Day of Atonement (15 page)

At first, the silence between him and his father was awkward. They sat opposite one another and stared at Nate who toggled back and forth between his toys as though they would disappear if he did not play with them all in the same day. It was Troy's father who broke the silence.

“Do you want to watch the games today?”

Troy had been so occupied with Elana that he'd totally forgotten about the Christmas Day headliner games. “Uh, yeah, who's playing?”

His father knew the entire day's lineup. “There are five games today. Celtics and the Nets first play first, then the Lakers and Knicks. At four-thirty it's the Heat against Oklahoma City Thunder. The last lineups are Rockets and Bulls, and Nuggets versus the Clippers.”

Troy had no idea how into basketball his father was. It was nice to discover that they had something in common and Troy was eager to see the matches as his favorite teams were playing. He was usually on top of the game schedules. How'd he let today's slip?
Elana…

Basketball became the activity over which Troy and his dad began to bond. They watched the first while also engaging in conversation. They talked about last season's playoffs, who they thought would make it to the finals this year, injured players, rookies, and about everything else one could think of when it came to basketball.

When Tracy and her family arrived, Troy and his father were both engrossed in the pulse-pounding competition between the Lakers and the Knicks, which went back and forth in one possession leads. In order to get their undivided attention so they could open the remaining presents, his mom turned off the TV after several attempts to get the guys to focus since Al and AJ had gotten distracted by the game as well. Though her action almost got her mauled, she stood firm. To appease her, and perhaps to prevent the Christmas spirit from being interrupted by tongue whipping meant for sailors, the men obliged her request, ripping through presents without any small talk. Both Tracy and Al seemed
to be in good moods and there were no signs that any type of altercation had recently taken place between them. Maybe she was telling the truth about having to finish shopping yesterday, Troy figured.

Troy's mom may have won the battle about the television while opening presents, but she lost the war when it came to Christmas dinner. She had wanted everyone to sit around the dining room table like they had done Saturday morning at breakfast, but in the midst of an intense basketball game, none of the males were having it. They stood around the table for grace, but simultaneously, got their plates and resumed their positions in the living room.

His mom protested, stating how this was their first Christmas dinner as a family and they should all be eating together. “Basketball should not be more important than family.” She tried manipulating them into complying with her wishes.

Natalie, knowing how much Troy enjoys the game, stepped in. “Di, it's okay. You know how men are about their sports. I'd rather them watch it instead of sitting here talking about it the whole time.”

His mom huffed without further protest and Troy gave Natalie a best-wife-ever kiss on the cheek. It wasn't long before the females and Nate joined them in the living room. Immediately, Alyssa began playing with Nate and his toys. Tracy and his mom each took a seat next to their husband's. Troy liked the way Natalie nestled next to him on the couch and into his arms. It reminded him of the times when she did so in their home when he was in the basement watching games. He had to remind himself that they were
not
at home or alone and that he needed to keep his hands in public-friendly places on her body. He gently rubbed her belly, admiring the two growing miracles inside.

“How was the service last night?” Tracy had the decency to wait until a commercial break before asking.

“Sad, but good because, in many ways, it provided closure. At least partially. There were pages of pictures of Elana from the time she was a baby until when she went missin'. The one Lilly chose for the front of the obituary was so heartbreakin' because it showed Elana's birthmark. She could not have been more than six or seven, but she's smilin' like there is no tomorrow. The front read, ‘Rest in Peace. You are Loved Forever.' Oh, you have to see it. Reed, what did you do with the obituary I showed you last night?”

Though the game had not yet resumed, he continued staring at the screen. All the men did. They were waiting on edge to see how things would play out in the final quarter.

“Reed,”
his mother said with more force. “What did you do with the obituary?”

“Oh, uh, I don't know. I thought I gave it back to you.”

“You did not. That's a lie and you know it.”

“Whoa, someone is turning into the Grinch who stole Christmas.” Troy hoped to fan the flames of her burning fire as he could tell that she was getting worked up by her tone.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I'm sorry, Di,” his father pleaded. “It's an obituary, for goodness' sake. You act like it's a photo album.”

“It had pictures like one. You're sittin' up here tellin' that lie that you gave it back to me when you could not have done so because I went upstairs and you didn't come up until later.”

“Again, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did with it.”

Troy did not think he would ever see the day when he would take his father's side in an argument with his mother. Such a day
had arrived. “Mama, chill. It's not that serious,” he said when the game had come back on. “If you can't find it, get another one from Lilly when you see her tomorrow.”

“But I want to show your sister.”

“You can have ours. I'll go upstairs to get it before Tracy leaves, if that's okay,” offered Natalie.

Her suggestion seemed to satisfy his mom and Troy was able to fully concentrate on the exhilarating fourth quarter of the game without his mother's crabbiness interfering. Cheers went up around as the Lakers scored. Troy gently turned Natalie's head and gave her a quick, but soft, kiss on her lips.

“What was that for?”

He smiled while again thinking,
best wife ever.

T
roy and Elvin had driven separately to Shauna's office since Troy had a meeting with B.K. scheduled for later. He decided to take his turn with the mind explorer first so that more anxiety would not build while sitting in the waiting room.

In retrospect, it really did not matter if he and Elvin had ridden together because Troy would still have time to drop off Elvin and make it to his meeting. In all honesty, Troy was trying to keep as much distance between him and Elvin as possible. There was a war between cop and friend battling within him. The cop had no problems withholding information about potential suspects and the fact that Elana had given birth until there was something concrete to share. The friend, who had been there when Elana disappeared…who had witnessed the pain that Elvin and his mother had endured…who felt partly responsible for the circumstances, that friend, felt like every piece of information he withheld was betrayal.

“You can relax, Troy; I'm not going to hypnotize you today,” Shauna said with a warm smile. He sighed with relief. “The purpose of having you come in today is to do a pre-hypnosis interview.” Her name did not match her appearance. Shauna seemed like a sexy name. Like it should belong to a woman with long legs, curvy
hips, and a pair of forty double-D twins. Instead, a short, fat, flat-chested redhead with glasses and gapped teeth claimed ownership to the name. The one thing sexy about her was her voice. If she wasn't a hypnotic, she could probably make a good living as a 1-900 phone operator. “B.K. tells me that you're a detective, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Our session today will be similar to how you conduct interviews with witnesses. The purpose is to find out what you already know and give me a framework for which I will use to ask questions during the hypnosis sessions.”

Sessions?
“How many do you think it will take?”

“It varies. Sometimes it takes a few trials to complete a successful therapy session. Other times it can happen on the first try. It all depends on you and your comfort level. B.K. tells me that you will only be in town a few days, so I am hoping your first session will go well.”

Troy thought about telling her that he'd planned to be there for a while, but decided against it. If she knew she had more time to play around in his head, she might have found it necessary to have multiple sessions. He'd rather spend his time actually working Elana's case than seeing a head shrink.

After confirming his understanding that this and any future sessions with her would be recorded, Shauna began. “Why don't you start by telling me everything you remember about the day Elana disappeared?”

Troy recanted the story without skipping a beat.

“Did either you or Elvin go outside to see which direction she may have gone?”

“No. We didn't go out until his mom came home and asked us to look for her.”

“What about her doll? Did she take it with her?”

“I…” Troy paused for a moment. He was puzzled. As many times as he had replayed the day in his mind, that detail had escaped him. “I honestly don't know,” he said with a sense of disappointment. How could he not remember? Recalling barrettes were one thing; remembering a stringy red-haired doll that she used to play with seemed like a bigger deal.

Shauna grinned, rather smirked. “Don't beat yourself up. That's something I can possibly help you remember.” She sounded as if she had been waiting to find the right moment to say something to that effect. “Also, I don't want you to worry about being in a trance and doing crazy things that you won't remember like is often depicted on TV. You will be able to remember everything we talk about.”

Her last statement actually made him feel a little better about the whole thing.

“Is there anything else that you would like to add before we end today's session?”

“No, nothing I can think of.”

“Okay.” She turned off the recorder. “Normally, I like to give myself a week to review the tapes and interview notes, but I understand the urgency in this case. Can you come back either tomorrow or Friday so we can start?”

“Sure. Tomorrow's fine,” he answered, eager to get it over.

“Good. One o'clock okay?”

“Yep.”

“Here is some information you can read through to help you understand the process better.” She handed him some pamphlets. “If you have any questions, give me a call. Otherwise I'll see you tomorrow.”

They exchanged “nice-to-meet-yous” and Troy followed her
out to the waiting room where he double-checked with Elvin to see if he wanted him to stay during his session.

“Naw, man, you're cool. I'll touch base with you later.”

Since he had some time to kill before meeting B.K., Troy grabbed a bite to eat and did a little joyriding while he gathered his thoughts. It had been a long time since he'd roamed the streets of Houston for the heck of it. He had lived in Columbus longer than the eighteen years he'd spent in Texas, and his current navigational skills proved as much. At first he found himself forgetting what streets led to where and certain shortcuts. But, the more he drove, the more familiar things started to become. He wandered aimlessly like the car was on autopilot without much thought and attention being given to where he went since his mind was elsewhere.

The major problem with Elana's case, besides him not having any jurisdiction, was that there was no evidence. Nothing that he could use to single out any of the persons he found suspicious.

First, there was Edgar Campbell. What father would not show up to the funeral service of his daughter? He seemed so grief-stricken at the wake. Yet, he hadn't been in touch with Elvin or Lilly in years. If the funeral was too much for anyone to handle, it should have been Lilly. Edgar never showed up the day of Elvin's birthday. Could he have come by the next day? If Elana went with someone willingly, who could be more trustworthy in the mind of an eight-year-old than her father? And what about the baby? Most men in their sixties would not think of adopting a baby despite having a young wife. Could this be a cover-up to conceal the fact that Edgar and his wife have Elana's child? Adoption records could easily prove or disprove this theory. Even in this day and age of electronic transactions, there still had to be a paper trail.

Another suspect, in Troy's mind, was Herbert Greenfield. Technically Herbert did not
have
to be at the service. He and Lilly were currently divorced and likely had not been in contact since separating. Still, common courtesy would have been to make an appearance or at least call since they were married at the time Elana went missing. Only a man with something to hide would not have the decency to give his condolences. Plus, he didn't stay around to comfort Lilly in the immediate aftermath of Elana's disappearance. Herbert left Lilly within a few months, another uncompassionate act that possibly pointed to his guilt.

Then there was Jerry, who was obviously faking an injury, but for what purpose? Was he trying to make it seem as if he was physically incapable of committing this crime? Jerry was no friend to the law and held a frequent visitor's pass to confined spaces. Could this be a real-life reenactment of
The Usual Suspects,
a movie in which the bad guy turns out to be the one everyone least expects since he was assumed to be physically impaired?

Elvin and Lilly thought someone from the family was involved. If not Herbert, Edgar, or Jerry, then who? Frustrated, Troy finally made his way to B.K.'s office. As he pulled into a space, he immediately knew that something was wrong.

N
atalie peeked in on Nate, napping in Tracy's old room, before making her way back to Troy's. To say she had an attitude would have been putting it mildly. Troy was gone, so was Diane, and Reed was at his other house doing some work.