Page 5 of She Didn't See It Coming
She finishes the call and returns to the living room. She sits back down across from the anxious man on the sofa. “Tell me about your wife, Sam.”
Sam says, “She’s a very good mother, very reliable. She would never just leave; she would never abandon Clara.”
“Does she work outside the home?”
“Yes, she’s an accountant with Rolf and Weiner. She was working from home today.”
“Does your wife have any physical health problems—epilepsy, diabetes, anything like that?” Jayne asks.
“No.”
“Any mental health issues of any kind?”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Where might she go, inside the building?” Jayne asks. “Laundry room? The gym?”
“We have laundry facilities inside our apartment. She doesn’t use the gym. The basement garage, of course. She goes to our neighbor Angela’s a lot, but I already went over there before I called you, and she hadn’t seen her.” He adds, “Clara is with her now. She’s our daughter. She’s three.” His voice catches.
“What unit is Angela in?” Jayne asks.
“It’s 808.” Then he remembers. “Bryden’s been going to the storage locker lately—she’s been moving stuff down there.”
Jayne nods. “We’ll check it out.” She asks, “Any problems recently that you know of?”
“No,” he says, as his sister-in-law shakes her head in agreement.
“Have you noticed any changes in her mood or behavior recently?”
“No.”
“No financial problems?” she asks.
“No.”
“And you two haven’t had any difficulties lately, in your marriage?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Absolutely not. We’re very happy.” He lurches forward in his seat. “Please, you have to find her. I’m afraid something has happened to her.”
“This is completely unlike her,” Lizzie agrees, a little breathless.
She’s very tense, Jayne observes. They both are. But that’s to be expected. “When was the last time you spoke to your wife, Sam?”
“This morning, when I was leaving for work. At about eight o’clock. I left a bit early because I had a meeting first thing. As I said, she was working from home today, but she would have dropped Clara at day care at about nine.”
“I see. And you didn’t hear from her at all during the day? Not a quick text about anything?”
“No.”
“Do you usually talk or text each other throughout the day?” Jayne asks.
“Sometimes. Most days. But I know she had a lot on her plate today, that’s why she was working from home, and she didn’t want to be disturbed, so I wasn’t surprised I didn’t hear from her.”
She looks at Lizzie. “And you didn’t have any contact with her today?”
“No.”
“Okay. We’ll need a recent photograph of Bryden, and a full description, including what she was wearing when you last saw her this morning. Can you do that for me?”
