Page 53 of The Couple's Secret
“Fine,” Dalton cut her off. “I talked to her. Went up to the car and knocked on the window. She was crying, okay? When she saw me, she got real mad. Told me she was going to call 911 ’cause I wasn’t supposed to be near her and shit so I asked if she really wanted to do that considering she was sneaking around behind Tobias’s back.”
“What did Cora say to that?” asked Gretchen.
He laughed, shifting back in his chair, assuming a casual pose. “She said it wasn’t what I thought. Yeah, right. She just didn’t want me blowing up her life. So I told her. If she didn’t tell Tobias, I was gonna do it.”
“Classy,” Gretchen said.
“Hey, that guy was an asshole.”
“What did Cora say when you gave her your little ultimatum?” Josie said.
“She didn’t say anything.” His eyes clouded over. Confusion creased his brow. “She just started laughing. All crazy-like. Sounding like some kind of hyena or something. Then she drove away.”
“When did this happen?” Josie said.
“I don’t know. A few months before they went missing, I guess?”
“Did you tell Tobias about seeing her at the motel?” Gretchen asked.
Avoiding her eyes, he wiped his palms over his thighs. “Um, no.”
“Why not?” Josie asked even though she already knew. As long as he didn’t tell Tobias, he had something to hold over Cora’s head. An ever-present threat. A measure of control.
“Listen, it doesn’t matter, does it?” he groused. “He’s dead. She’s dead. Hollis is still here acting like he wasn’t banging his best friend’s woman. You should be talking to him.”
“You’ve got no proof that Cora and Hollis were having an affair,” Josie pointed out.
“No, I don’t,” Dalton agreed. “But I did see Hollis hanging around the Majesty a few times, too.”
Twenty-Eight
The Majesty Motel was not even a tiny bit majestic, but it was a lot less seedy than Josie expected. It was a two-story building with rooms on both floors. Their exterior doors were clearly numbered. The place hadn’t been painted in a long while given its cream and sea-foam-green color scheme and yet, it was meticulously kept. There wasn’t a single piece of litter along its walkways. Even the asphalt of the parking lot was smooth. No potholes, no cracks. Maybe the owner rented the place by the hour, but it was well cared for. Then again, a lot could change in seven years.
Like the staff. They’d spoken with the nineteen-year-old kid tasked with managing the place during the week. He was new but he’d contacted the owner who had spoken with them via speakerphone. No one who was currently employed had worked there seven years ago. In addition to that, their records only went back four years.
Back in the SUV, Josie curled her fingers around the steering wheel and scanned the area. Four other cars in the lot. Next door to the motel was a laundromat which was extremely busy. On its other side was a bar which, at two in the afternoon, was shuttered. Across the street was a worn strip mall that looked like it was one good thunderstorm away from collapsing. There were plenty of cameras, but no one kept footage from seven years ago.
“You think Dalton was bullshitting us?” Gretchen asked.
Before driving to the Majesty Motel, they’d stopped at their hotel. They had found the reports Fanning had secured from Cora’s cell phone carrier with her location history going back several months. Her phone had pinged near the motel but no specific location had been pinpointed. After digging through her credit card statements, Fanning had found a transaction from a grocery store nearby.
“I’m not sure,” said Josie.
“I took a quick scan of the witness reports,” Gretchen said. “There was nothing to support that she was having an affair with anyone. Maybe she was just going to the grocery store.”
“Maybe.” Josie flexed her hands over the steering wheel. “Maybe she went to the grocery store before or after coming here. There is one thing that makes me think Dalton was telling the truth. What he said about her laughing at him. He was clearly confused. That’s not a detail someone like him would think to make up.”
“Agree,” Gretchen replied. “Although when he first approached the car, he said she was crying. It’s possible she was just letting off some steam in private. Away from her family and friends. A lot of women cry in the car. Or the shower.”
“Misty cries in the shower. So does Trinity.”
Gretchen ran her fingers through her short hair. “It’s very efficient, isn’t it?”
“Seems that way.”
“You don’t cry though. In the time we’ve known each other, I’ve only seen you cry twice just to let off steam and not because someone was dying. Once when we were up a tree and once in my bathroom. Maybe I should be honored that I was there for both of those instances.”
“I’ll make you a punch card,” Josie said. “Witness five Big Cries and I’ll buy you a tall stack of pecan pancakes.”
