head with disapproval from the corner of my eye. “But it’s just like Will to do something like this. He’s always working late and he can be forgetful about his calendar. Fritz, you know that better than anyone, right?”

I look over at Este and Fritz, who are watching as if this were a weird one-act play.

“Since we don’t have a report filed and I don’t have a warrant, this isn’t an official police matter. I want you to know that, okay? You don’t have to be nervous.”

“I just want him to come home.” The words come out sounding like a prayer.

“Sure, of course you do.” Ardell nods as if I’ve just said the most logical thing in the world. “So he was headed down to the boat dock last you saw him? Would it be all right with you if I walk down that way?”

“Of course. Can I get you some water or an iced tea?”

“I’m just fine. Thank you kindly.” He heads for the pool door and then pauses. “I noticed a camera at the front door. Y’all have cameras anywhere else? Maybe there’s something there that could help us.”

That would be convenient, wouldn’t it?

Half the people on this street forget to lock their doors. Between insurance policies and liquid wealth, my neighbors could replace the entire contents of their homes ten times over. Withmoney like that, you don’t worry about something as pedestrian as petty theft. I had asked Will about security cameras once, but he just laughed it off, insisting there could be no safer place to live in the world.

“Just the doorbell camera.” I shake my head, wishing I could go back in time and change his mind. “I looked through the footage. He didn’t leave through the front door, but he never does.”

Ardell nods and heads for the back of the house. “I’ll go take a look around the dock.”

Este and I watch from the living room as Ardell and Fritz walk down to the dock.

“Maybe you should go out there.” Este eyes the two of them talking, putting their hands on their hips as they walk the length of the dock. Then they survey the boatlift with hands shielding their eyes from the sun. “Fritz looked like he was ready to have you thrown in jail earlier. I don’t trust him alone with a cop.”

“It’s fine,” I say. “I don’t have anything to hide.”

Este nods, but her eyes linger on me for a few extra seconds.

Ardell takes out his iPhone and snaps a few photos of the dock and the boathouse, and I hold my breath a little.

Este squints, leaning closer to the window. “Do you think they found something?”

But then they’re turning around and heading back to the house. Empty-handed.

“No,” I assert. I had already searched the dock for what felt like hours early that morning, and there was no Taylor Swift hoodie, no sign of where Will went that night.

Ardell and Fritz make their way back inside and into the living room.

“Mr. Hall seems to think…,” Ardell starts, looking at Fritz like he’s hoping for a signal of approval. “If it’s all right with you, Mrs. Somerset, I’ll go ahead and file that missing person report.”

I look at Fritz, Este, and then Ardell. A chilling numbness pours over me. “Yeah, okay.”

“We’re going to see what we can dig up, but we might have some more questions for you once our digging is done.” Ardell chuckles as Fritz claps him on the back. “Bastard better be somewhere working without his phone plugged in.”

Ardell heads toward the door, and Este hangs back as Fritz and I walk him out to the driveway.

“Thanks for coming over so quickly, Travis.” Fritz offers him a handshake.

“Hey, no problem. One of our own, you know.”

And then it’s just Fritz and me, watching the police car wind its way down the road.

“Someone has to give Constance a heads-up before she hears this through the grapevine,” Fritz says.

“Okay,” I say, but the word tastes bitter. Will’s first wife left him in a fit of rage, and she still loathes the fact he had the gall to remarry.

---