Page 8 of She Didn't See It Coming
“You know—just that she feels she does more of the childcare and household chores than he does, even though their salaries are about the same. I feel the same, to be honest. A lot of what we do seems to be invisible.” She shrugs. “My husband travels for work a lot. It seems like he’s never home.” She emphasizes, “Bryden and Sam are solid.” She pauses. “I know they’re trying for another baby.”
Jayne files that in the back of her mind. “Did she ever mention that she was worried about anything?”
“No.”
“She never mentioned anything unusual in her life in the last little while, any changes? Did she meet anyone new?”
Angela shifts uncomfortably in her seat. “What are you suggesting? Bryden would never cheat on Sam.”
“I didn’t necessarily mean it like that. Just—was there anything new in her life, any changes? Anything odd, or troubling her?”
Angela shakes her head again. “I honestly don’t think so.” She adds, “She would never just leave, not of her own free will.” Her expression changes, as if she’s considering something.
“What is it, Angela?” Jayne urges. But the other woman looks uncertain, apprehensive. “Tell me.”
“One of the tenants here had a problem, a couple of years ago.” She hesitates.
“What kind of problem?”
“I think you should talk to him about it. I don’t want to be a gossip. He lives down the hall, unit 811, with his wife. She and I used to be friends.”
“Okay, thank you, Angela,” Jayne says. She hands her a card. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call.”
4
Jayne knocks on the door of unit 811. The door is opened by a woman whose friendly expression changes immediately when Jayne introduces herself and shows her badge. As if she’s on guard. Almost as if she is expecting trouble. “May I come in?” Jayne asks.
The woman lets Jayne into the foyer and closes the door behind her. She turns to face Jayne, crossing her arms in front of her chest, and says, “What now?”
A strange thing to say, Jayne thinks. She says, “One of your neighbors, Bryden Frost, has gone missing. She lives in unit 804. I’m going door-to-door asking if anyone has seen her.”
The woman goes very still. “I haven’t seen her.” She adds, becoming more animated, “I know what she looks like, we say hi, but that’s about it. I don’t remember exactly the last time I saw her.”
Jayne glances toward the living room. “Can we sit down?”
“Why?” The edge is back in the woman’s voice.
“I just have a few questions.”
She reluctantly leads Jayne into the living room, where they sit.
“Your name?” Jayne asks.
“Tracy Kemp.”
She jots it down. The other woman looks at her nervously.
“How long have you lived here?” Jayne asks.
“Almost three years.”
“Do you live alone?”
“No. With my husband.”
“And what is his name?”
“Henry Kemp.”
