Page 10 of Twice Missing
Jim's head snapped up. "Can't you see she's distressed?"
"Sir, I understand. It's just?—"
"You should know anyway," Jim cut him off. "We all gave statements ten years ago. Not that it helped. The media hounded my son. Blamed him. Tried to make it look like he was behind her disappearance. But you'd have all this information, or don't you?"
Noah took a deep breath. "Sir, while the case might be old to you, it's new to me. My only connection to it is knowing Emily from when I was in high school."
Gina looked up from the tissues she was clutching. "You knew her?"
"Not exactly," Noah admitted. "My ex, Lena Grayson, was good friends with your mother. Emily was part of her circle of friends."
Jim's expression softened slightly. "Well, I can appreciate you knowing her. But clearly, they should have brought you up to speed on the case before sending you over here. Have you even thumbed through the report?"
"I will be making myself familiar with the file as I'm assigned," Noah replied, trying to keep his tone neutral.
"Familiar?" Jim's voice rose. "I hope you'll be doing more than that. And when you say 'assigned,' I gather that means drag it out for another ten years and make it look like you care."
Gina let out a choked sob, and Jim's attention immediately turned to her. He glared at Noah as if he was to blame while trying to console his granddaughter.
Noah was used to the emotionally charged reactions of families. It was par for the course in dealing with death notifications. Everyone handled grief differently. Some fellto pieces, others got angry, and some went into deep denial.
Jim's voice softened as he addressed Noah again. "Look, I'm sorry. We appreciate all you're doing. It's Noah, right?"
"That's right."
"Noah, let me give it to you straight. If this case could have been solved, it would have been ten years ago. They didn't have leads then, and they sure as hell don't have leads now. Otherwise, you'd be bringing news that someone was in custody."
Noah wanted to interject, but he let Jim vent.
"And to save you the trouble of hounding my boy, which I imagine is the plan, how about I bring you up to speed and give you the Cliff Notes? All we can tell you is that Emily worked her shift like she always did. There were no problems in her marriage any more than any other couple. They weren't desperate for money. My son took over my motel business. Emily was a doctor. Finances were strong, and if anything is going to lead to issues, it would be that."
Noah could think of many other reasons, but he remained silent, letting Jim continue.
"Emily left the hospital like she always did every day and drove the same route home, except this time she never came home. She vanished, her truck vanished too. State Police and the sheriff's office drained bodies of water, they had search teams scouring the county, canines sniffing everything in sight, flyers, media teams, helicopters, even drones. Nothing came of it. It was like Emily just fell off the map."
Jim paused, his eyes distant. "Now it's clear why, but my question is, surely someone saw her drive across that lake. What was she doing out on that lake? Upper Saranac is in the opposite direction of home, which means either someone brought her out there or she took herself there. She wasn't suicidal and I can tell you my son was working at the time. He was seen on camera at the motel. So I'd really like it if you leave him alone. He's been through enough as it is. He fell into deep depression after. He's still on medication."
Noah nodded, absorbing the information. "I understand, and I appreciate what you've shared. However, we have to conduct a thorough investigation, and?—"
"That means you'll be speaking with him," Jim interrupted. "So you will be bothering him?"
"Sir, with all due respect, Emily was his wife," Noah said, his voice firm. "If my wife was found dead, you can be sure I'd do everything in my power to find out who was responsible, no matter how many times I had to talk to law enforcement."
Jim's eyes narrowed. "Your wife is dead, isn't she? From what I heard, she too was found in her vehicle in a body of water, was she not?"
The words hit Noah like a physical blow. Even Gina seemed to sense the pain, shaking her head at her grandfather. Memories of Lena flooded back — her work at theAdirondack Daily Enterprise, the dog-stealing group she'd been investigating, the theories about her death. Noah remembered the toxicology reports showing fentanyl in her system, the evidence that someone had placed her inthe vehicle and sent it into the gorge. It had taken time, but Noah had eventually pieced together the evidence and timelines to find who was responsible.
"I'm sorry," Gina said softly, her eyes meeting Noah's.
Noah took a deep breath. "No, it's okay. He has every right to question law enforcement," he said, looking at Jim. "Lena is dead, yes, and the person responsible is now doing time."
"So you found the guilty party?" Jim asked, his tone softening slightly.
"I did," Noah nodded. "That kind of news doesn't make headlines as much as a death unsolved."
Realizing there wasn't much point in pressing further, Noah rose to his feet. "I'm sorry for your loss. If I have any further questions, I'll be in touch," he said. "I'll see myself out."
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